Kentucky can't keep up with talented Heels

CHAPEL HILL -- North Carolina basketball needed a little pick-me-up.

Kentucky supplied it.

The Tar Heels' 77-58 whipping of Kentucky Tuesday night contained basically no drama but bulged with YouTube-worthy plays executed by those in baby blue.

It was 25-6, North Carolina, within the first 8 minutes and the Tar Heels never led by less than 11 after that. That left ESPN with a lot of time to pretend Kentucky could come back and Tar Heels fans with a couple of hours to enjoy themselves in a stress-free environment.

That was significant, because despite being ranked the No. 1 team in the nation, the Tar Heels have experienced some angst lately. Most notably, there is the iffiness of Tyler Hansbrough's right shin.

The shin has kept the formerly indestructible Hansbrough out of the first two games with a "stress reaction" that boomeranged into a stressed-out reaction among the Tar Heel faithful. Then there was UNC's opener Saturday, in which the Tar Heels beat Penn by 15 points -- a win that was solid but not overly impressive.

So a blowout of a team with a big name was exactly what the Tar Heels needed and exactly what they got.

Now, Kentucky (0-2) isn't very good these days. Davidson would have been more competition. Shoot, VMI would have been more competition.

Tar Heels coach Roy Williams told the North Carolina students to stop a "V-M-I" chant early in the game, a taunt that referred to Kentucky's season-opening loss to the Keydets. Williams was obviously trying not to embarrass Kentucky's players -- but that happened anyway within the first five minutes.

The Wildcats play in Rupp Arena, a 23,000-seat cavern that's a little larger than the Smith Center. Kentucky leads all NCAA Division I schools in total victories (North Carolina is No. 2). So you would think the Wildcats would understand how to start a game in a hostile environment.

They didn't.

The Wildcats committed 17 turnovers in the first half and 28 overall. In the first five minutes particularly, the way Kentucky played was an embarrassment to that school's rich basketball tradition.

Part of that had to do with North Carolina's excellent defense. Williams said he thought his team had a "fantastic first 10-12 minutes." Then, he said, the Tar Heels "meandered around." But that's ol' Roy -- he wants perfection.

On the offensive end, Tar Heel junior forward Deon Thompson (20 points, nine rebounds) had the game of his life. Thompson, who has a tendency to fade out of games, looked like he was channeling Hansbrough's intensity all night before fouling out late and receiving a standing ovation. Thompson later said the relatively easy win demonstrated "how deep we really are."

The only minor chord struck in this one for North Carolina was a late injury to freshman center Tyler Zeller. Zeller hurt his left wrist after getting fouled on a dunk attempt in transition, and Williams was concerned after the game that Zeller might have broken the wrist and be out for awhile.

Williams also said afterward, however, that Hansbrough could have already played if the Tar Heels really had needed him to. So it may be that the young Tyler is about to exit for awhile, but the All-American Tyler is close to checking back in.

In any event, these Tar Heels are obviously deep enough to shrug off one or two major injuries.

All things are possible for this North Carolina squad.

On Tuesday night, they reminded us of that.