Backed by a breakout three-point shooting performance, incredible depth and size, and a tenacious defense, the Kentucky Wildcats upended the visiting North Carolina Tar Heels, 84-70 Saturday afternoon in Lexington. On a day where the 'Cats played its first game without vocal leader Alex Poythress, everything clicked and top-ranked Kentucky never trailed in this one. Devin Booker and Willie Cauley-Stein led the Wildcats (11-0, 0-0 SEC) with 15 points apiece, in front of a raucous Rupp Arena crowd, and overwhelmed the #21 Heels (6-3, 0-0 ACC) with their athleticism, defensive hustle, and accuracy from behind the 3-point arc.
Brice Johnson paced the Heels with 15 points and Marcus Paige used a flurry of offense in the second half to net 14 total points.
Johnson beat the Wildcats down the floor on a number of occasions early in the first half, but never could gain traction in the half-court offensive sets due to Kentucky clamping down effectively on defense for most of the game. The stifling D brought forth by the kids from Lexington proved too much for Carolina and forced the Heels into some silly turnovers (UK totaled a a season-high 12 steals). Carolina came in to the game averaging 13.2 turnovers/game, but coughed it up an excessive 19 times on Saturday. Kentucky was efficient in producing points off those turnovers, as well, edging UNC 23-13 in that category.
But, it was the red-hot perimeter shooting in the first half that deflated the Heels' sails from the start. Carolina started the game in a 2-3 zone looking to pack the defense downlow, which was a great coaching call considering the Wildcats came into Saturday's game shooting 27.7% from 3. It backfired, however, when Kentucky drained two early threes in succession and continued to heat up from the outside. Booker returned after missing a game and delivered immediately. He finished a perfect 3-for-3 from long range and 5-for-8 from the field. Kentucky guard, Aaron Harrison also joined in on the fun by ending a 2-for-12 slump entering the game to knock down three 3's and finish with 14 points. I said in my pre-game analysis that whichever team could catch fire from the outside would probably have the best chance to win. Prophetic words from Clary's Carolina Corner as the Heels were pushed into a halftime hole, trailing 49-34 as the 'Cats combined to score 31 points off of three-pointers and free throws in the first 20 minutes of play. Carolina only had 6 points in the first half from those corresponding categories.
Shooting was off the charts for both teams in the first half, UK was 55.6% from the field while Carolina followed closely behind at 53.6%. As mentioned before, creating turnovers and getting to the foul line kept the 'Cats in the lead. On the other hand, Carolina sunk to 37.5% shooting in the second half and the Wildcats bettered their first half mark by shooting 57.1% in the second stanza. With the double-digit lead, Kentucky turned its focus from perimeter offense to hustle and fast break scoring. Cauley-Stein brought energy and aggressiveness directly at the Heels and his intensity on both ends outshined any chance the Heels had at a second-half comeback. With Carolina cutting the deficit to 66-57 behind Paige's reemergence from the perimeter, Kentucky called upon Cauley-Stein to make the big plays. Coming up with steals, diving on the floor for loose balls, and finishing the fast break with a thunderous jam was all Kentucky needed to shut down the Heels comeback effort.
UNC Coach Roy Williams spoke about Cauley-Stein's play after the game saying, "He effects the game in every way, he blocks shots, gets steals, ges follow-dunks, and gets dunks from guard penetration throwing it up around the rim, he goes and gets it, but he is a complete player." Williams continued, "Their defense was so much stronger and I think that was the dominating thing in the game. And Willie was the spearhead."
UNC's star guard, Paige, gave an All-American effort for a stint midway through the second half, finally breaking out of a so-called "slump". He drilled 4 three-pointers in that time to bring Carolina within striking distance, only to have the Wildcats rip it away. Getting Paige back on track was a great sign for North Carolina and, if the junior from Marion, Iowa can move forward with this confidence, the season should blossom for him and the Heels. Another wonderful sign for Carolina, is that it outrebounded a Kentucky team that has dominated its opposition in that category. UK came into the game with 424 total rebounds to 304 total boards from its opposing teams, so to see the Heels have so much success on the backboards versus so much size and length was enlightening. Admittedly, Kentucky made a high percentage of field-goal attempts, so the chance for rebounds was scarce. But, you cannot deny the numbers and Carolina won the rebounding battle.
The war was won, though, with Kentucky's intense passion and will to win. The Wildcats pulled out all the stops en route to another double-digit victory over tough competition. The emotion was strong all day for UK as players were determined to perform and execute to back up the loss of their leader Poythress. With Poythress sidelined by a Torn ACL that occurred in Thursday's practice, Kentucky showed their support by wearing blue "Roar for 22" shirts in pre-game warmups and the crowd went wild with vocal support when Poythress made his appearance on crutches.
All in all, the atmosphere and stellar play by the number-one ranked Wildcats proved too much for the Heels on this day in December. The season is early, though, and Carolina can definitely improve upon its deficiencies. The loss was a less somber one than the Butler and Iowa defeats as the Carolina locker room was described as seeing this result as more "instructive" than head-hanging. Competing against one heck of team on the road in the early months of the season and one heck of a crowd (9th largest all-time UK home attendance in legendary Rupp Arena) will come in handy big-time once the Heels embark on the 18-game ACC slate.
Carolina finds itself on the cusp of an important seven-day stretch. The Tar Heels will remain on the road as they visit UNC-Greensboro on Tuesday night (UNC-G is coached by former Carolina player, Wes Miller) and then the Heels travel to the United Center in Chicago to play #12 Ohio State in the CBS Sports Classic. If the Heels can defeat the Buckeyes next Saturday in a critical non-conference matchup, that would mean Carolina would enter ACC play having three solid wins out of conference by beating UCLA, Florida, and Ohio State. One would expect Carolina to compete at the top of the standings in a loaded ACC this year. On the other hand, if Carolina were to lose to the Buckeyes, that would mean four non-conference losses and the need for Carolina to have some major impressive wins during ACC action.
Personally, I am gearing up for the CBS Sports Classic in Chicago. I will be attending the game with friends versus Ohio State on Saturday in the United Center (home of my Chicago Bulls!) and I will be checking out the Kentucky/UCLA game that follows the Heels/Buckeyes. So excited for my trip and following the Heels to a classic destination! More on that mid-week. For now, Carolina will gear up to face the Spartans of UNC-Greensboro led by basketball-savvy coach Wes Miller. I'm 100% sure it will make UNC Coach Roy Williams a very proud man to see one of his own players doing what he loves.
But, it will make him even more proud to see his current players taking care of business on the road..Tar Heels-style!
Next Game: #24 North Carolina (6-3, 0-0 ACC)
vs
UNC-Greensboro Spartans (4-6, 1-0 Southern)
Date/Time: Tuesday, December 16, 2014 @ 7:00pm EST
Location: Greensboro Coliseum in Greensboro, NC
TV/Radio: ESPN2 or ESPN3 / Tar Heel Sports Network
The analysis is very special. State of decay 2
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