#19 UNC Squares Off Against Georgia Tech in its Final Regular-Season Road Game

Matchup:     #19 North Carolina (20-9, 10-6 ACC)
                                               vs
                     Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (12-17, 3-14 ACC)

Date/Time:  Tuesday, March 3, 2015 @ 7:00pm EST
Location:      McCamish Pavilion in Atlanta, GA
TV/Radio:    ESPNU or ESPN3 / Tar Heel Sports Network


Only 11 days have passed since North Carolina thumped Georgia Tech, 89-60, in Chapel Hill and, on Tuesday evening, Carolina looks to do more of the same in its last regular-season road game.  The 19th-ranked Heels travel down I-85 to Atlanta and face a Yellow Jackets team that has been one of the most unluckiest teams in college basketball this season.  UNC (20-9, 10-6 ACC) comes into the game tonight sitting in fifth-place in the Atlantic Coast Conference standings, one game behind Louisville, and seeking another road victory that would help propel them into the top-four of the league.  A win over the Yellow Jackets would give Carolina its first back-to-back victories since late January when the Heels beat Florida State and Syracuse and provide even more confidence heading into the season-finale with archrival Dook and then into the ACC Tournament held in Greensboro.  Georgia Tech (12-17, 3-14) continues to play hard for a celebratory moment in its season as this year has been defined strictly as heartbreak and bad luck.  The Yellow Jackets have suffered back-breaking losses all year long, 12 of the team's 14 defeats have been by a total of 45 points, all twelve were within single-digits (the 29-point losses to Virginia and UNC are not the norm).  Even with a 12-17 record, Georgia Tech is 81st in the KenPom rankings (just five behind Pittsburgh) and only Florida (#45) ranks higher as a team with a losing record.

Two weeks ago, the Tar Heels played probably the most complete basketball game of the season in the annihilation of the Yellow Jackets in the Dean Dome.  The Heels were clicking on all cylinders that day after coming off a thrilling overtime contest versus Dook and Carolina will need all of those cylinders to be fully functioning, once again, to defeat a hungry Yellow Jackets team on their Senior Night.  In the last contest between the two, UNC used a balanced scoring attack to dismantle Georgia Tech.  Six Tar Heels scored in double figures led by Kennedy Meeks' and Brice Johnson's scoring efforts of 18 and 16, respectively.  Carolina should not turn away from its bread and butter Tuesday night and needs to continue to pound the ball inside where Meeks, Johnson, Isaiah Hicks, and Joel James can do some damage.  The inside game has been a sparkling piece of the puzzle this season for the Heels as UNC has performed very efficiently in the paint.  Meeks and Johnson are shooting above 58% from the field for the season and Hicks is averaging over-51% giving the Tar Heels a lift downlow that is definitely needed.  Johnson turned up the heat Saturday on the road versus Miami by scoring 22 points on 11-of-15 shooting.  He must continue that hot streak while Meeks will need to bring more effort and energy to bounce back from a 4 points on 2-of-5 shooting performance in that same Miami game.  Carolina has not shown itself to be a perimeter-threat this season as the Heels have only made 129 three-pointers (33.2%) compared to its opponents 192, so it has and will be imperative for the Tar Heels to get the load of their points from the big men.  With Meeks and Johnson both averaging over 12.5 pts a game, this 1-2 punch is primed to deal a striking blow to the less-stingy defense of the Jackets.

The Yellow Jackets have not had much luck stopping the opposition.  Georgia Tech's opponents have shot an average of 43.6 % from the field (2-pointers) which signals that the interior defense has not been as strong as the boys from Atlanta would have hoped for.  However, Coach Brian Gregory's team still does many things really well.  One of those being rebounding.  The Yellow Jackets rank 15th nationally in rebound margin (+7.2) and 12th in offensive rebounds per game (14.1) and can hold their own against a Carolina team that loves to do the same thing.  Georgia Tech averages 38.1 rebounds a contest to Carolina's 42.2 and the Heels just barely sneak past the Jackets with 14.6 offensive boards a game.  Charles Mitchell has led the Yellow Jackets all season in this category by averaging 6.9 boards a game and also racking up 98 offensive rebounds alone.  To put this in perspective, Mitchell has 24 more offensive rebounds than the Tar Heels leading offensive rebounder, Meeks.  Carolina must keep Mitchell and senior Demarco Cox off the boards to effectively take down Georgia Tech.  The work on the glass will be a key to the game for both teams.  Whichever squad can win the battle of the boards will be a telling sign of which way this contest will go.

The Yellow Jackets' scoring attack has not changed in the eleven days since the last meeting.  Marcus Georges-Hunt leads the way with 14.0 ppg while also pulling down 5.7 rpg.  In the last game versus Carolina, Georges-Hunt scored 15 points but was not a huge factor in the game, grabbing only two rebounds and dishing out one assist in the blow-out loss.  Georges-Hunt has scored in double-digits for 11 straight games, including a 20-point, 9-rebound, 6-assist effort against Clemson this past weekend.  Georgia Tech's success will lie heavily on the offensive shoulders of Georges-Hunt and, if the Heels can subdue his output again, Carolina should be looking a win squarely in the eyes.

Marcus Paige and J.P. Tokoto had outstanding games against Georgia Tech last time out.  Paige dished out 10 assists and became the first Heel since Dexter Strickland to have a points-assist double-double.  Tokoto used his athleticism and explosiveness at the rim to stuff the stat sheet once again.  I bring this up because I believe the Heels need this to be more of the norm each and every game.  Consistently, the Heels just have not been as crisp this year.  An inconsistent level of effort has existed for most of the season and, heading into tournament time, the Heels would like to squash that giant bug.  When Paige and Tokoto have exceptional games, the energy of the team seems to rise and the level of play is exceedingly better.  Yes, Meeks and Johnson usually still are able to score and dominate in the paint, but its the energy that Paige and Tokoto can bring to the table that will set the Heels apart from the rest of the competition.  Paige leads the Heels in scoring, averaging 13.4 ppg and he and Tokoto have combined for 249 assists this season.  Even with these statistics, there have been times where both players have not quite lived up to what is expected.  Paige has suffered through a foot injury all season and Tokoto has been susceptible to some up-and-down play, but right now is when this duo needs to shine...and shine bright to lead the Heels on a deep post-season run.

Carolina leads the all-time series with the Yellow Jackets, 65-24, with an advantage of 51-22 since Georgia Tech joined the ACC.  However, the Heels have had their issues with the Jackets on the road.  Carolina is only 20-13 against GA Tech in Atlanta, losing five of its last eight road games against the Jackets.  Roy Williams is 11-8 against Georgia Tech as Carolina's head coach, he is 8-1 in Chapel Hill but 3-4 in Atlanta and 0-3 against the Jackets in the ACC Tournament.  Tonight, Williams is searching for his 745th career head coaching victory (16th all-time).  Carolina has won the last five meetings overall versus Georgia Tech, and the Yellow Jackets won four in a row over the Heels before that for its longest winning streak of the series.  Brian Gregory is 1-5 against Carolina all-time with his lone victory coming as head coach of Dayton when the Flyers beat the Heels in the 2010 NIT Championship game.