UNC basketball to play Kentucky in Las Vegas after game against UCLA canceled
The University of North Carolina men’s basketball team flew out to Las Vegas on Thursday afternoon gambling that it would still play No. 4 UCLA Saturday in the CBS Sports Classic. The Tar Heels will no longer get the Bruins, who canceled their second game this week due to COVID-protocol, but they still hit the jackpot.
UNC will instead face Kentucky for the second straight season in an unscheduled game influenced by COVID-19.
UNC coach Hubert Davis hinted on Thursday that his team should not be affected by the quick change in opponent because he believes that, “scouting reports are overrated.”
“It’s good information, it gives them a little head start in terms of their anticipation on both ends of floor, to prepare them and to help them be the best that they can be,” Davis said. “But I also believe that it’s not needed. So I remind them that you don’t need a scouting report. If you just do the things that you practiced in practice, it’ll put yourself in a position to play your best.”
The Wildcats were scheduled to play Ohio State in the second game of the Classic, but the Buckeyes had multiple players test positive for COVID-19 and announced on Thursday that they were indefinitely suspending team activities.
The Heels beat UK 75-63 in Cleveland last year, but were initially supposed to play Ohio State. The opponents were shuffled in what a release said was an effort to, “more closely align COVID-19 testing protocols between the competing programs and their respective conferences.”
The last time Carolina faced Kentucky in Vegas they played a classic. Malik Monk scored 47 including a late 3-pointer to lift the Cats to a 103-100 win on Dec. 17, 2016. Justin Jackson had 34 points for the Heels. Of course, UNC won the rematch that season in the Elite Eight when Luke Maye hit a late shot to propel them to the Final Four and the 2017 national championship.
This story was originally published December 17, 2021 at 11:02 AM.