On Saturday, the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets were the latest underdog to upset the North Carolina Tarheels. 

The loss at home dropped last year’s champions to 12-6 overall, 1-2 in the Atlantic Coast Conference.  Other notable losses this season include getting crushed at Clemson, and coming up short at Charleston.  North Carolina lost all of its bracket buster contests against top-flight competition from other conferences.  Those defeats to Syracuse, Kentucky and Texas not only hurt UNC, but they will also hurt the ACC come NCAA tournament selection time. 

So, what’s gone wrong with UNC?  A few things have led to their lower level of success so far this season. 

Roster Shift- Last year, UNC had Tyler Hansbrough, Ty Lawson, Danny Green and Wayne Ellington playing huge minutes.  Now that those guys are all earning NBA paychecks, a lot of their minutes are being consumed by Tyler Zeller, Larry Drew II, and Ed Davis – all sophomores.  Although they are skilled and talented, they were also untested in the collegiate ranks (entering this season).  There’s no true replacement for experience at the college level.

No True “Go-To Player”- Even though the Tarheels’ pedigree allows them to continually recruit All-American high school players, there has always been one or two players on their roster each year that have made the clutch, game-saving plays for them.  Donald Williams, Antwan Jamison, Joseph Forte, Raymond Felton, Tyler Hansbrough and Ty Lawson… 

This is what UNC fans have become accustomed to seeing.

Fear Factor- The intimidation factor that UNC once held over its foes now no longer exists.  Opponents are not in awe of the Tarheels the way that they used to be in years past – partially because the talent is so widespread these days.  Programs like Kansas, Texas, Kentucky, Memphis, Tennessee…they’re all getting recruits that have the same talent level as North Carolina recruits. 

ACC Play – Surprisingly, UNC has lots of trouble with its conference opponents.  Last year, all 4 of its losses came against programs belonging to the ACC.  Back in 2006-2007, UNC lost 5 games within conference.  So, to see that they have fallen in 2 of their first 3 ACC games is not something new.

While the long-term outlook for the Tarheels may look bright, they certainly look like they’ll take some their share of lumps this year.

And hopefully, they’ll be able to keep some of their talented underclassmen from thinking that they are ready to receive NBA paychecks.  But, of course, that’s a task that’s easier said than done.