UNC Basketball Moments After – UNC vs. Kentucky 87-83 Loss
UNC Tar Heels Basketball Team Falls Behind Early and Can Never Get Over the Hump Against the Wildcats
by Derrick Clyburn
The North Carolina basketball team faced off against Kentucky in the CBS Classic in Atlanta on Saturday afternoon. It was two Top-15 teams still figuring out their identities. They both started the game off sloppy with bad passes and turnovers, but Kentucky was able to get its footing, and they hit a few baskets in a row to take an early seven-point lead. Meanwhile, the Tar Heels continued to turn the ball over and take rushed shots which made the game herky-jerky throughout most of the first half. North Carolina had 11 first-half turnovers which allowed Kentucky to extend their lead to 10 and they were able to get 14 more shots due to offensive rebounds and the turnovers.
Then with 4 minutes left in the first half the Tar Heels went on a 12-2 run to close the half only down 40-38. RJ Davis and Cormac Ryan were the main scorers 14 and 16 respectively.
In the second half, North Carolina tied the game on a RJ Davis basket. The Kentucky went on a 7-0 run to open the game back up. The Tar Heels couldn’t seem to get enough stops against the quick athletic Wildcats wings. So they played from behind for the next 15 minutes of the second half. RJ Davis began to put UNC on his back and scored on many isolation and screen and roll plays. The Tar Heels picked up their defense making their final run and took their first lead of the game with two Armando Bacot free throws.
Kentucky answered quickly with a 5-0 run of their own to extend the lead back to 5. It seemed like North Carolina couldn’t get enough stops. Kentucky continued to spread the floor and go one-on-one against the mismatches when the Heels switched. The Tar Heels got it to within one point in the final two minutes of the game but made 2 major turnovers that allowed the Wildcats to seal the game at the free-throw line. RJ Davis continues to be on a hot scoring streak leading all scorers with 27 points and 7 rebounds.
UNC Game Stats
| 1 | 2 | T | |
| 14 Kentucky 8-2 | 40 | 47 | 87 |
| 9 North Carolina 7-3 | 38 | 45 | 83 |
| STARTERS | PTS | REB | AST | FG | 3PT | FT | PF | MIN | STL | BLK | TO |
| R. Davis | 27 | 7 | 4 | 8/18 | 3/9 | 8/9 | 3 | 37 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| C. Ryan | 20 | 4 | 0 | 8/12 | 4/7 | 0/0 | 1 | 33 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| H. Ingram | 10 | 4 | 3 | 4/10 | 0/3 | 2/4 | 2 | 34 | 3 | 2 | 1 |
| A. Bacot | 9 | 6 | 0 | 3/4 | 0/0 | 3/4 | 4 | 31 | 1 | 1 | 6 |
| E. Cadeau | 3 | 1 | 3 | 1/2 | 0/0 | 1/2 | 4 | 18 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| BENCH | PTS | REB | AST | FG | 3PT | FT | PF | MIN | STL | BLK | TO |
| S. Trimble | 6 | 3 | 0 | 1/4 | 1/2 | 3/4 | 0 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| J. Withers | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1/4 | 0/2 | 2/2 | 2 | 19 | 2 | 2 | 1 |
| J. Washington | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0/2 | 0/1 | 2/2 | 3 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| P. Wojcik | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1/1 | 0/0 | 0/0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Z. High | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0/0 | 0/0 | 0/0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| D. Farris | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| J. Okonkwo | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| R. Landry | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| C. Lebo | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Total | 83 | 30 | 12 | 27/57 | 8/24 | 21/27 | 23 | – | 7 | 5 | 17 |
| STARTERS | PTS | REB | AST | FG | 3PT | FT | PF | MIN | STL | BLK | TO |
| D. Wagner | 14 | 6 | 5 | 6/14 | 2/4 | 0/1 | 2 | 35 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| A. Bradshaw | 12 | 3 | 0 | 4/6 | 1/1 | 3/5 | 4 | 21 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| A. Reeves | 9 | 4 | 1 | 2/9 | 1/3 | 4/4 | 1 | 23 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| J. Edwards | 8 | 6 | 1 | 3/9 | 0/1 | 2/2 | 0 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| T. Mitchell | 8 | 5 | 2 | 3/5 | 1/3 | 1/2 | 2 | 33 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| BENCH | PTS | REB | AST | FG | 3PT | FT | PF | MIN | STL | BLK | TO |
| R. Dillingham | 17 | 3 | 1 | 6/16 | 1/6 | 4/6 | 4 | 24 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| R. Sheppard | 11 | 6 | 2 | 4/9 | 1/3 | 2/2 | 1 | 25 | 2 | 1 | 3 |
| A. Thiero | 7 | 1 | 2 | 2/4 | 1/2 | 2/2 | 3 | 17 | 0 | 4 | 1 |
| U. Onyenso | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0/0 | 0/0 | 1/2 | 2 | 10 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| K. Watkins | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| W. Horn | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| G. Darbyshire | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| J. Burks | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| J. Hart | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Z. Ivisic | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| B. Canada | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Total | 87 | 35 | 15 | 30/72 | 8/23 | 19/26 | 19 | – | 7 | 9 | 13 |
UNC Bright Spots
RJ Davis had 26 points, 4 assists, and 7 rebounds.
Cormac Ryan had 20 points, 4 rebounds, and 1 steal.
Harrison Ingram had 10 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists, and 3 steals.
Needs Work
The Tar Heels must address their scoring droughts. Too many times during games, they go for extended periods without scoring due to bad shot selection, lack of ball movement, and stagnant offense. The coaching staff must be more involved during these stretches to implement better play calls for them to run. RJ Davis has been carrying this team and they need consistent help from Bacot to pick up some of the scoring load.
UNC’s defense against the three and on the perimeter must be better. They need to do a better job of forcing the opponent off the three-point line and be better at rotating out to shooters. The Heels must rebound better. They were outrebounded 42-32 by the Wildcats.
North Carolina has to take better care of the ball. They turned it over 17 times which is totally unacceptable. They can’t win big games giving their opponents that many extra possessions.
Final Observations
North Carolina is now 7-3 on the season. They are 2-2 heading into their final gauntlet game against 11th-ranked Oklahoma in the Jumpman Classic in Charlotte. The Tar Heels are not far off from developing into a good team. They need more consistency from Bacot scoring the ball down low and the transfers playing within themselves. Bringing the confidence that they played with on their former teams.
Coach Davis and his staff have to continue to build up confidence in all of the players to get the full potential out of them. It is the little things like paying attention to detail boxing out, taking care of the ball, and playing good help-side defense. They are still figuring out their roles and building chemistry as a team. Next up is Oklahoma on Wednesday, Dec. 20th at 9 pm.