By Adam Lucas
1. Carolina got a sizable road win by beating Georgia Tech, 91-75, in frigid Atlanta.
2. Fittingly, Caleb Wilson broke a pair of Tar Heel freshman records in his hometown. His 22 points were his 15th 20-point game as a rookie, breaking a tie with Tyler Hansbrough. And he also now has double-figure points in the first 21 games of his UNC career, which sets the school record.
3. As has been the case for most of the year, it was Henri Veesaar who was the other consistent offensive presence. The big man had another double-double, this time scoring 20 points to go with his 12 rebounds. Seth Trimble also contributed 18 points
4. With that post duo playing so well, you might have liked the Tar Heels to be a little more stubborn about getting the ball inside to them. Twenty-eight of Carolina’s first 64 shot attempts were three-pointers, and the Heels made only seven of those. By per-game average, Carolina has both attempted and made the most three-pointers in school history this season. If they’d knocked in a couple of open trifectas created by very good ball movement on Saturday, the margin of victory would have been even steeper. The Heels shot 31 three-pointers in the game and made eight (three by Luka Bogavac).
5. Georgia Tech’s double-teaming of Wilson held him scoreless for the first 12 minutes of the game. The magic eventually wore off, as Wilson scored 14 points in the final 7:45 of the first half.
6. Those 14 first half points included perhaps the highlight reel play of the year, a Kyan Evans lob to the freshman that looked ticketed for the third row of the McCamish Pavilion stands until Wilson soared into the air to slam it through one-handed. Vince Carter had a play here almost 30 years ago that ended up on the cover of Sports Illustrated (back when that was meaningful). Wilson’s dunk was that type of jaw-dropping play.
7. Carolina continues to be very efficient with the basketball. The Tar Heels committed only two turnovers in the game (a season low and matching a program low), even as Tech tried to vary their looks and apply some occasional pressure. The Heels had an 18-0 edge in points off turnovers and lead that category 37-2 in the last two games.
8. It’s true that he still occasionally takes some bad shots. But it’s also true that Luka Bogavac is turning into the type of instant offense Carolina wanted when it brought him to Chapel Hill from Montenegro. Bogavac started ACC play in a bad shooting slump, but scored 16 points on Saturday and now has two straight double-figure scoring games for the first time since before Christmas. Although Jaydon Young has moved into the starting lineup, it’s Bogavac who played starter minutes. He played 26 against Tech, and it’s pretty simple–when he’s making shots, he’ll play more minutes.
9. It would have been fantastic news if someone had told you before the game UNC was going to hit over 90 percent from the free throw line. They’ve had some recent struggles in that category, and 90 percent is good no matter what. But in a game with very few whistles (just six combined fouls were called in the first half), the Heels attempted just 12 charity tosses, sinking 11.
10. Good adjustment by Carolina to the conditions at McCamish. The building features a dramatically sloped hallway that leads up to the visiting locker room. But instead of making that trek at halftime, the Heels simply held their halftime meeting in what was essentially a closet at the base of the slope. Work smarter, not harder.
11. As always in Atlanta, the Tar Heels had a healthy representation of fans in a game billed as a sellout. Those fans included Mitch Kupchak and Kenny Smith among other UNC lettermen. Tyler Hansbrough was on the call for the Tar Heel Sports Network, and with Dennis Scott on the ESPN call and Mark Price honored during a timeout, that’s five of the greatest players in the history of these programs.
12. The victory was Carolina’s fifth in the last six games against Georgia Tech and improved the UNC record on the road against the Jackets to 24-16. Carolina hasn’t played a game against a ranked Georgia Tech team in Atlanta since 2004. That’s a pretty incredible drought for a program that had some big-time showdowns with Carolina in the 1980s and 1990s.
13. The Heels will now make an effort to get through the weather and practice tomorrow before hosting Syracuse Monday in the first quick ACC turnaround matchup of the season.
