UNC basketball shows impressive mentality following loss at Georgia Tech

On Tuesday night, North Carolina suffered their first ACC loss of the season to a struggling unranked Georgia Tech team. Naithan George hit a contested layup over Armando Bacot with four seconds left that proved to be the game-winner after Rj Davis missed a floater attempt at the buzzer.

We couldn’t realistically expect the UNC basketball program to go undefeated in conference play, and we know that no road game in the ACC is a cakewalk. A conference loss was inevitable. The biggest concern for Hubert Davis’ squad is how they will respond to those losses. 

UNC fans can’t help but have a little bit of PTSD after last season and question how Carolina will respond following a loss. The Tar Heel Illustrated provided us with an encouraging report.

Having players take initiative and accountability without coaches in the room is a sign of a mature, hungry team. They now know that Saturday is for outright first place in the ACC. On top of first place being at stake, Duke is the opponent, which naturally raises everyone's emotions. This players-only meeting is a good start to managing those emotions and finding extra motivation to come out on top.

Duke, ranked No. 7 nationally, is coming into Chapel Hill on Saturday riding a three-game winning streak and playing really good team basketball. This Georgia Tech loss should motivate the UNC basketball program heading into the first of two meetings with their bitter rival

We cannot speak to exactly what was said in this nearly two-hour players-only meeting. However, based on pure speculation, we would like to imagine that making free throws and taking care of the basketball were hot topics.

North Carolina basketball has improved drastically since last season for many different reasons. There may not be a reason greater than this “we have to be better” mentality.