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GAME NOTES: The North Carolina Tar Heels need an ACC victory over the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets to keep their NCAA Tournament at-large hopes alive.

UNC did beat rival NC State by a 74-61 final on Saturday, but that win was preceeded by four consecutive losses. The Tar Heels are now 14-11 overall, and they are 3-7 in ACC action. North Carolina has played six true road games this season, and only one of those contests has resulted in victory.

As for Georgia Tech, it has suffered back-to-back losses to fall to 17-8 overall and 5-6 in ACC action. The Yellow Jackets, who had been ranked 20th in last week's AP poll, have been held in check offensively lately, including their 64-point effort in Saturday's 11-point loss to Wake Forest. There is reason for confidence tonight, however, as Tech is 12-1 at home.

Georgia Tech recorded a thrilling 73-71 victory over North Carolina last month, but the Tar Heels still own a 60-21 series advantage over the Yellow Jackets.

Considering the tremendous offensive balance that North Carolina achieved last season en route to a national title, it is surprising to see that there is only one active double-digit scorer on this season's Tar Heel squad. Deon Thompson is netting 14.2 ppg on 50.2 percent shooting from the field, and he is pulling down 6.3 rpg for UNC. Ed Davis was posting 13.4 ppg and 9.6 rpg to go along with 64 blocked shots, but he broke his wrist last week and will likely miss the remainder of the season. The Heels are netting 78.7 ppg while holding opponents to 73.0 ppg, but the positive scoring differential isn't reflected in the poor league record. In the much-needed win over NC State last time out, Larry Drew II paced UNC with 15 points. Thompson added 12 points, while Dexter Strickland pitched in 11 points off the bench. The Heels earned a 44-32 rebounding advantage and a 19-10 edge in points from the foul line.

The strength of the Georgia Tech team is its frontcourt, which is led by the duo of Gani Lawal and Derrick Favors. Lawal is scoring 14.2 ppg on 53.7 percent shooting from the floor, and he is pulling down 9.4 rpg. As for Favors, he provides 11.0 ppg and 8.1 rpg. Just a freshman, Favors has blocked 49 shots. The Yellow Jackets are generating 74.6 ppg through 25 outings while limiting opponents to 64.6 ppg. Foes are shooting a mere 37.2 percent from the field against Tech. In the loss to Wake Forest, the Yellow Jackets connected on only 34.5 percent of its field goal attempts and turned the ball over 17 times. Favors scored only four points in that tilt, far less impressive than Lawal's 15-point showing. Glen Rice pitched in 14 points off the bench.

Expect this game to go down to the wire, and give a narrow edge to Georgia Tech. The homecourt advantage will play a major role, as will the absence of Davis.