Nov 25, 2024; Lahaina, Hawaii, USA; North Carolina Tar Heels guard RJ Davis (4) dribbles in opposition to Dayton Flyers guard Enoch Cheeks (6) in the course of the first half of an NCAA school basketball recreation at Lahaina Civic Heart. Obligatory Credit score: Marco Garcia-Imagn Photos A pair of groups trying to get on monitor will sq. off in an early-season Atlantic Coast Convention battle on Saturday afternoon when No. 20 North Carolina hosts Georgia Tech in Chapel Hill, N.C.
Sitting at 4-4, the reigning ACC regular-season champion Tar Heels are in unfamiliar territory. Since mounting a 21-point comeback to beat Dayton in its Maui Invitational opener on Nov. 25, North Carolina has dropped three straight, solidifying its worst begin to a season because it went 3-5 in 2001-02 — a marketing campaign that noticed the Tar Heels go 8-20.
Final day trip, North Carolina was dominated at dwelling by No. 10 Alabama, falling 94-79 on Wednesday. After a pair of Seth Trimble free throws to start out the sport, the Tar Heels took their first and solely lead earlier than taking pictures simply 5-for-28 (17.9 %) on 3-pointers.
“I feel (Alabama) felt us the primary two, three minutes of the sport,” North Carolina coach Hubert Davis stated. “I felt like we had a defensive presence, a bodily presence on the ball, our communication was actually good, and from there it simply dropped. This group has proven flashes of enjoying on the degree that’s required in an effort to achieve success, however the subsequent step ahead is to play a full 40 minutes on either side of the ball. We have to be prepared to try this at 2 o’clock on Saturday.”
RJ Davis, a first-team preseason All-American, leads the workforce with a median of 18.4 factors per recreation however shot simply 7-for-24 from the sector and 1-for-11 from lengthy vary on Wednesday. Freshman Ian Jackson offered a spark within the loss, chipping in a career- and team-high 23 factors off the bench.
Hoping to salvage the week with a robust begin to ACC play, North Carolina welcomes a Georgia Tech workforce that is coming off the same disappointment.
The Yellow Jackets (4-4) jumped to a 17-6 lead over No. 21 Oklahoma on Tuesday. The Sooners whittled their deficit to 6 earlier than Luke O’Brien’s 3-pointer on the 4:03 mark of the primary half gave the Yellow Jackets a nine-point cushion. From there, Georgia Tech did not see one other made discipline objective till Duncan Powell’s dunk with 12:22 left within the second half.
The Yellow Jackets, who had been with out starters Javian McCollum (concussion) and Kowacie Reeves Jr. (foot), had been outscored 46-27 within the second half en path to a 76-61 loss.
“I believed we did a great job of containing Oklahoma within the first half,” Georgia Tech coach Damon Stoudamire stated. “My workforce fought arduous, and I am happy with them for that. … You must determine it out on the run. No person’s going to really feel sorry for you; they do not care when you’ve got accidents. We have simply bought to determine some methods to get by this tough patch.”
Lance Terry’s common of 14.6 factors per recreation leads the Yellow Jackets, whereas McCollum and Baye Ndongo are at 12.8 apiece. Stoudamire stated McCollum may very well be out one other week in concussion protocol.
–Area Degree Media