GREENSBORO, N.C. --- Derrick Favors and Georgia Tech didn't let struggling North Carolina ruin their NCAA Tournament chances. Instead, the Yellow Jackets moved on in the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament and left the defending national champions to ponder their own uncertain postseason outlook.
Favors had 18 points, nine rebounds and five blocks to help Georgia Tech hold off North Carolina 62-58 in Thursday night's first round, earning a needed victory for their NCAA résumé while also completing a three-game sweep of the Tar Heels.
Gani Lawal added 12 points for the seventh-seeded Yellow Jackets (20-11), who trailed by 13 points before finally pushing ahead in the final 4 minutes.
The Yellow Jackets advanced to today's quarterfinals to face 19th-ranked Maryland, the tournament's No. 2 seed. But coach Paul Hewitt, whose team had lost five of seven to close the regular season, didn't dwell too much on the Yellow Jackets' postseason possibilities.
"Let's just see how the tournament goes," Hewitt said. "That's our approach right now. We've got a chance to play Maryland. All the other stuff, really it's not even part of the discussion right now."
Tenth-seeded North Carolina (16-16) -- strange as it might sound -- hopes for a NIT berth.
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