Where: Rupp Arena, Lexington, KY
When: Saturday, December 5th, 12:30 PM
TV: CBS
Records: UNC 7-1; UK 7-0
Take your pick among the storylines you want to gravitate towards on this. All time wins record between the two schools? Calipari vs Roy? John Wall? Demarcus Cousins? Tyler Zeller’s Revenge? There is plenty of compelling stuff here but in the end it basically comes down to a December meeting between to highly ranked teams who are still pretty young and finding their way.
Much of the attention will be on John Wall, the #1 player in the class of 2009 and UNC attempting to contain him. However this is a balanced team. Wall is the team’s leading scorer but there are three other guards who combine for 29 ppg. On the interior Patrick Patterson and Demarcus Cousins average 16 ppg each. Yes, Wall is the focal point but this Kentucky team can score from every position on the floor which will require a concerted team effort to disrupt their offense.
On the other end of the court, UNC will try to build off the performance on Wednesday night. The Heels had a balanced attack with great outside shooting and plenty of solid work on the interior by Ed Davis and Deon Thompson. A repeat of that would go a long way towards the Heels possibly stealing this game in Lexington. As always the turnovers are key and even though the Heels got by with 17 miscues against MSU, I don’t recommend it as a normal mode of operation. Since his game will be up-tempo the possibilities of turnovers increases for both teams. Interestingly enough UK is averaging 17.1 turnovers per game versus 17.3 for the Heels. This game could very well come down to which team forces the other closest to the their turnover average and how much they score off fast breaks created by those turnovers. Both teams have size and athletic players on the interior. Controlling the boards, especially on the defensive end could dictate the tempo as well.
The mixture of experienced players with contributing freshmen on both teams is similar. For UNC’s young players this is their first foray into a hostile arena. That could be a factor on top of the fact the young lot on both teams are still getting a feel for the college game. In other words, for all the hype Kentucky has received, I am not sure there is much difference between the two at this point. The question is which team has their younger/role players step up huge. UK does get much bench scoring whereas UNC liberally subs and generally has fresher legs than the other team on a regular basis.
This will be a tough game. It would be nice to win it but playing UK on the road in a game the Wildcat faithful will be amped up to try and win does not bode well for the Heels. In light of that and the belief that UK has just a little more, for the first time in over two years I am going to call a UNC loss.
UK 83 UNC 76
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THF — On paper, it’s hard not to pick Kentucky. Patterson right now is an NBA-calibre player; Wall might be too.
We can win this game, but in order to do so, two things must happen. First, Thompson, Davis and Drew must play at the same outstanding level they did on Wednesday. Second, Ginyard is going to have to have the game of his life, and Henson is going to have his coming out party for real.
That is a lot to expect — probably too much. So you have to like Kentucky. But a Carolina win is a realistic possibility, and if they pull it off, it will be an early season message to the rest of basketball that they can expect to hear from us in March, if not April.
UNC is young. UK is extremely young. UK has not played anyone remotely close to UNC, in fact, they have not played a ranked team; UNC as already played 4. Both of these teams are a shadow of what (I think) they will be in March, but I think UNC might be a bit closer. I feel that Jay Bilas’ assessment is spot on:
“Who Wins?: North Carolina. Even though Kentucky might be more talented, the Tar Heels are more experienced and that will be the difference in this one.”
John Wall, not surprisingly, will be the key. He’s easily their best player, and there’s no question that he is has been sublime through the first 7 games of the season; better than Derrick Rose, IMO. But, like the rest of his team, he has not gone up against anyone of note. LDII and Ginyard will easily the best defensive players he’s gone against. Will the completely stop him? Probably not, but if UNC can give the B10 POY such nightmares, it’s not out of the question that they can do the same to Wall.
From what I’ve seen of UK so far, you stop Wall, you stop Kentucky.
C.Michael — I love Bilas for three reasons: He really knows what he’s talking about; he looks favorably on Carolina (and loved TH); and he was the only Dookie of note to condemn his school for it tawdry, cowardly and deceitful conduct in the mens lacrosse/non-rape scandal of a few years back.
I sure hope he, and you, are right. My weekend depends on it.
I have to admit, I’m less concerned about the overall outcome of this game then I am the level of play. If UNC plays a clean game and they lose an up-and-down, back-and-forth, shootout, I’m not going to lose a lot of sleep over it. I despise Cal, but I’ve never had a real dislike of UK, and from what I’ve read, Pat Paterson is one of the better persons in college athletics.
CBS should televise, as halftime entertainment, a one-on-one match between Ashley Judd and Brooklyn Decker. That would be good tv…
Kentucky’s schedule has been horrible. They are playing at home, however, and I think there might be a feeling that UK is finally due to win one of these, but then again many felt that way about the MSU game. UNC is still having trouble in the second half of games. Does UNC need a big lead like they had against OSU and MSU in order to pull this one off? Given the ballhandling and free throw shooting issues, maybe so.
Since you are representing one of the most prestigious schools in the nation, it would be nice if you would use correct punctuations, etc. Thanks.
Are you volunteering to be my editor?
The team is going to be really fired up for this game. It was clear against MSU that the players were more amped, and it showed inside and out.
One important factor this year is the huge bench. Not only haas there been more and more freshman scoring. The freshmen have been running and hustling. While playing in more control. That wore down MSU. It is very tough to face wave after wave of big, fast hungry players coming in.
