University of North Carolina Athletics
Georgia Tech Game Guide
February 27, 2009 | Men's Basketball
Feb. 27, 2009
By Lauren Brownlow
The Basics
No. 4/5 North Carolina (24-3, 10-3) will try to hold onto first place in the ACC when it hosts Georgia Tech (10-16, 1-12) in its second-to-last home game of the season. Carolina saw its ten-game winning streak snapped by Maryland last Saturday when it lost 88-85 in overtime. The Yellow Jackets have had one fewer day off than Carolina, losing 81-73 last Sunday in Atlanta to Clemson. After upsetting Wake Forest at home earlier this season, Georgia Tech has lost six straight games.
A win would give Carolina its 31st 25-win season and fourth in the last five seasons. It would be Roy Williams' 16th 25-win season in his 21st season as a head coach. The Tar Heels are 59-20 against Georgia Tech and 45-18 since the Yellow Jackets joined the ACC. The Tar Heels have won 14 of the last 20 meetings but are 6-6 in the last 12. Roy Williams is 5-4 against Georgia Tech, 4-0 in Chapel Hill. Carolina has a 24-4 record against Georgia Tech at home and 19-3 in the Smith Center. Georgia Tech last won there on February 10, 1996 in overtime, 92-83.
Game Time: Georgia Tech at North Carolina, 12:00 PM.
Last Time: Carolina squeaked out an 83-82 win in Atlanta last year over Georgia Tech on January 16, 2008. Danny Green hit 1-of-2 free throws with 22 seconds left and blocked the potential game-winning shot on the other end. Carolina struggled at times, hitting 47.6% of its shots for the game but just 37.9% in the second half. Carolina also had just 12 assists to 15 turnovers. Georgia Tech hit 45.2% of its shots (38.2% in the second half) and had 17 assists to 12 turnovers. Tyler Hansbrough led Carolina with 27 points and 11 rebounds. Ty Lawson had 13 points, five rebounds, five assists and four turnovers. Danny Green added ten points, two assists, two blocks and two steals. Jeremis Smith led Georgia Tech with 15 points on 4-of-8 shooting and added seven rebounds. Zack Peacock had 14 points and 11 rebounds. Anthony morrow had 13 points (3-of-8 from three) and Gani Lawal had 13 points and six rebounds.
Radio Coverage: Tar Heel Sports Network coverage begins at 11:00 AM.
Injury Report: Marcus Ginyard and the Tar Heel medical staff have decided it is best for him to take a medical redshirt this season. He had surgery on October 8th, 2008 to repair a stress fracture in his left foot. He attempted to come back and still had pain. He has gone through nearly a month's worth of intensive rehab to try to get back into game shape, but he still has pain in the foot. Will Graves has been suspended for the remainder of this season.
Storylines
Reviving the offense: There are moments in Carolina's recent games in which the offense has looked as good as it has looked all season. But more often than not, particularly in the second half, Carolina has taken bad shots, turned the ball over and generally just seemed to be standing around. It came back to bite Carolina against Maryland. Ty Lawson had made big plays to win Carolina's two previous close road games, so as he tried to take over, his teammates stood around and watched.
"I don't know if we've become timid or tentative - that's kind of a strong word - but we're definitely looking to Ty to make a play because we've seen him do it," Bobby Frasor said. "It's such an easy thing to do that we almost say, `Okay Ty, now make a play.' We really need to get back into executing what we want. If Coach Williams calls a set, execute it perfectly and score that way so it's easy for everyone and the team is involved rather than Ty having to expend all of his energy making a play for us to get a basket."
Regardless of the problem, for Carolina to have just five assists on 29 field goals is a statistic that Roy Williams and this team would never like to see again. "The fact of the matter is, for us to take 16 shots with zero or one pass is stupid," Williams said.
