Roy Williams has grudgingly considered the ACC Tournament a necessary evil since returning to North Carolina seven years ago, but this season, he's one of its staunchest supporters.
Winning the tournament, and an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament, is the only way that struggling UNC can have a shot at defending the national championship.
"I'm approaching the tournament like it's our only chance left," Williams said. "Deep down inside I'm not going to go there, but this is my favorite experience in the ACC Tournament. It gives us a chance to play for the big prize, and that's the way we're looking at it."
UNC -- 16-15 and seeded No. 10 -- will play Georgia Tech at 7 p.m. today in Greensboro in the opening round, and a huge demand awaits.
The Tar Heels won only five ACC games in two months. Now they'll have to win four games in four days to make the NCAA field.
Marcus Ginyard, a fifth-year senior and grizzled veteran, understands the task ahead.
"It's going to be very difficult," he said. "Whether you've been getting your butt kicked all year or you're playing great, four games in a row in the ACC, especially in the ACC Tournament, is going to be tough. This is a huge challenge for us."
Senior forward Deon Thompson knows that there's no other choice.
"Definitely our backs are against the wall," Thompson said.
"We're just going to have to go out there swinging. It's our last chance, our last hope, to win the ACC Tournament and give ourselves a chance to get in the NCAA Tournament."
UNC's 11 conference losses are the most for a team coached by Williams (including his 15 seasons at Kansas), and two came against Georgia Tech. UNC couldn't sustain a late rally at the Smith Center and lost to Tech 73-71. The Yellow Jackets were never threatened in Atlanta and won the rematch 68-51.
Georgia Tech's size on the frontline can be troublesome. Point guard Iman Shumpert finished the regular season in a slump but scored 30 points in Chapel Hill.
Williams wouldn't say whether UNC playing Georgia Tech was a good match or a bad match, just that it's the only match. If UNC can't protect the ball and cut its turnovers, or play sound defense and control rebounding, the opponent won't matter.
If there's no UNC win today, there will be no Friday game in Greensboro for UNC. And the only postseason possibility then will be a bid from the NIT, if it wants a 16-16 team.
Adding to UNC's burden is the fact that no team has won four consecutive games in any ACC Tournament since Florida State joined the conference in 1992.
"I know that if we give in, we have no chance," Williams said.
"The other thing is, so what if it hasn't been done before? That doesn't mean that it can't be done now. What I'm going to try to get the kids to focus on is Georgia Tech.
"And let's focus on playing that game. Let's not save something."
Williams and Ginyard said that playing as a low seed can present problems. Low seeds haven't won in the regular season, and team confidence isn't strong. Williams told his players after last week's 82-50 loss at Duke that they had to change their ways and play better or the season would end shortly.
Ginyard believes that the proper adjustments can be made, but he'll also admit that UNC has been trying to make changes all season. He's not sure that the players are tired of Williams' demands for smarter, sharper play.
"Probably no more tired than Coach is getting of saying it," Ginyard said.
Thompson understands that the odds aren't good but hasn't lost faith that UNC can pull out of its tailspin.
"Anything's possible, especially when you have a coach like Coach Williams, who can motivate people," Thompson said.
"He's had trouble at times with this team being able to do that, but he's still going to continue to try his best, and guys are going to continue to try to play."
bcole@wsjournal.com
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