University of North Carolina Athletics
Lucas: Rapid Reactions
December 31, 2016 | Men's Basketball
By Adam Lucas
1. That was a classic case of a good team messing around just long enough to give a struggling team enough air to believe they could pull off the upset. We are going to look back in February and wonder how on earth Carolina managed to go into Atlanta and lose to this Georgia Tech team that had not beaten a Power Five team all season.
2. Georgia Tech's zone defense completely befuddled the Carolina offense. The Tar Heels committed 20 turnovers and shot 32.3 percent from the field. Tech coach Josh Pastner indicated before the game he planned to switch defenses often; there was no need, as the Tar Heels never figured out the zone.
3. If you're going to have the most atrocious half of the season, it's better to get it out of the way in the first half of the league opener against a rebuilding Georgia Tech team. The Jackets' zone defense perplexed Carolina for the first 20 minutes and led to 13 turnovers in the first half alone, including seven in the final seven minutes of the period. But it wasn't just the first half; Carolina never really figured out a reliable way to beat that defense, including coughing the ball up on three straight possessions to open the second half.
4. The combination of Georgia Tech playing in an 11 a.m. bowl game and the College Football Playoff being in town with a 3 p.m. start meant that Carolina had a virtual home game for the ACC opener. The Tar Heels always have a terrific turnout in Atlanta--they got those usual numbers on Saturday with the added benefit of many Jacket fans staying away. The Atlanta Carolina Club did a great job helping turnout in what might have been the largest visitor/home ratio for a road ACC game in at least the Roy Williams era.
5. The scary part is that the game wouldn't have even been as close as it was without contributions from the UNC bench, especially Nate Britt. Britt had several key steals in the second half and also made several big baskets on his way to a team-high 13 points.
6. Everyone already knew how important Joel Berry was to Carolina. It was proven on Saturday, as Berry had one of his most difficult games as a collegian, shooting 3-of-13 from the field, 2-of-9 from the three-point line, and committing six turnovers with just one assist.
7. If there is a bright spot--and there probably isn't--from a loss like that, Kennedy Meeks was big on the boards with 14 rebounds.
8. The loss sets up a very important game Tuesday night in Clemson against a better-than-you-think Tiger team. As was just demonstrated in Atlanta, road ACC games are a challenge, and UNC does not want to be sitting at 0-2 in the league before the home opener against NC State.
9. A Georgia Tech team that had been poor offensively outscored Carolina in the paint 30-26 and outscored Carolina from the free throw line 28-10. That's not a commentary on the officiating; it's a commentary on Carolina's aggressiveness (or lack thereof) and the type of shots for which the Tar Heels settled.
