University of North Carolina Athletics
Know Your Opponent: Georgia Tech
February 21, 2015 | Men's Basketball
Georgia Tech (RamblinWreck.com)
Rankings: No. 76 KenPom, NR AP
Location: Atlanta, Ga.
2014-15 Record: 12-14, 3-11 ACC
Carolina Series History (Last Meeting): Carolina leads 64-24 (UNC 78, Georgia Tech 65, Jan. 29, 2014, McCamish Pavilion)
In a quirk of the ACC schedule, Georgia Tech visits Carolina for the first of two meetings on Feb. 21, meaning the Yellow Jackets see the Tar Heels twice in their final four regular season games. Also unique is the fact that Tech has a "bye" on the final weekend, placing Senior Night against the Tar Heels on a Tuesday.
Brian Gregory's club got off to a nightmarish 0-7 start thanks to an incredible run of close losses. The Jackets lost in double OT at Notre Dame, by 1 at home to Syracuse, by 7 at Wake Forest, by 3 in the rematch with Notre Dame, by 5 at Pitt and by 2 at home to BC. For 23 days, only the infamous 57-28 loss at Virginia stood out as a game in which Tech was not competitive.
They snapped the skid in emphatic fashion at Miami on Jan. 28, leading wire to wire in a 20-point victory, but it was quickly back to the status quo - an OT buzzer-beater loss to NC State, a 6-point loss at Duke, a 2-point loss at Virginia Tech and a 4-point loss to FSU in the span of five games. So it's fair to assume the Jackets have been pretty unlucky in 2015, and the numbers back it up. Entering the week, Tech was 10th in the league in efficiency margin, notably ahead of 6-7 teams Florida State and Pitt.
Much in the same way Clemson has managed to reach 7-7 in the ACC, Georgia Tech leans on a quietly stout defense to make up for a sub-par offense. The Jackets are 27th nationally in adjusted defensive efficiency and sit behind only Virginia and the aforementioned Tigers in opponent points per possession in league play. Tech has done it by limiting second-chance opportunities, forcing turnovers at a 17.5% clip and successfully defending the 3. In Monday's 63-52 win over Clemson, the Tigers scored just 0.81 PPP, shot 40% from 2, 27% from 3 and turned the ball over 14 times.
Marcus Georges-Hunt is the only Tech player scoring more than 10 points per game in ACC play, as the 6-5 junior averages 14.6 per contest. Georges-Hunt has been especially effective in the league for two reasons - a significant jump in success from deep (41% in ACC games vs. 14% OOC) and a knack for consistently getting to the line (sixth in the league in FT rate). Classmate Charles Mitchell complements Georges-Hunt by making close to 54 percent of his 2s against conference opponents and being the league's best offensive rebounder. No Tech player other than Mitchell makes more than 45 percent from 2, and none other than Georges-Hunt makes more than 35 percent from 3.
Beyond those two, senior Robert Sampson is second in the ACC in defensive rebounding percentage in conference games, and senior Demarco Cox is the team's top shot blocker. Tech will also be without junior guard Chris Bolden for the rest of the regular season as well as the opening round of the ACC Tournament after being handed a six-game suspension.
Barring a miracle run in Greensboro, Georgia Tech will see its season end without postseason basketball for a fifth straight year. And while progress has been slow to come in terms of wins under Gregory, games against Carolina and Louisville in the final 11 days of the regular season will offer the chance to create some momentum for 2015-16.
