ATLANTA – It’s pretty wild the reactions Tuesday night to No. 3 North Carolina’s surprising loss at Georgia Tech.

Fans do what fans always do, and should given their passion. Of course, there’s the element crushing UNC Coach Hubert Davis, some even suggesting he’s not the right man for the job even though his team is now 17-4 overall and 9-1 in the ACC after the 74-73 loss to the Yellow Jackets here at McCamish Pavilion.

Armando Bacot has regressed, Cormac Ryan stinks, and Elliot Cadeau lacks maturity. Yada yada yada.

The mistake too many people are making is looking at what transpired here as some kind of referendum on the Tar Heels.

Is there plenty to pick at that wasn’t pretty? Of course, how else would a possible number one seed in the NCAA Tournament lose to a team that came in having dropped eight of nine and lost perhaps its best player less than five minutes into the contest?

LOTS of ugly stuff. Lots of head-scratching stuff. And lots of the Heels just being out-dueled and outplayed. That’s what this was. And the good thing for those with a rooting interest in them is they are well aware of this.

There was no panic or stress emanating from the players after the game. Disappointment? Absolutely. But they don’t see this as something triggering an avalanche.

“Games like this happen,” Harrison Ingram said, standing outside of the Heels’ locker room. “I feel like we’re all veteran players, we’re mature, and know you can’t always have a good game. Today, I didn’t have a good game, Cormac didn’t have a good shooting night, Elliot not a good game.