Kentucky snaps UNC’s win streak, beats Heels by 29 in Vegas. Here’s what we learned

Maybe North Carolina should have stayed at home after all.

Although the Tar Heels (8-3) knew their opponent was going to be Kentucky instead of UCLA before leaving Chapel Hill on Thursday, they played like they still had jet lag in their 98-69 loss to the Wildcats.

The Tar Heels delayed flying out for the CBS Classic while they were still trying to obtain the status of UCLA. When Ohio State announced it was shutting down team activities due to players entering COVID-19 protocols, UNC asked to instead play Kentucky even if UCLA was able to play. The Bruins eventually shut down team activities due to a COVID outbreak on the team.

The Cats (8-2) got off to a quick start especially with their defensive effort, holding Carolina to a four-minute scoring drought in the opening nine minutes of the game. By the time Armando Bacot scored on a dunk to break the drought, UK owned a 19-8 lead and the Heels never pulled any closer.

Rebounding woes

UK dominated the boards in a way that hadn’t happened to Carolina all season. Only Tennessee had previously outrebounded the Heels and that was just by eight. Even after foul trouble kept Kentucky forward Oscar Tshiebwe on the bench for all but seven minutes in the first half, the Cats outrebounded UNC 44-26.

That total included 17 offensive rebounds that UK turned into 15 points. It was the most allowed by UNC this season. The College of Charleston, which had 14 second-chance points, was previously the only team to reach double-digits.

In the zone?

Carolina’s problems containing dribble penetration popped up again in its loss. Much like in the loss to Tennessee, the Wildcats pretty much got in the paint at will. The Cats matched the Volunteers’ 54 points in the paint, which is the season-high allowed by the Heels. And ultimately that was more than enough to quiet UNC’s rally attempts.

UK guard Sahvir Wheeler at 5-foot-9 was the shortest player on the floor, but it didn’t deter him from getting to the rim. He led the Cats with 26 points — and 20 of those points came off layups.

Hubert Davis hadn’t played zone this season, but if the Heels continue to have problems containing off the dribble, it could be a consideration going forward.

3-point reliant

None of the players on Carolina’s roster had been born the last time it played an entire game without making a 3-pointer. And for nearly three quarters of the game, it seemed as if that record was in jeopardy. UNC missed its first seven attempts from behind the arc until Brady Manek made one with 12:01 left in the game.

Carolina has made a 3 in 852 consecutive games going back to Dec. 13, 1997 when it failed to make one against Princeton. Even though the Heels were able to continue their streak of made 3s, UK prevented one of their strengths from being a factor. The Cats made defending the line a priority and didn’t allow many open looks.

Bacot carried the Heels offensively with a team-high 22 points and 10 rebounds. The Cats largely allowed its primary defender to stay with Bacot and did not have players help off of Carolina’s shooters. There were rarely open players on the perimeter Bacot could pass out of the post to find.

UNC ranked ninth nationally shooting 40.9 percent from 3-point range. UK held the Heels to 1-for-13 shooting from 3. Their previous low was five in Tuesday night’s win over Furman.

This story was originally published December 18, 2021 at 7:41 PM.

C.L. Brown

The News & Observer

C.L. Brown covers the University of North Carolina for The News & Observer. Brown brings more than two decades of reporting experience including stints as the beat writer on Indiana University and the University of Louisville. After a long stay at the Louisville Courier-Journal, where he earned an APSE award, he’s had stops at ESPN.com, The Athletic and even tried his hand at running his own website, clbrownhoops.com.