Still, Carolina's assisted field goal percentage dropping has been a cause for concern. This team had been sharing the ball very well this season but the number of assisted field goals has dropped from 60.4% in non-conference play to 54.3% in ACC play. In Carolina's three losses, it has notched assists on a mere 34.9% of its field goals (29 of 83). In ten ACC wins, it has assisted 59.5% of field goals. Part of the reason for some of the drop has been Ty Lawson's recent dominance; he is a penetrating point guard and a scorer and so is just as likely to make a good play with a shot as he is with a pass. Also, assists aren't charted on free throws.
But for Carolina to get five assists is something that was a symptom of offensive inefficiency against Maryland, even when the Tar Heels were playing well. "I feel like we tend to get a little stagnant and stand around a little bit too much instead of helping each other - helping each other get open, helping each other get easier shots. That's definitely something we've been working on and that's something that shouldn't happen anymore," Wayne Ellington said. "I think each year it's different. This year, we've been a little stagnant and playing a lot of one-on-one rather than helping each other get open and getting easy buckets."
Carolina has set the tone in ACC games in the first half for sharing the ball. In three ACC wins, Carolina has assists on 64% of its field goals. In the first half of losses, that number is 30.4% (14 assists on 46 field goals). In the second half of ACC wins, Carolina has 55.3% assisted field goals and in the losses, it drops to 40 percent.
Last season, Carolina had nine games of below 40% assisted field goals. Of those, six were close games and one was a loss. Carolina's seven assists on 24 field goals (29.2%) tied a season-low for percentage of assisted field goals against Kansas. The other game like that was against Virginia Tech in a narrow ACC Tournament win (seven assists on 24 field goals). This season, Carolina has below 40% assisted field goals three times and is 1-2 in those games (the lone win was at Duke). Carolina had just nine assists on 26 field goals against Wake Forest (34.6%) and five assists on 29 field goals against Maryland (17.2 percent).
Georgia Tech has been pretty good on defense this season but three straight opponents have shot over 50 percent and one shot 60 percent. Those last three opponents notched an assist on 62.4% of their field goals compared to 52.9% assisted field goals allowed in the first ten games.
Avoiding - and capitalizing on - mistakes on both ends: Carolina lost to Maryland in large part because Maryland played very well down the stretch. But Carolina also did not play very well. Against both Boston College and Wake Forest, the Tar Heels actually played pretty well late in those games but just didn't have quite enough. Combined in the final two minutes of both games, Carolina allowed just 1-of-3 shooting (9-of-12 from the foul line) and 0.917 points per possession. The rest of the second half of both games, Carolina allowed 0.98 points per possession. Carolina, on the other hand, averaged 0.70 points per possession in the first 18 minutes of the second half and getting up to 0.78 in the final two minutes was not enough. Boston College did not have a field goal in the final 3:47 and Wake Forest went without a field goal in the final 1:38 and just one in the final 4:30.
Against Boston College, Carolina had 11 possessions and just five points (0.45 per possession) in the final two minutes and a mere 0.66 in the preceding 18 minutes. Against Wake Forest, Carolina averaged 1.29 in the final two minutes but had averaged just 0.75 before that. But down the stretch against Maryland, things fell apart on both ends. Maryland scored 1.29 points per possession in the final two minutes, scoring nine points in seven possessions, making four of five field-goal attempts and turning it over just once. Carolina managed just five possessions and had just two points, two turnovers and three field-goal attempts (0.40 points per possession and 40% loss of ball). In fact, in Carolina's final 15 possessions including overtime, it scored 11 points and turned it over five times (33.3% loss of ball). Maryland had 21 points on 16 possessions and turned it over just twice.
"If we have three shot clock violations those three possessions (at the end of regulation), we win the game," Williams said. "So in a warped way of thinking, you could probably say, `Well good, we've got to stink it up both ways (on offense and defense) to really lose.' But in my opinion, it was more offensively the first two losses whereas this time, we stunk it up both ways."
Williams also detailed the things that teams do down the stretch of games - don't give up offensive rebounds, make foul shots and don't turn the ball over. Down the stretch of the Boston College and Wake Forest games, Carolina made 7-of-9 foul shots and grabbed six offensive rebounds and had six second-chance points on six offensive rebounds (after managing just 12 on 27 offensive rebounds in the first 18 minutes). Carolina did not allow a single offensive rebound in the final two minutes of those two games and allowed just five before that.
