WRAL Sports Fan

North Carolina

Game blog: Heels take 70-58 win over Yellow Jackets

P.J. Hairston (15) looks to pass during the North Carolina Tar Heels vs. Maryland Terrapins NCAA basketball game, Saturday, January 19, 2013 in Chapel Hill, NC.

• Wood, Hairston share ACC weekly honors
• Talking points: Tight finishes, small lineups and a lost rivalry
• Hairston leads UNC over Virginia

Feb 19, 2013

Atlanta — FINAL, 70-58 UNC: James Michael McAdoo ended with 22 points, 11 rebounds and two assists on the night giving the Heels the easy 70-58 win over Georgia Tech.

4:30 second half, 66-44 UNC: The Tar Heels started to roll in the second half against Georgia Tech behind James Michael McAdoo's double-double.

10:15 second half, 55-41 UNC: James Michael McAdoo leads the Tar Heels with 20 points as they are starting to pull away from Georgia Tech in the second half.

16:00 second half, 41-37 UNC: After going 0-7, Georgia Tech finally makes a shot from the line. They have pulled within three of the Tar Heels at the first media timeout of the second half.

Halftime, 36-30 UNC: After pulling a few baskets ahead of the Yellow Jackets, UNC has been able to maintain a short lead over Georgia Tech. James Michael McAdoo has 15 points and nine rebounds to lead the Heels.

5:30 first half, 27-21 UNC: Behind 11 points from James Michael McAdoo the Heels pulled ahead of Georgia Tech, 27-21 with just over five minutes to go in the first half.

8:00 first half, 19-19: Georgia Tech and North Carolina are playing a tight game in the first half. The Tar Heels are shooting just 30% to the Yellow Jackets 45.

13:30 first half, 11-10 UNC: The Tar Heels started slow but charged just ahead of the Yellow Jackets after a PJ Hairston lay-up and free throw.

On Tuesday night the North Carolina Tar Heels and the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets will clash at McCamish Pavilion in an Atlantic Coast Conference matchup.

On Saturday the Tar Heels erupted in the second half to coast past Virginia, 93-81. The win ended a short two-game slide for North Carolina which is having a mediocre season by its normally lofty standards. The Tar Heels are a solid 17-8 overall but have just a 7-5 mark in league play which has them tied with NC State for fourth in the ACC standings. It is that same Wolfpack team that North Carolina will face next in a rematch of a loss for the Tar Heels earlier this season.

A pair of free throws from Robert Carter Jr. with eight seconds left proved to be the deciding factor for Georgia Tech in its 57-56 win over Wake Forest last time out. The Yellow Jackets haven't been able to get in a rhythm in either direction recently as they have traded wins and losses over their last seven games. Georgia Tech owns a 14-10 overall mark but has just a 4-8 record against fellow ACC teams. When at home the Yellow Jackets have 10 wins in 14 tries, but a trip to face Virginia awaits following this bout.

North Carolina already earned a win this season against Georgia Tech when it posted a 79-63 victory at the Dean Smith Center on Jan. 23. The win was the second straight for the Tar Heels who had lost four in a row previously. North Carolina has controlled the series historically with a 62-24 all-time series lead.

Going into halftime the Tar Heels and Cavaliers were knotted 40-40. In the second half though the Tar Heels shot 55.2 percent from the field, knocking down 7-of-11 shots from beyond the arc and making good on 14-of-18 free-throw attempts to distance themselves from the Cavs.

Though wins haven't come as easily as usual, the Tar Heels have still been plenty potent on the offensive end of the floor. North Carolina is among the top 10 teams in the country in points (78.5 pg) and assists (17.6 pg), while also managing to fit in that rarified air in rebounds (41.2 pg). Defensively though the Tar Heels haven't helped themselves by allowing teams to put in 70 points per game. The one-two combination of James Michael McAdoo (14.4 ppg, 8.2 rpg) and Reggie Bullock (14.0 ppg, 5.6 rpg) power the Tar Heels, while P.J. Hairston (13.5 ppg) has been a valuable asset in the backcourt. No other player on the roster is putting in more than eight points per game though Dexter Strickland (7.9 ppg, 3.9 apg) and Marcus Paige (7.4 ppg, 4.2 apg) have made an impact as passers.

There were nine ties and seven lead changes in the battle between Georgia Tech and Wake Forest on Saturday. The Yellow Jackets shot only 39.3 percent from the floor in the game but held the Demon Deacons to just 29.2 percent, while forcing 17 turnovers.

Low-scoring affairs are nothing new for Georgia Tech. The Yellow Jackets are the worst shooting team in the conference (.417) and the second worst in terms of scoring (64.1 pg). However the Yellow Jackets have managed to remain within striking distance most nights by holding foes to 59 points per game on 37.9 percent shooting. Each of those marks is among the 30 best in the country. Georgia Tech controls the boards relatively well by bringing in the third most per game in the league (37.9). Marcus Georges-Hunt (10.6 ppg) serves as the primary scorer for the Yellow Jackets as he is the only player scoring in double figures. Carter (9.8 ppg, 6.8 rpg) has shown flashes of scoring ability, while Mfon Udofia (9.0 ppg) and Kammeon Holsey (9.3 ppg) also hover around double-digit point totals.

When these teams first met this season North Carolina dominated and though the venue will change this time around the result won't.

Sports Network Predicted Outcome: North Carolina 72, Georgia Tech 64