Defense is Georgia Tech's hope vs. No. 9 North Carolina
Georgia Tech's gritty defense will be tested by another high-powered attack when No. 9 North Carolina visits on Tuesday night.
The Yellow Jackets (11-9, 3-4 ACC) hope to carry the momentum they gained from a solid effort against Duke on Saturday. Georgia Tech hung with the No. 2 Blue Devils for 30 minutes before succumbing to turnovers and foul trouble before losing 66-53.
Coach Josh Pastner knows the only way his club can challenge the Tar Heels is to continue its high level of defense.
"Our DNA has been our defense," Pastner said.
"We've got to defend at a high level. I thought we were able to execute our game plan for the most part. It was unfortunate we had some turnovers and they had their big run. I'm proud of our guys. Who we are and what we are is our defense."
The defense was good enough to beat most teams ... but most opponents don't have four McDonald's All-Americans in their lineup. Still, Georgia Tech held Duke to its lowest point total of the season. The Blue Devils shot 41.4 percent from the field and was only 2 of 21 on 3-pointers.
There were two main problems: turnovers and foul trouble.
Georgia Tech committed 19 turnovers, which led to 24 Duke points. By comparison, Tech scored nine points off 13 Duke turnovers. Tech guards Jose Alvarado and Michael Devoe each had five turnovers.
"We've got to do a better job taking care of the basketball," Pastner said.
The foul trouble hindered Georgia Tech on both ends of the court. James Banks III and Abdoulaye Gueye picked up three fouls in the first half and wound up fouling out. Gueye, in his second game back from missing two contests with an undisclosed injury, had 14 points and eight rebounds.
North Carolina (15-4, 5-1) has been an offensive juggernaut this season. The Tar Heels average an ACC-leading 88.1 points, with Cameron Johnson (15.4), Coby White (14.9) and Luke Maye (14.4) leading the way.
But the Tar Heels have improved defensively, too.
In their last game, a 103-82 win over then-No. 10 Virginia Tech, North Carolina used a 20-0 late in the first half to take control.
"I think (it was) us on defense," freshman Nassir Little said. "I think the bigs really came in and really lifted things up. I came in and I think I really brought a lot of energy to the team and got a seal on the dunk. I think from then we kind of kept rolling and things got bigger."
North Carolina will be a handful for Georgia Tech, which has the third-best scoring defense in the conference (63.6 points per game). Georgia Tech's zone has been difficult for the opposition, with the Yellow Jackets allowing only 38.5 percent shooting from the field and 26.5 percent on 3-pointers.
North Carolina leads the all-time series 68-25 and hammered the Yellow Jackets 80-66 a year ago. Georgia Tech stunned the Tar Heels 75-63 in their last meeting in Atlanta in the 2016-17 season. North Carolina was ranked No. 9 at the time, just like this week.
--Field Level Media
