CHAPEL HILL — After No. 3 North Carolina arrived at the Smith Center about midnight after the first conference loss of the season, the Tar Heels still couldn’t believe they had lost at Georgia Tech. Rather than head back to their apartments, the players had a players-only meeting in the locker room that lasted about 90 minutes, ending a little before 2 a.m.

From no longer always playing two post players to creating more spacing on the offensive end, Coach Hubert Davis has put his stamp on Carolina basketball while following many of the philosophies of Coach Roy Williams.

Considering that No. 3 North Carolina fell in the NET after Saturday’s win at Florida State and dropped another notch a day later, the damage to the Tar Heels’ NET ranking from Tuesday’s 74–73 loss at Georgia Tech was minimal.

There are plenty of forgettable North Carolina games in Atlanta in many sports, but the latest frustrating Tar Heels loss there will be remembered for a foul that wasn’t called. As RJ Davis drove the lane with the No. 3 Tar Heels trailing by a point in the final seconds, Georgia Tech’s Ebenezer Dowouna lunged his shoulder into Davis. There was no foul, and Davis missed the shot as the Yellow Jackets pulled off a 74–73 upset at McCamish Pavilion to end UNC’s 10-game win streak.

The awards for RJ Davis are coming as consistently as the big games he’s producing for No. 3 North Carolina. One day after earning ACC Player of the Week honors for the third time this season, The Associated Press named the senior guard the National Player of the Week to go with Andy Katz giving him that honor on Monday.

After first- and second-round games in Charlotte, No. 3 North Carolina will head west in the NCAA men’s tournament, according to the latest bracket projections that predict only three ACC teams in the field. That’s a huge contrast to ESPN’s projection that nine ACC teams will make the women’s field.

Once a team rises to No. 3 in the AP Top 25 men’s basketball poll, all it can do is win to maintain that spot and potentially move up if the top two teams lose.

North Carolina has taken care of the winning part, but No. 1 UConn and No. 2 Purdue did as well to keep the Tar Heels at No. 3.

No. 3 North Carolina’s fifth road victory and fourth Quad 2 victory didn’t help the Tar Heels in the NET. On the contrary, it somehow hurt them.

Five days after his former UNC backcourt mate RJ Davis scored a career-high 36 points against Wake Forest, Caleb Love matched that on Saturday night.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Elliot Cadeau is becoming an aggressive engine that drives No. 3 North Carolina’s offense just as much as RJ Davis. A first-half stretch Saturday proved that the freshman point guard is essential with his ability to whip by defenders and deliver feathery passes.

Carolina five-star recruits Ian Jackson and Drake Powell were named Tuesday to the McDonald’s All-American Game.