University of North Carolina Athletics
Lucas: Rapid Reactions
March 4, 2015 | Men's Basketball
By Adam Lucas
1. So with the 81-49 win, now attention can officially turn to the season finale against Duke. The Tar Heels have clinched no worse than a fifth seed in next week's ACC Tournament and could possibly play their way into the four spot. Worth much more than that, of course, is the chance on Saturday to avenge the overtime loss in Cameron Indoor Stadium from earlier this year.
2. There isn't much from that game that will go on the Georgia Tech season highlight reel. The Jackets looked listless almost from the very start, and couldn't seem to hold on to the ball while committing 11 turnovers in the first half. Many were of the careless variety, and Carolina happily converted them into 21 first-half points (the Jackets mustered just 21 total points in the first 20 minutes).
3. Brice Johnson had perhaps the best bad shooting night of his UNC career. That might sound odd, but there have been occasions during his career that when his offense has struggled, Johnson has turned off the rest of the game. In contrast, on Tuesday night his shooting struggles seemed to motivate him to find another way to contribute. In one second-half sequence, his hook shot rolled off the rim, but he still ran the full 94 feet back on defense and picked up a blocked shot on Georgia Tech's next offensive possession.
4. Carolina has been searching all season for an additional perimeter threat. For this week, at least, they've found it in the person of Joel Berry II. The freshman has made four of his last seven three-point attempts and hit all three of his perimeter attempts in Tuesday's first half.
5. If there's an area of concern as the Tar Heels prepare for the postseason, it might be the effectiveness of Kennedy Meeks. The Carolina big man was 3-for-6 against a beefy Georgia Tech front line, and is now 5-for-11 over the last two games. The Charlotte native has been somewhat up and down this year, and the offense needs him to trend upwards as it moves deeper into March.
6. For the second straight game, a Tar Heel opponent was hamstrung by an injury to the leading scorer. On Saturday, it was Angel Rodriguez in Miami. On Tuesday, Marcus Georges-Hunt suffered a sprained right food mere minutes into the game and did not return. That forced the Jackets to go deep into their bench to fill those minutes, and they never really found a suitable replacement.
7. Marcus Paige joined some exclusive company with 5:30 left in the second half, as he connected on the 200th three-pointer of his career. Just five other Tar Heels have at least 200 trifectas: career leader Shammond Williams (233), Wayne Ellington, Rashad McCants, Donald Williams and Jeff Lebo.
8. An unexpected bonus from Tuesday's win: the return of Theo Pinson with 2:31 left. Roy Williams had said earlier this week that Pinson probably wouldn't play, but the freshman did indeed earn a couple of minutes as he comes back from a foot injury. A healthy Pinson would be a huge addition for the stretch run. Pinson celebrated his return by swishing a 17-footer with a minute left, which sparked a huge reaction from the Carolina bench.
In addition, Stilman White also played the last couple of minutes, as the Tar Heels are slowly getting back to a more complete roster. And then even Luke Davis came off the Carolina bench for the first time all season, playing the final 39.6 seconds of the program's biggest win in Atlanta since Tech joined the ACC in 1979.
