#12 UNC vs #20 Georgia Tech

Brian Barbour on January 16th, 2010 |

18 comments - (Comments are closed)

Where: Dean Smith Center, Chapel Hill, NC
When: Saturday, January 16th, 2:00 PM
TV: ESPN
Livestats: SCACC Hoops
Records: UNC 12-5, 1-1 ACC; GT 12-4, 1-2 ACC

1. UNC is great in bounce back games.

2. UNC is great at home

3. Georgia Tech is a talented but poorly coached team what is grossly inconsistent as proven by losing to Georgia, beating Duke, then losing to Virginia.

Yeah, that should about cover it since I have no idea what is going to happen on the court with this Tar Heel team. Roy Williams says they have to get better at everything. No argument there from me but I also think for that to be the case Roy has to tinker with the lineup some to get more minutes to players who can make positive contributions.

As for Georgia Tech, the Jackets have talent, especially on the interior. That is bound to offer UNC some trouble and test the thinning frontline that now misses Tyler Zeller. Gani Lawal averages 15.1 ppg and 9.1 rpg. Freshman Derrick Favors also pulls nearly nine boards per game while averaging a tick over 11 ppg. However the player to watch might be Zachary Peacock who, at 6-8 could be one of those matchup issues for the Heels. Peacock is a capable three point shooter having hit 13 of 27 so far this season and 57% overall from the floor. Peacock will be plenty dangerous from anywhere on the court. Georgia Tech also rebounds the ball extremely well which is not a surprise given their interior talent. Of course Georgia Tech is also as turnover happy as UNC can be on average. Iman Shumpert is a decent PG but not overly impressive. The rest of the guard play is likewise underwhelming.

The bottom line for UNC in this season of extremely ragged play defending home court is an extremely high priority. UNC has zero wins in true road games. While no one believes they will go winless on the road, winning the home contests is an absolute must. Since both teams are coming off rather bad losses, both will be motivated to step up. The notable difference is I tend to think Roy Williams with his team at home will be able to get them on track better than Paul Hewitt on the road. Otherwise things might really get dicey and I personally can do without that.

UNC 82 GT 74

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magic rat 83

January 16, 2010 at 8:03 am

The injury bug is a really frustrating thing. Seems many of the injuries,i.e. Ankle and foot, are so nebulous that we don’t know who is going to go down next or how long they will be out. One thing seems consistent… Complain about pain and you will get a battery of tests and something will show up. My experience is when things aren’t going so well, players have lots of complaints. Hard to know. Maybe we will see who wants to man up and who wants to sit and tweet.

unc steph

January 16, 2010 at 8:17 am

I think we win, but it will be a nail biter. I say us by 3.

850inExile aka UNC RAJ

January 16, 2010 at 8:48 am

We better be much more aggressive on the backboards then we have been all year. That, and turnovers, will be the key to the game.

wildhorses

January 16, 2010 at 9:28 am

I’m really interested to see how Ed Davis plays, following his comment that if he had played better, UNC would have won at Clemson. Maybe, just maybe he’s feeling the call to step up to the next level and become more than merely a super-talented player. We need someone with a Hansbrough mentality and so far Strickland has been the only one to show flashes of it. We need it in a big.

dj_joek

January 16, 2010 at 10:31 am

Have the Tar Heels hit bottom and are they ready to climb back up? I want to see some poker chips accumulating in their pockets as evidence of their “sobriety”. Do we have a team that is ready to accept less than it deserves, or a team that will can hold serve and make par, if not overachieve?

Heel To The End

January 16, 2010 at 10:44 am

get serious, Deon..ugh…
from the N&O:

After the game, Thompson said he had trouble getting in position because of the rapid pace.

“I told Deon, respectfully I disagreed,’’ Williams said Friday. “His statement was that the game was so fast-paced and he and Ed were not able to get involved. Well, wasn’t it the same pace for Clemson? And their guys were involved. When we have Deon and Ed and Travis and David [Wear] — for four post guys to not shoot a single free throw, we’re not involved. And their guys shot free throws.

January 16, 2010 at 11:50 am

This is not a must win, but a must show some mental and physical toughness. The tragedy in Haiti certainly puts things into perspective. Please help in anyway you can. Go Heels, Go Haiti.