An already shaky season hit a new low on Saturday night at the Dean Dome as the UNC men’s basketball team put together one of the worst first half performances in program history before falling to the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets by a score of 96-83.
It took just over 13 minutes of action before the Tar Heels (8-6, 1-2 ACC) finally made their first shot from the field against Georgia Tech, a hook shot from Garrison Brooks that made the score 30-8 in favor of the visitors.
“It’s the most negative I’ve ever felt about myself,” head coach Roy Williams told reporters afterwards. “The most negative I’ve felt about any team. We weren’t ready to play. Right from the first five minutes of the game.”
Prior to that point, the Tar Heels scored their first six points all at the free throw line and had missed their first 15 attempts from the field.
Roy Williams throws his hands up in frustration in a game where his Tar Heels needed over 13 minutes to score their first basket. (Todd Melet)
It was also fitting that it was Brooks who got the elusive first basket, as he put together the best game of his collegiate career on a night where none of his teammates can even come close to saying the same. The junior forward finished the game with a career-high 35 points to go along with 11 rebounds and a staggering 17-for-18 mark at the foul line.
His effort helped the Tar Heels remain competitive in the second half as the Smith Center crowd broke into a frenzy hoping to will the team out of its funk.
Georgia Tech’s 20-point halftime advantage proved to be too much for UNC to overcome down the stretch, however, on a night where the Yellow Jackets (7-7, 2-2 ACC) took whatever they wanted inside the paint.
“We had more guys get beat on a simple backdoor cut for a layup,” Williams said. “We lost three of those in the second half. One was Leaky [Black], one was B-Rob and I’m not sure the other one might have been Garrison [Brooks].
“But I’m not positive,” he continued. “Because Garrison did fight probably more than the rest of the team put together.”
While it’s the Tar Heels who typically make their presence known down low, Georgia Tech’s frontcourt combo of Moses Wright and James Banks imposed their will and then some on Saturday.
For most of the game—especially the first half—the Yellow Jacket big men treated their defenders like turnstiles on the way to the rim. Georgia Tech finished the game with 10 dunks and a total of 58 points in the paint.
The play of junior forward Garrison Brooks (15) was perhaps the one positive UNC can take away from Saturday’s loss to Georgia Tech. (Todd Melet)
On top of that, guard Jose Alvarado led the visitors with 25 points and made four three-pointers—just two less than the entire UNC roster combined.
For a team entering the game with a 6-7 record and an 18-point home loss to Ball State three weeks ago on their resume, the Yellow Jackets looked like absolute world-beaters against this Tar Heel squad decimated by injuries.
With freshman guard Anthony Harris now slated to miss the rest of the season with a torn ACL and Cole Anthony still out indefinitely, UNC should be in full-on panic mode with the real meat of the ACC schedule still to come.
A win on Saturday would have also moved Williams past Dean Smith on the all-time wins list. That win is still on the horizon, but the question now is how long will it take to come to fruition?
Needless to say, that’s the last thing on the Hall-of-Famer’s mind at this point.
“I apologize to all the North Carolina fans, people that care about our basketball program,” Williams said afterwards. “Former players. Everybody that cares about us. Because we stunk it up tonight. And that’s got to be my responsibility.”
Up Next:
UNC remains at home for its next game on Wednesday, when the Tar Heels host Pittsburgh at 7 p.m.
Game Notes:
- UNC’s 20-point halftime deficit was its largest ever at the Smith Center.
- Brooks became just the 23rd player in UNC history to score at least 35 points in a game, and the first since Brice Johnson had 39 points and 23 rebounds in a road win over Florida State back in 2016.
- Georgia Tech shot 59 percent for the game, and its 96 points were tied for the most it has ever scored under head coach Josh Pastner. The only other time came against Division II opponent Tusculum in 2017.
- Brandon Robinson (12 points) and Justin Pierce (11) were the only Tar Heels besides Brooks to reach double figures.
Cover photo via Todd Melet
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