Another Stinging Loss Leaves Tar Heels Searching for Answers

GREENSBORO, N.C. -- Roy Williams was unsure what to say to his North Carolina Tar Heels late Thursday night. The Tar Heels filed quietly into their locker room, frustrated and perplexed, again. They had put together a strong performance against Georgia Tech, building a double-digit advantage in their Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament opener.

However, as has been the case for much of this season, UNC just was not good enough to finish off the Yellow Jackets. The Tar Heels lost their shooting touch from the perimeter, failed to score a second-half point off a turnover and couldn't slow Tech's late surge in the Yellow Jackets' 62-58 victory.

Much like his team, Williams struggled to find a solution.

"If you have ever coached and you feel like you have given your team everything you can and it still hasn't worked out, what are you supposed to say?" Williams said.

"I've got good kids; I've got kids I trust. I just didn't do as good a job with this group this year as I needed to. This was the most inadequate I have ever felt as a coach."

Williams will get another opportunity to coach the Tar Heels (16-16) in the NIT, that is, if an invitation is extended. UNC had won two straight games before last weekend, when Duke put a 32-point beatdown on UNC to snap the Tar Heels' four-year winning streak at Cameron Indoor Stadium.

UNC entered the ACC tourney with the knowledge its NCAA tournament chances were reduced to an unprecedented scenario -- four wins in four days.

Two teams previously came close -- Herb Sendek's first N.C. State team in 1997 and Sidney Lowe's first N.C. State team in 2007. Each managed to win three and reach the finals, only to succumb to a higher-seeded Tar Heel squad.

"If somebody's going to invite me to play, I am going to play. Period, the end," said Williams, who has never coached in the NIT in his career.

"Are we worthy enough to be invited? That I don't know. Those people that make the decisions get to make that decision. Maybe they won't invite us. If somebody invites me to go play, we're going to play."

UNC came to play against Georgia Tech, especially early.

The Yellow Jackets trailed by 13 points in the first half against a team it had swept during the regular season, but rallied early in the second half to tie the game before finally pushing ahead in the final four minutes.

"It wasn't pretty but we scrapped and fought for loose balls and played and pounded inside and came away with the win," Tech junior forward Gani Lawal said. "

UNC failed to hit a field goal in the final five minutes, part of a 33-percent shooting day (23 of 69, including 2 of 16 from beyond the arc).

"It's extremely disappointing, to say the least, but it has been that kind of year," Williams reasoned.

"Down the stretch we tried to stay in front of the guy and tried to really make sure it's only one shot. They seemed to make their shots and we missed ours at the other end. The first half, our defense was stronger."

UNC's strength was spearheaded by Tyler Zeller, who came off the bench to score 17 points, one shy of his career high, with 10 rebounds. The 7-foot center has been plagued by injuries during his career.

"They hit us hard in the second half and it put us back on our heels," Zeller said. "It was back and forth after that but they made the plays."

And that left Williams searching for yet another message to deliver his team in the locker room.

"We've got wonderful kids, it's just been the kind of year that I'd never imagined, hope I never have to go through it again," Williams said.

"But that's what it is, and congratulate Georgia Tech. I think that [win] will help them."