CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – The difference between Georgia Tech and North Carolina Sunday night was not just Tar Heels guard Kendall Marshall, but that's a good place to start.
The North Carolina point guard's speed and vision were principal factors in the 93-81 flattening that the Tar Heels administered to the Yellow Jackets at the Smith Center. Tech's rally late in the second half, scoring 10 of the last 12 points, made the final score more respectable.
"Kendall's a great point guard," Tech guard Jason Morris said. "He sees the floor better than anyone I've ever played with."
Tech lost its fifth game in a row and ninth in the past 10 games, their first 1-9 stretch since the 2008-09 season. The Jackets (8-13 overall, 1-6 in the ACC) will conclude its brutal first half of the ACC schedule Wednesday against Florida State. The Seminoles have won five in a row, are tied with Duke and North Carolina for first in the ACC and have beaten Tech six games in a row. They'll also play the Jackets on a full week's rest.
Tech had no answer for North Carolina's size and speed. Forward Tyler Zeller ran the floor with the fleetest of the Jackets, scoring 17 points. Forward Harrison Barnes slashed his way to a game-high 23 points on just 14 shots.
Marshall coordinated it all, piling up nine assists in the first half alone as North Carolina dropped eight 3-pointers on 12 attempts on the Jackets.
"Nobody should ever score 93," guard Glen Rice Jr. said. "We just didn't do what we were supposed to do defensively."
Tech's offense actually performed better than it has, but labored in the first half in particular. Against the Tar Heels' man-to-man defense, Tech's perimeter players had difficulty taking North Carolina players off the dribble. When they did find an open lane, drives to the basket, some of them foolhardy errands, generated eight rejections by the Tar Heels.
North Carolina extended its pressure away from the basket, making simple passes along the perimeter and handoffs precarious. A typical possession found the Jackets working the ball along the perimeter and looking for post-up opportunities, setting screens that the Tar Heels slipped through and finding themselves with no gained advantage after 20 seconds of work.
The difference in the Tech and North Carolina's offenses could be found here: In the first half, Tech was credited with three assists on its 14 baskets. The Tar Heels had 18 baskets and 14 were created by assists.
"Our transition defense was not good," coach Brian Gregory said. "Marshall had too much freedom with the ball."
In Gregory's words, the Jackets showed flashes against North Carolina. He liked Tech's half-court defense. There just wasn't enough.
"We'd have four good minutes of basketball, then four straight turnovers and they'd come down and shoot two wide-open 3-pointers and two dunks, and then they've got their momentum right bask," Morris said.
The Jackets continued to battle in the second half, mostly keeping the deficit around 20 points. Guard Mfon Udofia played with aggression, repeatedly attacking the basket and finishing with 16 points. Morris, after going 0-for-7 in Tech's last game against Miami, contributed 15 points, all after halftime. Forward Julian Royal did not back down against perhaps the best frontcourt in the country, scoring nine points with six rebounds.
Rice, playing on a sore toe injured in practice Saturday, had four points.
"It was a good learning experience, for the most part," Royal said.
This season, the Jackets are getting a lot of those.
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