University of North Carolina Athletics
Know Your Opponent: Georgia Tech
January 2, 2016 | Men's Basketball
Georgia Tech (RamblinWreck.com)
Location: Atlanta, Ga.
Rankings: No. 76 KenPom, NR AP
Record: 10-3
Carolina Series History (Last Meeting): Carolina leads 66-24 (UNC 81, Georgia Tech 49, March 3, 2015, McCamish Pavilion)
A year ago, Georgia Tech entered ACC play at 9-3 with quality wins over Georgia, Rhode Island and Vanderbilt. The Yellow Jackets would proceed to lose 16 of 19 contests against league opponents, often in excruciating and inexplicable fashion. Thirteen of the 16 losses were by single digits, including three in overtime, but two of the three blowouts were at the hands of Carolina.
Fast forward one year and Brian Gregory's squad has once again had an acceptably successful non-conference campaign that includes top-100 wins over Tennessee, Arkansas and VCU. So can the Yellow Jackets reverse the statistically improbable tide and make a push for postseason play for the first time since Paul Hewitt's heyday?
Last season Georgia Tech was competitive because of its defensive efficiency, but this year's team is winning with offense. The Jackets are also among the most experienced clubs in America, starting a junior, two seniors and two graduate transfers.
One of those graduate transfers is Adam Smith, who made the ultra-rare Tech-to-Tech move to Atlanta after two seasons in Blacksburg. Smith was one of the better 3-point shooters in the league last season and that has continued this year to the tune of 38 of 87 (43.7 percent) from beyond the arc.
The backbone of the team, however, is the same as it was in 2015. Senior Marcus Georges-Hunt leads the Jackets in scoring once again due in large part to his ability to get to the line (and shoot 81.4 percent when he gets there). Classmate Charles Mitchell - he himself a Maryland to Georgia Tech transfer - continues to be one of the most underrated rebounders in the country, ranking in the top 20 nationally in both rebounding percentages.
James White, a 6-8 grad transfer from Arkansas-Little Rock, and junior point guard Josh Heath round out the Georgia Tech starting five. Heath is in his second year with the program after transferring from South Florida and ranks third in the ACC in assist-turnover ratio with 55 helpers against just 16 giveaways.
With one of the most veteran rosters in all of college basketball, Georgia Tech has its best chance in years to break through to the top half of the ACC.
