Georgia Tech closed the last seven minutes of Wednesday’s game with a series of 19-6 to take the lead and give North Carolina its second loss at the conference of the season. Tar heels drop to 5-4. It is the worst start to the season since the beginning of 2001-02, with a 4-5 record.
With a new starting team for the first time this season consisting of RJ Davis, Kerwin Walton, Andrew Platek, Day’Ron Sharpe and Armando Bacot, UNC never lost in the first half. Most of this, however, was credited to the Yellow Jackets, shooting 44% of the ground and 30.8% of three with eight spins. In the second half, Ga. Tech threw 61.5 percent off the ground, 66.7 percent on three and had five losses.
Two Tar Heels ended in double digits. Bacot led the team with 14 points and joined Leaky Black, who made 10 points out of 5 out of 7 shots. UNC had eight trios, the best of the season, thanks to three deep balls by Walton and two by Caleb Love.
Read all post-game comments by UNC head coach Roy Williams below and watch his interview with members of the media here:
Georgia Tech scored 43 points in the second half. What is allowing teams to do these second half scoring runs?
“Okay, it’s not just a second half problem. We’ve been beaten up in the first half. The defensive end of the court has been a problem for us. We didn’t have a turnover like we could in the past and a team shoots 61% – you are not getting spins and they are shooting 61% – so your defense is not very good. You can say that we are playing a lot of freshmen and that they didn’t believe it enough. But the defensive end of the court is the most important thing at this level of college basketball. Everyone has guys who can shoot when they’re not protected, but special teams have guys who can shoot when they’re really protected, and we’re doing a lot of open shots. They make three consecutive possessions … and we didn’t have the proper fights once and we couldn’t get the guy. And so are some breakdowns. The defensive end of the court has been more important to us. In games with a lower score, it should be more important too, because we are not talented enough on the offensive side to make many kicks. We did eight trios tonight. This has been more than we have done, but hitting two in seven on the foul line in the second half does not help. So, there are many things, folks. “
Six points in the final seven minutes. What were some of the problems there?
“Well, we lost some, I don’t remember if it was during the time that we lost some free throws. It may have been before that. But we had an open spot, Garrison lost an open (of) about 10 feet … Armando lost one; he took it off the board and he went around the other side. You know, you interrupt other people’s races by scoring yourself or making defensive stops. And we weren’t able to keep the pressure on them by scoring and we also couldn’t stop. So it wasn’t just our defense, folks. “
Explaining the changes in the initial lineup and the second half in the initial lineup
“I made the decision because of our defensive scores in the North Carolina state game more than anything, but there are many things that influence decisions about who starts and who doesn’t. The most difficult was Garrison, because his defensive score was not as bad as the other two, but at the same time, I try to treat everyone fairly. And in between, I decided to just go with different people. I trust Garrison, but even Garrison has to be kept to a high defensive standard, and Leaky, I think, can be one of the best defensive players in the league and he must be kept to a high defensive standard. And Caleb, too, his defensive score was very bad in the state of North Carolina. And they all ended up playing. I tried to tell them that it really didn’t make much difference who you started with. It doesn’t really matter. I mean, Marvin Williams never started a game for us and we won a national championship and he was the second player chosen in the NBA Draft. Steve Woodbury, from Kansas, never started a game for us in his entire first year and ended up being the second team in the entire conference. So you have to succeed, whether you’re there as a replacement or a beginner. “
I never lost in the first half for the first time since the season opened
“You know, we invested 10 times in the first semester. It’s not like we’re playing well. Georgia Tech helped us with his shooting ability was not as good in the first half as in the second. They inverted it themselves a few times, but we managed to maintain the lead. I wasn’t satisfied with the way we played, but then again, I don’t think the change in the starting lineup has anything to do with being in the lead. We put the ball in a little and made some baskets there, but we managed to play the full game. “
Did the initial line-up change a sudden decision or something you thought about?
“Guys, you need to understand, I have to make a lot of decisions. I didn’t go through the damn press and everything. If you want me to tell you, the defensive grades sucked. They weren’t just bad, they were terrible. And I don’t need to … Well, I decided to start a few different guys. It didn’t matter how much they played. They even played minutes. You watch the state game and tell me if you think we were good defensively.
What is not translating between practice and games?
“Our focus. Again, I will say the focus on the defensive end of the court. Our movement without the ball on the offensive end of the court. And guys who shoot in practice don’t necessarily make them much of a game. And then the head coach is screwing it up.”