GAME INFO:
January 15, 2022
8:00pm pm Tip Off
Dean Smither Center (Capacity: 21,750)
Chapel Hill, NC
TV: ACCN
UNC is given a 90.2% chance to win by ESPN
Records:
UNC: 11-4 (3-1 in ACC)
Georgia Tech: 7-8 (1-4 in ACC)
Last Time Out:
UNC: Beat Virginia 74-58
Georgia Tech: Won at Boston College 81-76
SERIES INFO:
• Carolina is 70-27 against the Yellow Jackets, including 56-25 since Tech joined the ACC.
• The Tar Heels are 30-6 in Chapel Hill, including 25-5 at the Smith Center.
• In the December win in Atlanta, UNC went on a 22-4 run after trailing 39-38 early in the second half.
• Carolina improved to 17-13 in Tech's home arena, including 5-2 in McCamish Pavilion since it was renovated prior to the 2013 season.
• It was Carolina's 10th win in the last 13 games against the Yellow Jackets.
• The Yellow Jackets won, 96-83, on 1/4/2020 in the most recent meeting in the Smith Center.
LAST MEETING:
RJ Davis scored a game-high 23 points, Armando Bacot had 15 points and 13 rebounds
UNC made 10 of 17 three-pointers
Shot a season-best 54.6% from the floor in a 79-62 win over the Yellow Jackets in Atlanta on December 5 in the league opener for both teams.
Love had 17, 3-5 from 3,
Love and Davis combined for 10 assists and 4 turnovers
Manek had 15 points, 3-6 from 3
Leaky and Harris held Devoe to 15 points on 6-13 shooting, 1-5 from 3
BACOT IS BALLIN’
• Bacot set career highs in points (29), field goals (12), offensive (9) and total rebounds (22) in UNC's win over Virginia.
• Bacot was named the ACC Player of the Week for Jan. 3-9 for his play against Virginia and Notre Dame (game highs with 21 points and 17 rebounds). It was his first ACC Player-of-the-Week award and the first by a Tar Heel since Cole Anthony's 34-point debut against Notre Dame in November 2019.
• Bacot is one of three players in college basketball in the top 10 in the country in double-doubles (third with 11), rebounding (fifth with 11.2 per game) and field goal percentage (eighth at .642).
• Bacot leads the ACC in double-doubles, field goal shooting and rebounding. The last player to lead the ACC in those three categories in the same season was Duke's Marvin Bagley in 2018. No Tar Heel has ever led the league in those categories in the same season.
• Bacot is leading Carolina in scoring (16.6), rebounding, field goal percentage and blocks (23). He also led UNC in those categories last season. No Tar Heel has ever led those four categories in consecutive seasons.
• Bacot's 11.2 rebounds per game are on pace for the highest average by a Tar Heel since Mitch Kupchak grabbed 11.3 per game in 1975-76.
• Bacot's 29-point/22-rebound performance against Virginia was his sixth straight double-double and 11th in 15 games. It equals the eighth-longest stretch of consecutive double-doubles by a Tar Heel (Kupchak and Sean May are tied for sixth at eight straight).
• Over the last six games Bacot has scored 120 points, grabbed 82 rebounds and shot 66.2% from the floor. He's the only Tar Heel ever to do that in any six-game stretch.
Team Leaders
Points:
UNC: Bacot (16.6 PPG)
Georgia Tech: M. Devoe (20.5 PPG)
Rebounds:
UNC: Bacot (11.1)
Georgia Tech: J. Usher (7.2)
Assists:
UNC: Davis (3.6)
Georgia Tech: M. Devoe (3.2)
Virginia Notes
Armando Bacot had 29 points on 12-18 shooting, 5-7 FT, 22 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 TO, 1 block
Brady Manek had 19 points on 7-13 shooting, 5-9 from 3, 4 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 TOs, 1 block
Caleb Love had 16 points on 6-13 shooting, 4-9 from 3, 3 rebounds, 5 assists, 1 TO, 2 steals
Anthony Harris had 5 points on 2-2 shooting, 1-1 from 3, 1 assist, 1 TO, 1 steal
TEAM STATS:
47.5% FG (28-59)
44% 3PT (11-25)
63.6% FT (7-11)
36 rebounds
19 assists
9 turnovers
4 blocks
4 steals
I don't think anyone would have called the absolute beat down the Heels gave Virginia on Saturday, the largest lead at one point was 25, but man was it fun to watch. I had to catch a game before I headed back to West Virginia for another semester of PA school. Let me get sentimental for a moment and then I will get to the recap. Chapel Hill has always held a special place in my heart. My parents met there, were there in ‘82 when they won a national championship, and graduated from there. My brother was a freshman in ‘09 when they won another national championship and graduated from there. My sister and I were there in 2017 when Roy Williams got his 3rd and final National championship and then graduated in 2018. I spent my childhood going to games and then did my fair share of partying on Franklin street for victories over Duke and the national championship. You never know how much you love a place until you are forced to leave it. I now go to a school that's whole campus might be the size of the quad at UNC. UNC is truly a beautiful campus and the smith center is one of iconic basketball venues in the country, so I encourage every Tar Heel to visit at least once.
