University of North Carolina Athletics
Georgia Tech Game Guide
January 15, 2010 | Men's Basketball
Jan. 15, 2010
By Lauren Brownlow
The Basics
No. 12/13 North Carolina (12-5, 1-1) will host No. 20/18 Georgia Tech (12-4, 1-2) on Saturday afternoon in its second ACC home game. Carolina is 11-0 at home this year and 1-5 outside of Chapel Hill. Georgia Tech is 4-3 outside Atlanta and 8-1 at home. The Yellow Jackets are coming off of an 82-75 loss at Virginia on Wednesday. Carolina also lost on Wednesday night 83-64 at Clemson, the worst margin of defeat (19 points) in the Roy Williams era. Carolina holds a 60-20 edge in the series with Georgia Tech and has won 19 of the last 26 meetings. Carolina is 25-4 against Georgia Tech in Chapel Hill and 20-3 in the Smith Center. The last Georgia Tech win in Chapel Hill was in 1996.
Game Time: Georgia Tech at North Carolina, 2:00 PM.
Last Time: Carolina beat Georgia Tech 104-74 at home on February 28, 2009. Georgia Tech shot 44.9% for the game but had 18 turnovers. Carolina out-rebounded Georgia Tech 45-31. Carolina shot 53.6% for the game and a scorching 60.6% in the second half. Tyler Hansbrough had 28 points and ten rebounds, game-highs in both. Hansbrough set the NCAA record for made free throws. Danny Green had 23 points. Deon Thompson and Wayne Ellington each had ten points. Ty Lawson had just four points but added 11 assists to just two turnovers. Lewis Clinch led Georgia Tech with 22 points. Alade Aminu added 19 points and seven rebounds. Gani Lawal had 12 points.
Radio Coverage: Tar Heel Sports Network coverage will begin at 1:00 PM.
Injury Report: Tyler Zeller is out indefinitely with a stress fracture.
Storylines
Understanding ACC Play: There are some things that Carolina did out of conference that it could get away with that it simply can't now, like careless turnovers (44 in two ACC games) or not capitalizing on second chances. In two ACC games, Carolina has a 25.58% loss of ball. The 28.26% against Clemson was the worst of the season by far. Carolina has also drawn 33 fouls in ACC play so far and has turned those possessions, be them trips to the line or fresh shot clocks, into 28 points and has committed seven turnovers. Their opponents have been fouled 33 times as well and turned those into 36 points, turning it over four times (all by Virginia Tech). Those kinds of possessions can't be wasted in ACC play. Carolina also has to be more aggressive; ten free-throw attempts against Clemson is not enough, particularly when the Tigers attempt 20.
And Georgia Tech will try to be physical as possible without fouling as well. "It's a challenge for our guys. We've got to still try to be able to score inside, which we didn't do at Clemson. ... We have Deon and Ed and Travis and David, four post guys did not shoot a single free throw. We're not involved. Their guys shot free throws," Williams said. "We've got to get our big guys to post up, demand the ball, post up lower, post up stronger, and then we've got to get our guys to throw them the ball. That's something that we've got to do every game, but I think you really have to do it against Georgia Tech." Opponents are getting to the foul line 23.3 times per game in four Georgia Tech losses compared to 17.6 in 12 Georgia Tech wins; the Yellow Jackets get there 24.4 times in wins but 15 in losses. Georgia Tech has turned it over 18 times in four losses compared to just 15.5 in 12 wins. In two ACC losses, the Yellow Jackets have been outshot from the charity stripe 49-18 in attempts and 35-8 in made free throws. But in the Duke win, they outshot the Blue Devils at the line 28 to 14, attempting ten more than they have in two league losses combined.
At The Game
Listening to the Tar Heel Sports network at the game: The in-stadium frequency in the Smith Center will be FM 92.7. That station will have a non-delayed feed of WCHL 1360, the local affiliate.
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.
ESPN coverage: The game will be available on ESPN.
