Lucas: Kentucky Rapid Reactions

By Adam Lucas

1. Not much to say other than that was a thorough demolition by Kentucky of a Carolina team that felt like it had been playing better recently. That wasn't the case Saturday, as the Wildcats ran away with a 98-69 win.

2. The Tar Heels had been an effective second half team for most of this season, but that wasn't the case against UK. After the Tar Heels had made a small push at the end of the first half to get within 11 at the break, Kentucky blitzed out of the locker room and built a lead as big as 30 midway through the second half. That was the first time Carolina had trailed by more than 30 since the 2012 loss at Indiana. The 35 point deficit at one point was the largest for Carolina since 2010. Kentucky scored a whopping 58 points in the second half and it felt like 158.

3. Carolina had major problems guarding Kentucky guard Sahvir Wheeler. The Tar Heels tried putting RJ Davis on Wheeler in the first half, which wasn't very successful. They switched to Caleb Love in the second half, who had similar problems, before handing over the job to Anthony Harris. Eight of Wheeler's first ten field goals were layups, as he continually penetrated into the paint at will. Wheeler finished with 26 points in just 32 minutes while shooting a startling 12-for-15. He also had eight assists, meaning he scored or assisted on over half of Kentucky's 39 field goals.

4. The first half was a study in one team being more aggressive than the other. Kentucky grabbed 11 offensive rebounds before the Tar Heels managed one, which led to the Wildcats taking nine more shots than Carolina in the first 20 minutes. The lowlight was a possession with six minutes left when the 'Cats got four shots on one trip down the court, finally converting to take a 16-point lead.

5. Kentucky came into the game as the national leader in offensive rebound percentage, and they showed why, establishing their dominance on the backboards early. The 'Cats got both offensive rebounds in traffic and by simply outhustling Carolina. Oscar Tshiebwe had a double-double, but it wasn't a one-man effort. Eight different Wildcats grabbed an offensive rebound. Two Tar Heels did the same. That's indicative of what a complete effort domination it was by Kentucky.

6. That's not to say that Armando Bacot wasn't effective. The junior was Carolina's best player for the entire afternoon, but didn't get much help elsewhere. Bacot finished with 22 points and 10 rebounds. He shot 8 for 13 from the field and the remainder of his teammates were 14 for 39.

7. In terms of looking ahead, it was nice to see Justin McKoy and Dontrez Styles come off the bench with seven minutes left in the game. Those are two individuals who have the opportunity to earn more minutes, and the best way to do it is by showing some competitiveness in a game in which Carolina needed some of that ingredient. Styles had a nice defensive rebound in traffic--on a day when Carolina didn't get many of those--with 4:30 left. The Kinston native also blocked a shot and made a couple of free throws. McKoy snagged two rebounds, blocked a shot and had an assist.

8. About the black uniforms: the players requested them in a meeting early in the Hubert Davis tenure. It's not a permanent change...and given the results, it may be another six years before you see them again (the Tar Heels last wore them in 2015).

9. D'Marco Dunn might be nudging his way into the rotation. Carolina coaches have been impressed with his recent practices, and Dunn got first half minutes in Las Vegas. That doesn't mean the freshman is immediately ready to score 20 points, but he could be an important cog for a rotation that could use a little more depth.

10. Of course, as players move into the rotation, other players have to lose minutes simply by mathematics. Kerwin Walton now hasn't scored in his last 52 minutes of court time. Walton did not shoot against Kentucky and had one assist and one turnover. That's not at all to say the loss belongs to Walton; basically everyone in black struggled, including Caleb Love going 2-for-8 with four turnovers, RJ Davis shooting just 3-for-8, and Dawson Garcia struggling to keep Kentucky off the glass.

11. Pretty simple: that was a big missed opportunity. In front of a national television audience on a Saturday afternoon against a marquee opponent, Carolina simply wasn't competitive. It will take piling up some ACC wins--league play starts after Tuesday's game against App State--to get back into national awareness. The Heels leave Las Vegas with some of the same questions they thought they had answered after the disappointing loss to Tennessee in Uncasville.

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University of North Carolina Athletics

Players Mentioned

Armando Bacot

RJ Davis

D'Marco Dunn

Dawson Garcia

Anthony Harris

Caleb Love

Justin McKoy

Dontrez Styles

Kerwin Walton

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