UNC seemed in control of this game from the jump, even though they didn’t really pour it on until the second half. Bacot nearly had a double double again in the 1st half with 12 points and 8 rebounds. Love had 10 points on a couple of 3 pointers and 3 assists and no turnovers. Bacot stated after the game that after the loss to Notre Dame he was upset and wanted to give the fans Carolina basketball, something from the Coach Williams or Smith era. Well Bacot certainly did that, finishing with 29 points and 21 rebounds. He is only the second player to post at 20 rebounds in the smith center. The other person being his mentor, Sean May. Bacot is the first Tar Heel since Brice Johnson against FSU in 2016 to post a 20/20 game and the first player to post a 20/20 game against UVA since Tim Duncan in 1997. UVA simply had no answer for the big man. With each rebound I watched the stats tick up on one of the video boards in the smith and was almost a little upset when someone else had the audacity to grab a rebound. I knew I was watching a historic performance. After Brady Manek’s behind the head pass that led to a Bacot dunk and his 29th point, I was hoping it would eclipse the 30 mark but it wasn't to be. Bacot credited Manek’s 3 point shooting in helping to achieve his historic night by allowing him more space to operate in the post. Manek finished with 19 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists and went 5-9 from 3. I really like the offensive chemistry between Manek and Bacot, despite Manek’s defensive deficiencies, I hope he continues to start. The 2 of them clearly work better together than Garcia and it gives more experience to the starting line up as Manek is a grad student and Garcia is a sophomore. Love really caught fire in the game and made much better decisions passing the basketball. He finished with 16 points, 5 assists, only 1 turnover and 4-9 from 3. He played much better defense now leading the team with 1.4 steals per game. He does take a couple of possessions off from time to time and I would like to see that corrected. This was a blow out, in closer games that can't happen. Rj Davis didn't have a terrific game offensively, only scoring 5 points, but he handed out 4 assists. He had a couple of good, hard, aggressive drives to the basket but didn't finish or had his shot blocked. It is clear that he plays more of the point guard role, as he is the one bringing the ball up the court a majority of the time. He is much more of a slasher than love, who seems to do most of his work on the outside. Anthony Harris quietly had a good game, despite only having 5 points, he made both of his field goal attempts. He has shown a willingness to drive the lane and the confidence to shoot the basketball. Harris’s staple is defense but if his offense continues to improve it could be a nice boost. This was probably the most complete game the Heels have played all season. It was “Carolina basketball”. The problem with this team is that they show that they are capable of playing this way, but for whatever reason, don't do it every game. It's frustrating to watch and with each good performance, we as fans are hoping that this is the turning point. Difficult stretch coming up with away games against Miami, who just beat Duke in Durham, and Wake Forest. I guess we will find out whether this team has truly turned the page or whether we are left with more inconsistency.
The Heels are set to welcome the Yellow Jackets to the Smith Center on Saturday night. This will be the second meeting between the two teams. The Heels opened up their ACC schedule in Atlanta against the Yellow Jackets in January. It led to a convincing double digit win. The combination of Black and Harris were able to limit Devoe to just 15 points in a game where he never really got comfortable. Love and Davis shined. Bacot and Manek were also in double figures. Garcia didn’t have a great game the first go around and with his availability still being in question it’s good to know we can handle the Jackets without him.
Georgia Tech is 2-5 since playing us. They had lost 3 straight before their win Wednesday night over Boston College. The only other win during that span was an overtime win against Georgia State.
The Jackets are led by Devoe and Usher. Devoe leads the team in points per game, assists per game and minutes per game. Usher leads the team in rebounds. The team goes as they go. Usher was listed as a guard in the first meeting but has since moved down to the post with the injury to Howard. The 6’10” junior is out with an ankle injury and this makes Georgia Tech extremely small. Coleman has been inserted into the starting lineup because of it leaving their tallest starter at 6’7”. Gigiberia is their tallest player at 7’1” but he doesn’t see significant minutes. Their rotation is as follows:
STARTERS:
J Usher F (Senior 6-7)
K. Moore F (Senior 6-7)
M Devoe G (Senior 6-5)
K Sturdivant G (Junior 6-2)
D Coleman G (Freshman 6-6)
BENCH:
S. Gigiberia C (Sophomore 7-1)
M. Kelly G (Freshman 6-5)
D. Smith G (Sophomore 6-1)
J. Moore F (Freshman 6-6)
J. Meka F (Sophomore 6-8)
T. Maxwell (Sophomore 6-2)
The highlighted players are the guys that came off the bench in the first matchup. The Jackets have a 8-9 man rotation, but the 9th man sees very few minutes. Their starting lineup stays experienced as Coleman is the only freshman in the lineup. The bench is inexperienced with all underclassmen.
Coleman had 13 against us in the first matchup and had 13 in the Jacket’s win over Boston College. He has been a steady presence with 4 double digit games. A player to note though is Tristan Maxwell. He exploded for 22 points against Boston College. He was 7-11 from 3. He didn’t play against us in the first game, and has only seen action in 3 games. Given his previous performance I would guess he would see playing time in this game.
