GREENSBORO – It’s one and done in the ACC Tournament for the North Carolina men’s basketball team.
The formula for UNC’s latest loss – a 62-58 defeat to Georgia Tech (20-11) – was a familiar one. Too many turnovers, too many missed shots and too much inexperience down the stretch.
“It’s extremely disappointing, to say the least, but it’s been that kind of year,” coach Roy Williams said. “The bottom line is we couldn’t make a shot.
“It’s been the kind of year that I’d never imagined, never had to go through and I hope we never have to go through it again.”
The Tar Heels (16-16) couldn’t muster a field goal in the game’s final 5:38, and the team shot just a hair above 33 percent for the entire game.
North Carolina’s starting guards were the main culprits. Sophomore Larry Drew II and junior Will Graves combined to go a frosty 3-for-21 from the field, including a paltry 1-for-12 from the three-point line.
Shooting number like those – along with several untimely turnovers – helped Ga. Tech erase a 10-point halftime deficit in a matter of minutes and hang around with the Tar Heels until the game’s final minutes.
“We had good shots, bad shots, easy shots,” a subdued Drew said afterward. “It just seemed like nothing was going in."
A Graves three-point attempt near the end of the second half summed it UNC’s struggles. The shot rimmed all the way in and out of the basket, denying UNC a chance to get within one possession of the Yellow Jackets with less than two minutes to play.