Against Maryland, Carolina let the Terrapins convert their only miss into two points after allowing just two second-chance points on three offensive rebounds before that. The Tar Heels also turned it over five times in the final seven minutes (including overtime) and twice in the final two minutes. Carolina had just two turnovers combined in the final two minutes of its other two losses and its opponents scored three points. Maryland had eight points off the late turnovers. In all three losses combined, Carolina has forced five turnovers down the stretch and managed four points, all against Maryland. The rest of the games combined, the Tar Heels had 18 points off 21 turnovers the rest of the second half combined.
"Try to make sure you don't make mistakes, try to make sure you don't give the other team multiple opportunities and the last thing is just cash in when you have the opportunities yourself," Williams said. "We've had a couple of close games - at Miami, at Florida State - we made big plays when we needed to. At Duke when they cut it to seven or six or whatever it was, we kept making good plays. We kept scoring and making baskets. So this was one game where we didn't."
In fact, in those three games, Carolina scored 1.25 points down the stretch, turning it over just twice in 16 possessions (12.5%) while allowing just 0.56 points per possession and forcing four turnovers in 19 possessions (21 percent). In the previous 18 minutes, Carolina had lost the ball on 20% of its possessions and scored 0.93 points per possession while opponents had turned it over 14.8% of the time and scored 0.91 points per possession. But Carolina made plays when it created and capitalized on opportunities, not when it waited for the other team to make a mistake.
Georgia Tech has gradually been letting opponents do that at times, as it had allowed fewer second-chance points than offensive rebounds in its first ten ACC games but has allowed opponents to get more in three straight games. But Georgia Tech is capitalizing some themselves, scoring 90 points off of 75 opponent turnovers in the last four games (compared to 112 points on 126 turnovers in its first nine games). They have also scored 28 second-chance points off of 25 offensive rebounds in the last two games. Carolina needs to keep this athletic team that could get hot at any time from being able to get any second chances.
At The Game
Listening to the Tar Heel Sports Network at the game: The in-stadium frequency in the Thrillerdome is not yet known.
Watching At Home
Turn down the sound: If you're watching at home while listening to the radio or over the computer via Carolina All-Access, there will inevitably be some delay. For the reason - and a possible solution - click here.
A full list of THSN affiliates can be found here.
CBS coverage: The game will be available on CBS.
Names To Know
Ty Lawson: To hear that Lawson's 20 shot attempts were the most by a point guard in the Roy Williams era seems like a shocking statistic. But with constant knocks on his leadership this season, it appears that he has been attempting to take over games late and he has done that successfully in three of Carolina's seven ACC road games. The pattern usually is that Lawson has a decent first half but doesn't take a lot of shots and tries to get his teammates involved early, then explodes in the second half. But of his 20 shots, 11 came in the first half (he made only 3) and he had just one assist in 18 first-half minutes, going against his pattern. But in the second half, it was Lawson's play that carried the Tar Heels for a time. From the 11:06 mark to the 5:21 mark, he scored 11 points in less than six minutes to help keep a rapidly-fading Carolina lead.
He certainly made some mistakes down the stretch - in the final 2:05, he turned it over in the backcourt (nine seconds into the shot clock), advanced the ball too quickly on a pass to Tyler Hansbrough that helped cause him to charge (seven seconds into the shot clock) and had a perhaps ill-advised jumper blocked by Greivis Vasquez in the lane. In overtime though, he had five of Carolina's nine points and did have both of his assists in the final seven minutes of the game (including overtime). But Lawson was not the only one to make mistakes. He also played an insane 41 minutes and that's also something that could have an effect on him, but despite the increased minutes, he does tend to be at his best - and most active - down the stretch. His two assists and four turnovers marked the first time he has had more assists than turnovers since the season-opener against Davidson last year.
