ATLANTA — They couldn’t stop their opponents, couldn’t score, could barely hold onto the ball. They struggled with routine passes, made one good play and two bad ones.
Just another Tuesday for the Tar Heels.
In a season filled with the same repeating story line, North Carolina dropped another conference game by double digits. Tuesday night, it was at Georgia Tech, by a score of 68-51.
“I’m at a loss,” coach Roy Williams said. “I have no idea. Fifteen turnovers in the first half.”
It had all the hallmarks consistent with North Carolina’s 11 other losses.
Turnovers galore? UNC (14-12, 3-8 ACC) had 15 in just the first half and 19 for the game.
Give up a big run early and fall way behind? As if on cue, Georgia Tech went on a 21-3 run in the opening period and closed the first half up 41-21.
The loss is UNC’s eighth in conference play and assures that UNC won’t finish above .500 in the ACC for the first time since 2004.
Less than one week after beating N.C. State and breaking a four-game losing streak, all North Carolina’s symptoms of losing returned.
They strung turnovers together instead of buckets. They lost passes out of bounds, off their own hands. Early in the second half, Larry Drew II threw the ball to John Henson in the post. Henson was turned completely around, and the ball bounced farcically off his head.
Drew was one of the stars of the game against N.C. State but struggled mightily Tuesday with eight turnovers to three assists and only seven points.
“Couldn’t get a shot to go in,” Drew said. “I felt like the shots I was taking were good shots.”
Marcus Ginyard was on a hot streak after struggling most of the season, but he pulled up limp in the first half with a sprained ankle and did not score.
As a whole, the Tar Heels scored only 51 points — their lowest scoring total this season. The Tar Heels managed only 21 points in the first half and shot just 19-of-59 from the field. Deon Thompson led UNC with 17 points.
“The one thing you can correct is playing harder and more intelligently,” Williams said. “But we went down and dribbled it off our foot on a fast break.”
Once again, Henson was one of the few bright spots for UNC. Starting in place of an injured Ed Davis, Henson had 11 points, 10 rebounds and four blocks.
“We were just looking to get on the right track,” Henson said. “I thought we were going to get to do that tonight, but I guess not.”
His enormous athleticism made up for his lack of bulk in the post — sometimes.
But more often than not, it was Georgia Tech’s Gani Lawal, Zach Peacock and Derrick Favors having their way inside. The trio combined for 34 of Tech’s 68 points and 23 rebounds.
“Somehow, some way, I’ve got to get this team more positive about the game of basketball,” Williams said. “Sometimes I think it’s hogwash — we’ve got to play basketball.
Contact the Sports Editor at sports@unc.edu.
