North Carolina vs. Kentucky

• ironman02

  Carolina had chances to win the game and just didn't do it. They played better than I expected though, after looking awful the last couple weeks.
  
  No idea why they didn't foul after Davis blocked the shot. Also, no idea why Roy didn't use one of those timeouts that he cherishes so much to set up the final possession.
  
  Tough to win at Rupp against a very good team. We'll see you in March/April, Kentucky.
• Prescott

  That should have been the key point made in the huddle that had happened just 10 seconds beforehand.

  And you know that it wasn't?
• sleeper

  

  Heretic;999026 wrote:This has been a damn great game. What you expect to see when two teams ranked in the top five meet in a regular season game. Both teams going back and forth and making big plays, without one of them completely crumbling and getting blown out.

  lol'd
• Curly J

  

  I'm just happy that UK pulled it out. That was one hell of a blocked shot.
• reclegend22

  

  And you know that it wasn't.

  No, I guess I don't. But the absolute frozen nature of UNC's players in those final six seconds -- the most important stretch of the game -- is beyond mystifying. They looked like they had no idea that they were only down by one. I've never seen an ending like that.
• hoops23

  

  cats gone wild;999030 wrote:Freshmen beat the experienced team that wanted to come back for another season.

  That's cool, but I don't think LSU would beat either.
• Heelz

  

  Not the outcome I had hoped for but as posted before UNC played better than I thought they would. Not sure why they didnt foul. Good game by two good teams.
• ironman02

  cats gone wild;999030 wrote:Freshmen beat the experienced team that wanted to come back for another season.

  Do they play the national championship game on December 3rd now? Pretty sure the Carolina guys came back to win a title, not to mail it in after losing by 1 point to Kentucky on their home floor.
• ironman02

  Now that I'm finally on my computer instead of my phone, and I've had time to recover from the loss, I'd like to congratulate the Kentucky fans. Your team played an outstanding game today. Obviously I hated to see Carolina lose, and I hate losing to any of the "blue bloods", but UK has an outstanding team that will continue to get better as they gain more experience.
  
  Kidd-Gilchrest played a great game. He gave UK a lot of energy, played very well defensively, and made some big plays on the offensive end when they needed them most. Doron Lamb and Darius Miller also stepped up at opportune times to make sure that UK held onto the lead late in the game. Jones was a beast in the first half, and even though he didn't do much in the second half, you can see how much he has improved since last season. Davis seemed to struggle on the offensive end somewhat, but I think that had to do with Zeller's defense, which was about the only positive from him today. Teague was able to get into the lane a lot, especially in the second half, and create a lot of opportunities for his teammates. Calipari has a talented bunch of guys, and as I said before, they have the potential to be great by the time March/April rolls around.
  
  For the most part, I was pleased with Carolina today. I thought they were good enough defensively to win the game, which is saying a lot against a team the caliber of Kentucky, and I also thought they shot the ball extremely well from the perimeter. With Barnes, Hairston, and Bullock, I hope the Heels finally have found the outside game that they have been lacking. Henson played pretty well on the offensive end, especially in the first half. He showed that he has certainly improved his game from last season, but now he just needs to gain some consistency. Zeller was okay at times today, but I can't even remember how many times he turned the ball over. Davis and the other Kentucky guys are very tough defensively, but Zeller just couldn't hang onto the ball for anything, and it cost Carolina dearly at the most important point of the game. Hairston and Bullock, if they continue to improve, are going to be deadly from the perimeter, and hopefully McAdoo starts producing as the college game starts to slow down for him.
  
  Other than Ohio State, I don't think there are any other teams as good as Carolina and Kentucky. That's not to say that there aren't other teams capable of winning it all, but when those three teams actually play their "A" game, I don't think anyone can beat them. I hope to see the Heels and Cats go at it again in March or April. Carolina has a lot of room for improvement, and while not as young as UK, they're still a young team at several positions. They'll get better, I'm sure. I do think Kentucky's ceiling may be higher than that of Carolina, but I still think that if they were to play again, it would be a very evenly matched game, especially on a neutral court.
  
  The Heels now have seven straight home games before also playing their first two ACC games in the Dean Dome. They need to take care of business, avoid any other surprises (like UNLV), and get ready for conference play. Obviously I was hoping that they would be sitting at 8-0 right now, but there's certainly no shame in losing to #1 Kentucky at Rupp. This game will pay dividends down the road. Time to move on and get better.
• cats gone wild

  ironman02;999069 wrote:Do they play the national championship game on December 3rd now? Pretty sure the Carolina guys came back to win a title, not to mail it in after losing by 1 point to Kentucky on their home floor.

