Chapel Hill, NC – The seventh-ranked North Carolina Tar Heels will try to make it 31 in a row at home tonight when they host the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets in an Atlantic Coast Conference battle at the Smith Center.
This will be the 85th meeting in the all-time series. The Tar Heels hold a 60-24 edge in the rivalry despite losing its last four contests with the Yellow Jackets. UNC is 25-6 against Georgia Tech in Chapel Hill.
Head coach Brian Gregory has seen his team drop four straight decisions to arrive at a 8-12 overall record and a 1-5 mark in ACC action. On Tuesday, the Yellow Jackets fell 64-49 to Miami-Florida, which was their eighth loss in nine games. Georgia Tech struggled offensively against the Hurricanes as they shot 35.7 percent from the floor and made only 4-of-15 from three-point range. Georgia Tech has averaged a mere 49.5 ppg in their last four outings.
Glen Rice, Jr. is leading Georgia Tech with 13.6 ppg and 6.6 rpg. The junior wing has averaged 16.0 ppg and 8.5 rpg while connecting on 5-of-13 from beyond the arc in his last two outings. Mfon Udofia is Georgia Tech's second leading scorer as he averages 10.8 ppg. Udofia netted 14 points on 6-of-12 shooting from the floor. Daniel Miller has made an impact on the defensive end of the floor as he leads the team with 2.5 blocks per game.
The Tar Heels are 17-3 after their 74-55 victory over NC State on Thursday. UNC showed off its superb rebounding ability in the contest as it won the battle of the boards 48-21 to help improve its record in league action to 4-1, which places UNC one half game out of first place behind Duke and Florida State. The Tar Heels are the highest scoring team in the nation as they average 84.5 ppg. UNC leads the ACC in average scoring margin, rebounding, assists, and assist-to-turnover ratio. UNC has won a school record 30 straight home games coming into tonight. Head coach Roy Williams has not had a great track record against Georgia Tech as he is 6-8 all-time versus the program.
Harrison Barnes is leading the Tar Heels in scoring with 17.3 ppg. Barnes has been playing very well as of late as he has netted 19 ppg on 50 percent shooting from the field in his last three games. Tyler Zeller and John Henson are a nearly impossible forward tandem to match up with. Zeller is second on the team in scoring (14.7) and rebounding (9.7) after he recorded his fourth- straight double-double of the year with 21 points and 17 rebounds his last time out. Henson is contributing 14.3 ppg and 10.1 rpg. The junior forward has made an impact on the defensive end as he has blocked 11 shots in his last two outings.
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