Road games seem to play a role as well. He has averaged 11.7 shot attempts in seven league road games and 4.9 free-throw attempts, putting up 19.3 points, 4.9 assists one steal and 3.0 turnovers. He has shot 56.1% from the floor and drained 31-of-34 foul shots. In six ACC home games, he has averaged 14.2 points, 7.2 assists, 2.3 steals and 1.7 turnovers. He has shot 50% but has averaged just 3.0 free-throw attempts. Still, his 43 assists to 10 turnovers (4.3 ratio) compared to the road stats of 34 assists to 21 turnovers (1.6 ratio) show a big difference. In Carolina's last home game against NC State, he had his second-best field-goal percentage day in conference play, shooting 7-of-9 on his way to 17 points. He also had nine assists and just one turnover. In his last three ACC home games, he has a ridiculous 24 assists to just one turnover. In the first three ACC home games, he had 19 assists and nine turnovers.
It could just be a bizarre quirk or a personnel or style issue, but Lawson has not played well against Georgia Tech. In three career games against the Yellow Jackets, he has averaged 8.7 points, his lowest average against any ACC team. His 41.7% shooting percentage is tenth, his 2.0 free-throw attempts per game are tied for ninth, his 5.7 assists are seventh and his 3.7 turnovers are tenth. His 1.6 assist-turnover ratio against Georgia Tech is tied for eighth. So in all the important statistics, Lawson has not fared well against Georgia Tech in seemingly all areas. His 13 points in the last meeting equaled his combined output in his first two games; he added five assists, one steal and four turnovers in 33 minutes. He will see some of Maurice Miller defensively but he will probably also see some of the 6-5 Iman Shumpert; taller point guards have given him problems from time to time.
Tyler Hansbrough: In sort of the opposite situation of Ty Lawson, Hansbrough has been at his best against Georgia Tech. In five career games, he has averaged 26.8 points, 9.3 rebounds, 1.8 steals and has shot 60.4% from the floor and 80.3% from the foul line, attempting an astounding 15.3 per contest. The field-goal percentage, scoring and free-throw attempts are all the highest numbers that he has against any ACC team. His 9.3 rebounds are the sixth-most. To put it in perspective, he has averaged double-digit free-throw attempts against only two other teams and the second-most is Virginia Tech (11.4 attempts). In the last Georgia Tech win, Hansbrough carried Carolina (as he did when he notched his career high of 40 against them as a freshman) with 27 points (13-of-15 from the foul line), 11 rebounds and three steals.
Now would be as good a time as any for Hansbrough to get his game clicking consistently. Already this season, the senior has had five games out of just 23 in which he has shot below 40% from the floor. He had five games out of 39 his junior season. Of those five games this season, four have come in ACC play. In his three previous seasons combined, he had just six games of below 40-percent shooting in ACC games and one came when he had a broken nose. Of Hansbrough's seven 20-point games, five have come in the Smith Center and he is averaging 9.3 free-throw attempts at home compared to 7.0 on the road in ACC play. While it might seem like his free-throw attempts have dipped egregiously in recent games - and they have - it is largely because Carolina has been playing on the road. At home, he attempted 10.0 per game in the first three league games and 8.7 in the last three, which is not a big difference. But after attempting 15.0 per game in his first two ACC road games, he has attempted 19 total in the last five road games (3.8) in ACC play.
Williams has said he wants Hansbrough to get 20 "touches" per game - shot attempts plus free-throw attempts. Throughout his career, it has been more the exception than the rule, particularly last season and for the most part, this season. He has averaged no less than 19.4 touches for a season (his freshman year) and last season, he had fewer than 20 touches just eight times out of 39 games, averaging 23.4 per game. In ACC play last year, his touches increased from 22.3 to 24.9 per game in ACC play. This season, he touched it 22.2 times in out-of-conference games and scored 23.1 points. In ACC play, that number has dropped to 20.9 touches for 19.3 points.
It's not a minutes issue - those have increased from 26.8 out of conference to 32. But whatever is wrong, the team needs to work together to make sure Carolina re-establishes Hansbrough in good position to either score or force a foul call somehow. Hansbrough had only two games with ten or fewer touches in his career, both as a junior. He has now done that twice - nine against Florida State and ten against Miami - in the last eight games.