  UNC hasnt had a good start this year losing 2 already.
• ironman02

  cats gone wild;999796 wrote:UNC hasnt had a good start this year losing 2 already.

  What point are you trying to make?
  
  Yeah, the loss to UNLV in Las Vegas isn't a good loss, even though they're still undefeated.
  
  However, Carolina just lost to #1 UK at Rupp by 1 point. I admit that at times, Carolina hasn't looked that good. However, after watching them today, there's no doubt in my mind that they'll be in the thick of the title hunt this Spring.
• cats gone wild

  They are good, no doubt. But when you are hot like that from 3 point land and cant capitalize.......thats a problem. They shouldnt get beat by a team of frosh who have a few games under their belt. It would be more excusable if they lost later in the year to UK after UK got some experience.
• Dr Stromboli

  cats gone wild;999856 wrote:They are good, no doubt. But when you are hot like that from 3 point land and cant capitalize.......thats a problem. They shouldnt get beat by a team of frosh who have a few games under their belt. It would be more excusable if they lost later in the year to UK after UK got some experience.

  It is college basketball...it happens. Carolina is probably the definitive favorite to win it all...a december loss means jack shit.
• ironman02

  cats gone wild;999856 wrote:They are good, no doubt. But when you are hot like that from 3 point land and cant capitalize.......thats a problem. They shouldnt get beat by a team of frosh who have a few games under their belt. It would be more excusable if they lost later in the year to UK after UK got some experience.

  Ok, whatever you say.
  
  Kentucky is the most talented team in the country and they beat Carolina by one point at Rupp. Yes, they're younger than Carolina. Yes, I think they have more overall potential than Carolina. Will they beat Carolina in the NCAA Tournament if they meet up again? We'll see. I know one thing. I don't want anyone else to beat Kentucky in March. I want Carolina to do it.
• SportsAndLady

  

  Jesus Christ shut the fuck up cgw just shut the fuck up
  
  Carolina should not be worried about losing at rupp to the #1 ranked team by 1 point...even if they were 20/20 from 3
• cats gone wild

  Still salty from Kansas getting thumped by UK I see.
• Curly J

  

  ironman02;999730 wrote:Now that I'm finally on my computer instead of my phone, and I've had time to recover from the loss, I'd like to congratulate the Kentucky fans. Your team played an outstanding game today. Obviously I hated to see Carolina lose, and I hate losing to any of the "blue bloods", but UK has an outstanding team that will continue to get better as they gain more experience.
  
  Kidd-Gilchrest played a great game. He gave UK a lot of energy, played very well defensively, and made some big plays on the offensive end when they needed them most. Doron Lamb and Darius Miller also stepped up at opportune times to make sure that UK held onto the lead late in the game. Jones was a beast in the first half, and even though he didn't do much in the second half, you can see how much he has improved since last season. Davis seemed to struggle on the offensive end somewhat, but I think that had to do with Zeller's defense, which was about the only positive from him today. Teague was able to get into the lane a lot, especially in the second half, and create a lot of opportunities for his teammates. Calipari has a talented bunch of guys, and as I said before, they have the potential to be great by the time March/April rolls around.
  
  For the most part, I was pleased with Carolina today. I thought they were good enough defensively to win the game, which is saying a lot against a team the caliber of Kentucky, and I also thought they shot the ball extremely well from the perimeter. With Barnes, Hairston, and Bullock, I hope the Heels finally have found the outside game that they have been lacking. Henson played pretty well on the offensive end, especially in the first half. He showed that he has certainly improved his game from last season, but now he just needs to gain some consistency. Zeller was okay at times today, but I can't even remember how many times he turned the ball over. Davis and the other Kentucky guys are very tough defensively, but Zeller just couldn't hang onto the ball for anything, and it cost Carolina dearly at the most important point of the game. Hairston and Bullock, if they continue to improve, are going to be deadly from the perimeter, and hopefully McAdoo starts producing as the college game starts to slow down for him.
  