I think through the season the bench will be a great asset!
Hey Rath: I like Bilas too! I did go to both schools and I was on faculty at WFU for several years, but I like his balanced comments.
Go Heels!
WTF TylerTew?
UK hasn’t played anyone. But then I haven’t seen them play. Can’t wait.
Btw, did you all see comments from Wall? Something like wanting to be near his sick mom but wasn’t given the chance because Roy didn’t offer. WHAT?! State and dook were on their knees. What BS. I hope we shut him down today.
“Since you are representing one of the most prestigious schools in the nation…”
Writing a blog about a university’s athletic programs in no way constitutes “representing” the university. However, the impressive quality of this site is a tribute to both the school’s grandeur and the author.
C. Michael – I couldn’t agree more. This site is a great asset to the university community and we should all be thankful for THF.
GO HEELS!
…now if only I can finish this paper in the next hour and a half before the game starts!
with all the focus on Wall, it will be interesting to see how all the other role players on each team impact this game. I doubt UK has any perimeter defensive weapons like Henson, and if Graves keeps contributing…
Just so you know…posting will be on hold until I have time to review the rules of punctuation. I wouldn’t want to make UNC look bad or anything by putting commas in the wrong place.
Aoccdrnig to rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it deosn’t mttaer in waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, the olny iprmoetnt tihng is taht the frist and lsat ltteer be at the rghit pclae. The rset can be a total mses and you can sitll raed it wouthit porbelm. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe. Amzanig huh?
“with all the focus on Wall, it will be interesting to see how all the other role players on each team impact this game.”
Couldn’t agree more. Eric Bledsoe is 12-23 from 3PT coming into this game and much of this results from the open shots he gets after Wall drives to the basket.
My biggest problem is I fill in words as I read so I miss all sorts of typos when I review what I write.
Same here.
I also tend to rely too heavily on “spell check.” Great for spelling, not so great for making sure you have the correct word…
Both teams have had tough times putting opponents away, and that’s just something that comes with young teams. I give Carolina the advantage not just because I’m a homer, but because UNC is more battle tested and the depth has been developed at a remarkable pace. I expect the Wears, Henson, and Strickland to see as many minutes as they saw against Michigan State. Should Deon, Ed, or Zeller get in foul trouble, I’m more than comfortable with the Wears and Henson to be able to fill in for longer periods of time.
This stuff is just for fun. No one is getting graded. It does take a lot of effort to create all these posts.
So thanks THF!
You are reflecting just fine on academia in your writing. I don’t think there are any adjustments coming to UNC-G transcript.
BTW, here is another good (and pretty funny) point by Bilas:
“Key Strategic Point: Pace. The Heels play fast, and try to get easy baskets and make you take quick shots or turn it over. UNC is the equivalent of a European adult in a BMW on the Autobahn. Kentucky is the equivalent of a 16-year-old American kid in a Ferrari on the interstate. UK has the horsepower, but North Carolina has the horsepower and the experience to harness it. The quality of decisions made at high speeds by both teams will be the difference in the game.”
Feeling a little nervous about 20 minutes before tap. Larry Drew will have a little bit of a personal battle with Wall today and if he plays the way he has the last 2 games he will be just fine.
Good article in IC today about defending the “dribble drive” and also in the N&O where Roy has apparently made John Wall mad too (in addition to Delvon Roe). John Wall has to know why UNC didn’t pursue him and to guess it would have to be the spector of possible violations related to his AAU coach. As it turned out, Wall was suspended for 2 games but I’ll bet Calipari held his breath waiting for the ruling to come down. Roy didn’t want or does Carolina need that stuff at all.
“If UNC plays a clean game and they lose an up-and-down, back-and-forth, shootout, I’m not going to lose a lot of sleep over it.” -C.Michael
Totally agree. Maybe a bit of disappointment, but no lost sleep.
The home court could spell the difference. They are extremely hungry, the UK crowd. We shall see. Bottom line for me is that a) we are not blown-out and, b) no Heels get hurt..
Zoomba, Heels!
I am so pumped for this game! I find that the more hyped a team is, the more likely they are to fall. As they say, “The higher the pedestal, the harder the fall” and UK is going to fall hard.
Experience is key, as is Larry Drew’s play. If we can contain Wall (and I wonder who gets the defensive assignment on him) then Larry needs to channel is inner Ty Lawson. And if our bigs can get some shots under the basket, I think we have a great chance of winning. I would love to see Tyler Zeller have a big game, he needs to get some revenge.
It’s going to be a fast, close game, and a good one!
Oh gosh, I hope my grammar was correct… It’s so important when posting on a sports blog “representing” one of the most prestigious universities in the nation.
With Cal at UK we know that the all time wins record is ours. They may win more games than us with him there, but there are going to be untold numbers of vacated wins with him also.
Well, Claire, I guess you and I are going to have to stop commenting on how cute the guys are, because it isn’t proper. Oh, let’s not forget that we have to stop complaining about refs like Hess becuase it’s a poor representation of the university.
Game thread is up
Of course Alex, we have so much to do with UNC. It’s a huge scandal that we talk abut how cute our players are, bash the refs, use improper grammar, etc. The repoters will be quoting us at Roy so he will have to answer about our comments.
Actually, some reporters could learn a significant amount from reading this site.
Like MC Hammer said, “ring the bell – school’s back in” and I think Ginyard is going to take Wall to school.