The University of North Carolina men's basketball team managed to eke out a 68-65 victory over Georgia Tech on Saturday, but the performance left much to be desired. As noted by veteran journalist Adam Lucas, the win "wasn't pretty. It wasn't very efficient. It certainly wasn't artistic." What this really means is that the Tar Heels have some serious issues to address if they hope to contend for an ACC championship and make a deep NCAA tournament run.
Cause for Concern
The Tar Heels shot just 39% from the field and an abysmal 5-of-24 (20.8%) from three-point range. They also committed a season-high 18 turnovers, an alarmingly high number for a team with national title aspirations. "That performance wasn't good enough to beat the upper-tier Atlantic Coast Conference opponents," as head coach Hubert Davis acknowledged.
The bigger picture here is that UNC's inconsistent play and sloppy execution against a middle-of-the-pack Georgia Tech squad is a worrying sign. As Sports Illustrated noted, the Tar Heels have now won consecutive games by a combined seven points against teams they should be handily defeating.
Tough Road Ahead
Things won't get any easier for the Tar Heels, who face a brutal upcoming schedule. After hosting Georgia Tech, UNC will travel to face No. 5 Iowa and then return home to take on No. 4 Virginia. Maintaining their current level of play will likely result in losses in those marquee matchups.
If UNC hopes to live up to its preseason top-5 billing and challenge for a national championship, the Tar Heels will need to quickly shore up their execution, shooting, and ball-handling. As the recent trends in college basketball have shown, the margin for error at the top is slimmer than ever. UNC can't afford many more performances like Saturday's sloppy win over Georgia Tech.