  Other than Ohio State, I don't think there are any other teams as good as Carolina and Kentucky. That's not to say that there aren't other teams capable of winning it all, but when those three teams actually play their "A" game, I don't think anyone can beat them. I hope to see the Heels and Cats go at it again in March or April. Carolina has a lot of room for improvement, and while not as young as UK, they're still a young team at several positions. They'll get better, I'm sure. I do think Kentucky's ceiling may be higher than that of Carolina, but I still think that if they were to play again, it would be a very evenly matched game, especially on a neutral court.
  
  The Heels now have seven straight home games before also playing their first two ACC games in the Dean Dome. They need to take care of business, avoid any other surprises (like UNLV), and get ready for conference play. Obviously I was hoping that they would be sitting at 8-0 right now, but there's certainly no shame in losing to #1 Kentucky at Rupp. This game will pay dividends down the road. Time to move on and get better.

  tl;dr
  
  Kidding as I did read it.
  
  Pretty much dead on...and this from a UK Fan. We just have to remember it's still early. March is a long ways down the road.
• hoops23

  

  cats gone wild;1000018 wrote:Still salty from Kansas getting thumped by UK I see.

  LSU basketball sucks
  
  UK football sucks.
  
  You don't like neither...
  
  LSU football is good
  
  UK basketball is good
  
  You like both.
  
  hmmm
• SportsAndLady

  

  cats gone wild;1000018 wrote:Still salty from Kansas getting thumped by UK I see.

  
  Literally had nothing to do with kansas..I realize this is gonna be a rough year for Kansas and that UK is really good....this has to do with your idiotic comments about.UNC
• mallymal614

  Roy Williams teams tend to start of slow every season at Carolina. Let's see what they do in March.
• Heretic

  

  I thought CGW was an LSU fan.
  
  Oh...wait...TEAM SEC. That's right. My bad. Since one of those schools is bad at football (Kentucky) and the other is bad at basketball (LSU), you have to mix things up. Wouldn't do to be always boasting of a conference's dominance in all things if you're cheering for a bottomfeeder, would it?
• wes_mantooth

  

  Heretic;1000471 wrote:I thought CGW was an LSU fan.
  
  Oh...wait...TEAM SEC. That's right. My bad. Since one of those schools is bad at football (Kentucky) and the other is bad at basketball (LSU), you have to mix things up. Wouldn't do to be always boasting of a conference's dominance in all things if you're cheering for a bottomfeeder, would it?

  
  victory in jesus
• GOONx19

  

  I got a chance to go to the game and had a blast. It was by far the best game I've ever been to in person. I don't really feel like analyzing, but it was great to get the win. I feel safe saying that both of these teams are near locks for the Elite 8, and I like UK's chances moving forward. Next up: Indiana.
• reclegend22

  

  Carolina and Kentucky's front courts are scary good compared to the rest of the country (aside from Sullinger and OSU). While it's certainly surprising that the Heels were unable to leave Lexington with a victory after shooting so spectacularly from three (UNC was 11-of-18 from three while UK shot a miserable 4-for-17), I don't think it's overly concerning for Heel fans. They still have the most stacked team in the country. They just need to figure some things out (as another poster alluded to, sometimes it take's Roy's teams awhile to fully work out the wrinkles as Roy is the kind of coach that is very set in his ways -- his refusal to take Dru II out of the lineup until mid-January last year comes to mind. And I think even UNC fans would agree with that to an extent.
  
  That brings up a question. Why is Roy not giving P.J. Hairston more of a "green light"? He's scored 19, 15 and 11 against South Carolina, UNLV and Kentucky, respectively, including hitting a combined 11 of 18 from three-point land in those games, and yet Hairston never played more than 15 minutes per in any of the contests. I've read a lot of fan comments at Inside Carolina and it seems to me that many of the followers over there are at a loss over why Hairston has such a short leash, especially when he's producing, arguably, at a higher level than any of the other Carolina shooters in the limited time he's receiving. I think that, similarly to what happened after the removal of Dru from the lineup last year, when Hairston starts to play more extended minutes this season, the Heels will be even more dangerous.
• ironman02

  He's probably intentionally holding him back so he doesn't leave for the NBA.
  
  Seriously, though, PJ needs more minutes. Justin Watts should never see the floor, and PJ and/or Reggie Bullock should take some of Dexter's minutes, in my opinion. It seems to me that when Marshall and Strickland are on the floor at the same time, defenses just pack it in and focus on Zeller and Henson. It's no secret that Dex and Kendall are very inconsistent from the perimeter. Strickland is a good defender, and he's lightning fast in the open court, but PJ and Reggie are scorers. They need more opportunities.