North Carolina @ Georgia Tech preview

Last Meeting ( Jan 20, 2018 ) Georgia Tech 66, North Carolina 80

North Carolina has found itself again after being blasted by Louisville at home, winning three games in a row and enjoying a week-long break that concludes with a visit to Georgia Tech on Tuesday. The No. 10-ranked Tar Heels moved into the pause from action after an impressive performance Jan. 21 against 11th-ranked Virginia Tech, a 103-82 triumph in which North Carolina made a season-best 16 shots from 3-point range.

Freshmen Coby White (27 points) and Nassir Little (23 points) led the charge against the Hokies, as the Tar Heels applied a valuable lesson that bit them in the 83-62 loss to Louisville on Jan. 12 – the worst home defeat in Roy Williams’ 16 seasons as coach. “We had won two games in a row, and we played terribly against Louisville,” Little told reporters after establishing a career high in points. “We just wanted to keep going, keep that energy going, keep that winning streak going.” The Yellow Jackets are in the midst of a difficult stretch of their schedule, but grabbed attention by leading second-ranked Duke at halftime on the road Saturday before succumbing 66-53. “They fight, they scrap, they kick, they claw every possession,” Georgia Tech coach Josh Pastner told the media after his team’s first of three consecutive games against ranked opponents. “That’s what we’ve done the entire year and I’m just really proud of our young men.”

TV: 7 p.m. ET, RSN

ABOUT NORTH CAROLINA (15-4, 5-1 ACC): The Tar Heels are one of the most efficient offenses in the nation, ranking third nationally in scoring (88.1 points per game), third in assists per game (3.6) and fourth in rebound margin (10.2). Graduate guard Cameron Johnson leads a balanced scoring approach at 15.5 points per game, followed by White at 14.9 and senior forward Luke Maye at 14.4 points and 9.7 rebounds per game. White led the Tar Heels against Virginia Tech in points (27), rebounds (seven), assists (six) and steals (four).

ABOUT GEORGIA TECH (11-9, 3-4): The Yellow Jackets held Duke to 2-of-21 shooting from 3-point range Saturday and 23 points under the Blue Devils season average of points scored (89.3), with a defense ranking tied for 22nd nationally at 63.6 points per contest. Sophomore guard Jose Alvarado averages a team-best 13.5 points per game, while junior forward James Banks III scores 10.8 per contest on 57.4 percent shooting from the field. Alvarado and Banks combined for just 11 points Saturday as senior forward Abdoulaye Gueye finished with a team-high 14 points.

TIP-INS

1. Georgia Tech committed 11 of its 19 turnovers Saturday in the final 15 minutes, as a seven-point lead evaporated.

2. Maye ranks second in the ACC in rebounding and seventh in field-goal percentage (50 percent).

3. The Yellow Jackets have held their past two opponents (a win over Notre Dame and the Duke loss) to 9-of-51 shooting from 3-point range.

PREDICTION: North Carolina 77, Georgia Tech 64