Georgia Tech defeated the Tar Heels of North Carolina for the fourth consecutive time in front of a divided crowd at Alexander Memorial Coliseum. Iman Shumpert and Glen Rice Jr. equaled career highs while also holding North Carolina to its second lowest scoring output during the Roy Williams era.
Tech jumped out to an early lead before a late Carolina run closed the deficit to one at the half 33-32. The Yellow Jackets took control of the game as the second half started and never relented. Shumpert led all scorers with 30 points. Rice Jr totaled 24 points including four three point baskets.
Offensive superlatives aside, the difference in this game was the intensity that the Yellow Jackets played with on the defensive side of the ball. From the opening tip, the Tar Heels were bothered by Tech's ball pressure and the Yellow Jackets never relented. That pressure forced Carolina into 18 turnovers which Tech was able to capitalize on. The much smaller Yellow Jackets also held their own on the backboard winning the rebounding battle 37-35.
Freshman Harrison Barnes and John Henson led the Tar Heels with 11 points each. Barnes was just 3-13 from the floor in the game and never really got going offensively. Leslie McDonald added 10 points for the Tar Heels. The Yellow Jackets limited Carolina leading scorer Tyler Zeller to just nine points on the night.
The win gives Georgia Tech its first conference victory and couldn't have come at a better time as it snapped a three game losing streak. The Yellow Jackets are now 8-8 overall on the season.
The loss is the first in conference for North Carolina and drops them a half game behind Duke, Florida State, and Boston College who are all tied for the conference lead with 3-1 records.
For more coverage of this game be sure and check out From the Rumble Seat.