As mentioned above this team is led by Devoe and Usher. Devoe has reached double figures in every game but one. Usher is close behind with 12 double figure games. Sturdivant and Coleman have each contributed four. Moore has two. Smith and Maxwell have one.
Devoe leads the team in minutes at 35.8 a game. Usher is the other player over 30 with 33.5. 6 players average over 20 minutes (Sturdivant, Coleman, Howard, Moore, Smith and Parham), but Howard has been ruled out and Parham has only played in 2 games. 3 players averaged between 10-20 minutes (Maxwell, Kelly, Meka), but Maxwell has only see action in 3 games. Gigiberia averages 7.3 minutes a game.
Devoe has cooled off a little from 3 since the last time we played the Jackets. Devoe was shooting 59% from 3 before the first concert, but he now sits at 41.4%. That’s still a pretty high percentage. You still can’t play off of him. Sample size wise Coleman is the next biggest threat at 47.6%. He has gone 20-42 from behind the arc so far this season. Maxwell shoots at a higher percentage at 50% but has significantly less attempts. He is 7-14 from behind the arc. Sturdivant is the only other guard worth mentioning at 36.7%. Usher presents a bigger matchup problem in this matchup than the last. Usher has moved down into the post to replace the injured Howard. He shoots 36.4% from 3 with 55 attempts on the year. He is a threat to pull up from behind the arc. His move to the post leaves one of our big guys to guard him. I would go with Bacot getting this assignment since he is a little quicker than Manek. I would imagine Manek starts no matter if Garcia is available and he will probably pick up Moore. Black did such a good job on Devoe in the first matchup that he most likely earned himself this assignment for the second time. RJ Davis most likely gets Sturdivant which is another matchup where Davis is undersized. Davis needs to play up on him and make sure he can’t get up shoots over him. Same goes for Love who most likely gets the matchup on Coleman. He is giving up a few inches, but Love has the ability to lock down anyone when he feels like playing defense.
Georgia Tech likes to score in the paint, but they are doing it more on drives than passes into the post. We have to stop dribble penetration to prevent kick outs to open guards. Devoe, Coleman and a recently hot Maxwell have all shown the ability to light it up from behind the arc. We can’t give them easy, open looks. Usher could present some problems as mentioned above. Don’t be surprised if Justin Mckoy gets the assignment on him when he is in the game. Mckoy is quicker than both Bacot and Manek and is lengthy. He has the ability to really bother Usher if he can keep him in front of him. Harris will play a big role in this game like he did in the first. Him and Black combined to shut down Devoe and Hubert will be counting on big defensive contributions from Harris who has quietly had a really good season up to this point.
I have been saying this a lot recently, but this is once again a chance for Bacot to have a big game against an extremely undersized team as long as he doesn’t get into foul trouble on the defensive end. Bacot could have a repeat UVA performance. The guards need to feed him in the post every possession. Again, don’t get bored with easy.
The chemistry between Manek and Bacot has really been on display recently. This is probably directly related to Garcia being out. You saw it some at the beginning of the year, but it’s like it didn’t have a chance to really shine because of the number of different lineups in the post. The best lineup is by far Bacot and Manek and I think that is pretty obvious now. It’s nice that those two have been able to step up with Garcia missing and it will only make us a better team when we do get him back. We will desperately need him the next couple of weeks with the ACC shuffling around our schedule. We have 5 games in 11 days starting with an away game against Miami on the 18th followed by another away game in Winston Salem. Those are big games. Those will be tough games. Even more reason to put the Jackets away, so Hubert can go deeper into his rotation.
Contain Devoe, limit turnovers, and feed the post. If the Heels do that they will be 4-1 in conference play.
THINGS TO WATCH:
Rotation (The rotation is pretty much set. Garcia and Walton’s availability are in question at the time that I am writing this, but it seems more likely to get Walton back than Garcia. You can’t mess around with your brain. If Garcia can’t go, how much playing time does Mckoy get?)
Limiting Devoe (Mama it’s that man again. But it’s pretty much the name of the game against Georgia Tech. Boston College did a decent job of limiting him, but Maxwell went off (a guy that has only played in 3 games). If Maxwell doesn’t go off, they lose. Expect Black and Harris to split the assignment again unless one of them just falls flat. If that happens I would expect Love to get a shot at him.)
100% Caleb Love (Love is as good a player as any if he decides to show up. 100% Caleb Love is a damn good player. 50% Caleb Love doesn’t cut it. Love needs to show up for each and every game. He had a good game against Tech in the first matchup. Do we get that same Love this game?)
Ballin’ Bacot (You probably read the section at the beginning of the article. Bacot is dominating right now. This game should be another big game for the Junior, but our guards still need to feed the post often.)
Effort. Energy. Toughness (The UVA game was a complete performance against a well coached team. When Carolina plays up to their potential they are a very solid basketball team. When they don’t, anyone in the ACC can beat them. Can we put together two games of Carolina basketball or do we fall flat again?)
As always check out my clothing brand, Fishing Dog Outfitters, at fishingdogoutfitters.com
Comments