Names To Know
Ed Davis: After attempting ten or more shots in just two of Carolina's first ten contests, Davis has now attempted at least nine in seven straight games and 11 or more in five of the last seven. For the most part, that has worked out well for Carolina as he has averaged 16 points in that span. But in Carolina's loss at Clemson, Davis established season lows in points (four), field goal percentage (18.2%), and rebounds (four). It was only the second time in his career he has played 20 minutes and not pulled down at least five rebounds. He also attempted no foul shots for only the second time this season. Davis has been incredible for Carolina this season but at times has struggled against the beefy, burly physical big men. Clemson has multiple capable big men to throw at Carolina and Davis and his discomfort showed as he shot just 2-of-11 from the floor. To his credit, he never gave up even as short basket after short basket rolled off the rim. But the Georgia Tech front line is now not only a physical and bruising one, but also a more skilled one. Last year against the Yellow Jackets, Davis played just 15 minutes (Tyler Zeller was making his way back from injury) and had five points on 2-of-4 shooting, adding four rebounds, three assists and no turnovers. He also converted an and-one play.
Travis Wear: Now that Tyler Zeller is out indefinitely with a stress fracture, Wear will see his minutes increase. He has had three very good stints against Syracuse, Texas and now Clemson, showing he will stay play hard even when Carolina is down big. "In the game at Clemson, I thought (Dexter Strickland) and Travis probably competed harder and more effectively than anybody else. That's surprising sometimes for a freshman," Williams said. Wear won Defensive Player of the Game for his work against Texas, and he is the only freshman to win it. Zeller is the only post man to win it more than once. Wear has the best shooting percentage of all freshmen (47.8%) and if his 11 attempts were enough, his 81.8% from the foul line would lead the team. He has the same number of offensive rebounds as Marcus Ginyard (16) in 235 fewer minutes. Against Clemson, he had six points on 3-of-6 shooting and added a team-high eight rebounds. In 22 minutes of ACC play, he now has eight points, eight rebounds, one steal and just two turnovers while shooting 4-of-7 (57.1%) from the floor. Carolina needs him to keep improving and playing hard.
Gani Lawal: The 6-9 junior forward won ACC Player of the Week for his efforts against Georgia and Duke, when he averaged 21 points and 7.5 rebounds on 15-of-26 shooting. He has been on a roll, averaging 20.8 points in the last four contests. He leads the league in free throws attempted per game (7.2), ranks third in rebounds (9.1) and seventh in blocks (1.4). He has reached double digits in all but three games. Against Virginia, he had just 12 , his lowest output since December 29th, on 5-of-12 shooting. His four rebounds were his fewest since pulling down just four in a loss to Florida State. Georgia Tech is 3-4 when Lawal shoots less than 45 percent and 3-3 when he makes five or fewer field goals. The Yellow Jackets are 9-0 when Lawal shoots 50% or better and 9-1 when he makes six or more field goals. He has shot 64.4% from the floor and 92.3% from the foul line in Georgia Tech's 12 wins compared to 37.8% and 57.1% from the foul line in four losses. In two games against the Tar Heels, Lawal has shot a scorching 75% and averaged 12.5 points and five rebounds but he has fouled out of both contests in just 18.0 minutes per game. Last year against Carolina, Lawal hit 6-of-7 field goals for 12 points. He has yet to foul out this season.
Derrick Favors: Carolina's freshmen know about dealing with expectations, but nothing compares to the national high school player of the year Derrick Favors. The 6-10 freshman forward has been fairly quiet, attempting ten or more shots just twice this season, but efficient. He has shot 58.1% from the floor and averaged 11.8 points, second among ACC freshman. He has six double-doubles and leads all ACC freshmen in rebounding with 8.9 per contest. He is third in the entire ACC in blocked shots (1.9 per game) and fourth in offensive rebounds (3.3). Like most freshmen, he is still adjusting to ACC play and has averaged 9.0 points and shot 54.5% in league games. But not only have his minutes increased from 25.7 to 30.7 in ACC games, but also his rebounds have gone from 8.5 to 10.3, a figure that leads the league in conference games only. He notched his first double-double in league play with 12 points and 10 boards at Virginia in the loss, but he had ten points at the half and managed none after that. Carolina needs to keep the young talent out of the game - or at least off of the stat sheet - as much as possible.
Lauren Brownlow is the executive editor of Tar Heel Monthly.
