As good as it looked its last time on the court, North Carolina might expect another easy win Wednesday despite playing in an arena where it has not won in seven years.
The top-ranked Tar Heels look to give the program its best start in 22 years when they face Georgia Tech in a matchup of teams at opposite ends of the ACC standings.
North Carolina (17-0, 2-0) opened a 43-13 halftime lead en route to Saturday's 93-62 win over North Carolina State -- its most lopsided win in the rivalry in nearly 15 years.
The Tar Heels, one of just three undefeated teams in Division I, are off to their best start since the 1997-98 team won its first 17 games and will be trying to win their first 18 for the first time since the 1985-86 squad opened 21-0.
"We're the No. 1 team in the nation I guess for a reason," said Deon Thompson, who scored a career-high 16 points Saturday. "If we just play how we're supposed to play, then that's the way it should be."
North Carolina could be in for another easy game Wednesday, facing the only ACC team with an overall losing record.
Georgia Tech (7-8, 0-2), though, has won four straight home games against the Tar Heels since an 84-70 loss on Jan. 2, 2001. The Yellow Jackets are the only team North Carolina has not defeated on the road since Roy Williams took over as Tar Heels coach prior to the 2003-04 season.
Since ACC play began in 1953, North Carolina has lost five consecutive road games against a single opponent only twice -- against Duke from 1968-72 and against Virginia from 2000-04.
"There are a lot of things you have to do well to beat that team," Georgia Tech coach Paul Hewitt said of North Carolina. "They are the No. 1 in the country right now, they are undefeated, but our guys are excited enough for the challenge."
While the Yellow Jackets are allowing an ACC-high 73.1 points per game, the Tar Heels are scoring an average of 92.2 points to rank second in the nation. North Carolina has scored at least 90 points in seven straight games for the first time in school history.
Saturday's win saw five Tar Heels score in double figures. Ty Lawson had 16 points despite twisting his ankle in the first half, Danny Green chipped in 13 points and a career-best 14 rebounds, and Tyler Hansbrough added 13 points and 13 boards for his ninth double-double of the season.
North Carolina held a 50-34 rebounding advantage and had 27 assists on 36 field goals.
"That's what we need: everyone stepping up and everyone contributing," said Wayne Ellington, who had 13 points. "(Williams) wants guys coming off the bench to be prepared and give us an extra boost. Everyone that was on the floor was just contributing in any kind of way: getting a rebound, getting a deflection. Everybody brought something positive today."
The Yellow Jackets are still looking for their first conference win after falling 78-68 to then-No. 25 Miami on Saturday. Georgia Tech, which lost its conference opener 66-64 to Florida State on Dec. 30, is off to its worst start since going 7-8 in 2001-02 en route to a 15-16 overall record.
"What is it? We're not bad guys," forward Gani Lawal said. "We don't go out and do drugs and hang out in late hours of the night. We just want to know why we can't pick up the wins that we want."
Jeremis Smith had a season-high 21 points and grabbed 10 rebounds against the Hurricanes, while Anthony Morrow, who leads Georgia Tech with 15.0 points per game, had 17 points.