Gani Lawal: The 6-9 sophomore forward is one of two players on the team to have started every game this season and has 14 double-doubles in 26 games. In ACC games only, Lawal is second in the league in rebounding (9.9 per game), first in offensive rebounds (3.9), tied for third in defensive rebounds (6.0), second in blocks (2.0), and sixth in field-goal percentage (50.4 percent). He has averaged 13.6 points as well. In the first ten ACC games, Lawal had a stretch of eight straight double-figure rebounding games and six straight double-doubles. He shot 51.8% and averaged 14.6 points and 10.9 rebounds (4.2 offensive) in the first ten games, committing just 2.0 fouls and blocking 2.1 shots. But beginning with a season-low three rebounds and an ACC-low seven points against NC State, he has shot 44.4% from the floor and averaged 10.3 points and 6.7 rebounds (3.0 offensive) in the last three games, committing 3.7 fouls and blocking 1.7 shots.
Against Clemson in the team's last game, he had 11 points on 3-of-8 shooting (5-of-7 from the foul line), adding nine rebounds, one steal, two blocks and four fouls. In his only game against Carolina, he had 13 points on 6-of-9 shooting and added six rebounds (all offensive). He fouled out in just 16 minutes but five of his six offensive rebounds were converted into ten second-chance points, eight by him. The team had 22 second-chance points. Most of his action came in the first half but he picked up his third foul with 17:25 to go, his fourth with 9:42 to go and his fifth with 5:17 to go. He has yet to foul out of a game this season.
Lewis Clinch: Clinch has missed quite a bit of time throughout his career, forced to sit out the spring last season for a violation of team rules and missing five games his freshman year with a stress fracture. This season was no different; he missed the first seven games this season due to academic ineligibility. Despite getting little warm-up time in non-conference play, the 6-3 guard has improved his shooting percentage (32.5% to 35.3%) and three-point shooting (1.7 made three's to 2.5 per game in league play). In conference games only, Clinch is tenth in assist-turnover ratio (2.5) and fourth in three-pointers made (2.5). He has average 12.8 points, 3.7 rebounds and 3.2 assists in ACC play.
In the upset over Wake Forest, he had 19 points on 7-of-17 shooting (0-of-6 from beyond the arc) in 37 minutes. In the four games after the Wake Forest win, Clinch shot 20% from the floor and 17.4% from beyond the arc, averaging 6.0 points, 2.0 rebounds, 3.8 assists and 3.0 turnovers. But in Georgia Tech's last two games, he appears to have regained his shooting touch in a big way. He has shot 19-of-38 from the floor (50%) and a blistering 12-of-22 (54.5%) from beyond the arc in the last two games, averaging 25.5 points, 5.0 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 3.5 turnovers in the rematch against Wake and a narrow Clemson loss. Against Clemson, he had a career-high 27 points on 10-of-16 shooting (6-of-9 from beyond the arc), adding three assists and one turnover in 37 minutes.
He hasn't ever really gone off against Carolina yet. Two years ago in Chapel Hill, he played just 15 minutes but hit 2-of-3 three-pointers. Last year in Atlanta, he had five points on 2-of-6 shooting (1-of-5 from beyond the arc) in 22 minutes. But the last thing any Carolina fan wants to hear right now is that a talented ACC shooter who has struggled this season has begun to regain his touch.
Quotables
"This was not one of these weeks where I was just bringing them brownies and ice cream." -Roy Williams on how he approached this week with the team
"Shaquille O'Neal could knock this cup over and it would be called a foul. But Shaquille O'Neal is this desk and you've got to knock him over to let him go to the free-throw line." -Roy Williams
"I just know from my buddy (Connecticut head coach) Jimmy Calhoun I'm not going to tell you to shut up." -Roy Williams when asked about taking a pay cut
"People talk about legends and I think Tyler (Hansbrough) is going to have this legend quality about him. The stories are going to build up and build up. People talk about his sushi now and maybe 20 years later, it's going to be Tyler ate a live cow or something like that." -Bobby Frasor
Lauren Brownlow is the managing editor of Tar Heel Monthly.
