North Carolina Tar Heels Snuff Out Georgia Tech

The North Carolina Tar Heels (13-2, 2-0 ACC) are off to a 2-0 start in ACC conference play after dispatching the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (10-4, 0-1 ACC) 86-78 in Chapel Hill.

The Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets were up for the challenge early in the contest and took a 42-39 lead into the locker room.

However, the Tar Heels simply had too many playmakers in the end, and when Joel Berry was able to drain a trey with 5:07 left in the contest, the Yellow Jackets could not find a way to overcome the momentum that was built.

The Tar Heels finished the game with six people in double-figures with Joel Berry leading the way with 19 points, five rebounds and four assists.

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Brice Johnson logged a double-double with 15 points and 11 rebounds to anchor the UNC interior before fouling out, and Marcus Paige added 13 points on 5 of 10 shooting from the floor.

Marcus Georges-Hunt led the way for Georgia Tech with a huge 25 points and six boards, with Adam Smith bringing 20 points on 7 of 15 shooting to the stat sheet.

It is very apparent that the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets are an improved club, but the North Carolina Tar Heels just have more knowledge on how to win games of this nature than the Yellow Jackets at the end of the day.

Here are the takeaways from this game.

Isaiah Hicks has Great Hands and can Finish Around the rim Very Well

North Carolina reserve forward Isaiah Hicks had a very strong game against the Yellow Jackets tallying 12 points, four rebounds and two blocks in the contest.

What made his contribution stand out was the pass receiving skills that he showed in this game.

There were occasions where Joel Berry and Marcus Paige were threading the needle to get Hicks the ball in high percentage areas, and Hicks showed the concentration and soft hands to reel in the pass and put the ball up for buckets.

North Carolina Tar Heels /

North Carolina Tar Heels

Hicks was 5 of 7 from the floor for the game and he looked impressive doing it.

This is why the Tar Heels are going to be the most dangerous team in the nation going into March.

With Kennedy Meeks sitting out with a bruised foot, it gives players like Isaiah Hicks an opportunity to get big minutes and make contributions like he made today.

Hicks bringing 12 points in 27 minutes of work is nice, and goes to show the type of productive depth that the North Carolina Tar Heels are going to punish people with as the season progresses.

Adam Smith is a Difference Maker for Georgia Tech

For people who follow Georgia Tech basketball closely, there is a noticeable difference in how the Yellow Jackets are operating on the floor.

A big reason for the difference in play for Brian Gregory’s crew is the contribution of senior guard Adam Smith.

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The transfer from Virginia Tech has brought the one thing that the Yellow Jackets were lacking from last season which is a clutch gene.

Smith seems to be able to hit big shots when the Yellow Jackets need them the most, and he did it a couple times during this game before the Yellow Jackets eventually succumbed to the North Carolina Tar Heels depth and talent.

Smith played big for Georgia Tech chipping in 20 points and knocking down 6 of 10 three-pointers in the game.

His three-point accuracy is going to get the Yellow Jackets a few wins this season that they did not get last season because of lacking a marksman from deep.

Adam Smith is a huge difference maker for Georgia Tech and will be critical to the success of the Yellow Jackets in conference play.

North Carolina Still is the King of the Backboards

In the end North Carolina was able to get this win because they created turnovers and, as usual, were able to win the rebounding battle.

North Carolina shot 50.8% from the field for the contest mostly because they were able to get interior buckets off the pass and off the glass.

UNC was horrid on their home floor from beyond the arc knocking down 2 of 12 from deep.

Of course the differential in free throws also helped in the win with Georgia Tech hitting 15 of 19 from the charity stripe as compared to North Carolina’s 24 of 29.

Next: Games of Interest for January 2, 2016

But you can’t have that differential without having more possessions. North Carolina was able to win the battle of the boards 35-28 over Georgia Tech, who is a good rebounding team.

North Carolina finished defensive stops with defensive boards to the tune of 28-20.

As long as North Carolina is owning the boards, they will collect a whole lot of wins — period!

North Carolina Tar Heels: Takeaways From Victory over Georgia Tech

By James Fitzgerald | Jan 2, 2016

North Carolina Tar Heels

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