at UNC

I know you readers are probably wondering, "Hey, GoHeath, you're a big UK fan. You obviously hate UNC. Why haven't you said anything more about the UK/UNC game today?" The truth is that I hate it when UK plays UNC -- always have, always will. The game means too much to me, and UK usually loses, and so I lose a whole week or so of fandom -- first the dread, then the loss. Besides, I so mistrust everything about UNC -- the way the media helps with their recruiting, the way the officials usually give them all sorts of breaks -- that I don't see the game as a true test of skill. I don't care how good our team is -- realistically I don't think a group of freshmen who have never played a true road game, and who have never been on the other side of the home cooking that will take place today, can be expected to win. So I never go into this game with the sort of excitement and energy one should bring to a rivalry game. I always have the sense of doom that accompanies a UK/UT football game.

But, you say, UK has beaten UNC a number of times in recent years. That is true, but let's look more closely at the record. UK's all-time record against UNC is 11-21 -- their worst record against any team in college basketball. From 1975 (the year I became a fan) to 2000, the Cats and the Heels met six times, and UNC won all six games, including two of the most painful losses I have ever experienced. Then the current series began. Here are the results of that series, with the home team listed first:

12/02/2000: #6 N. Carolina 76 - 93 Kentucky

12/08/2001: #11 Kentucky 79 - 59 N. Carolina

12/07/2002: #12 N. Carolina 81 - 98 #18 Kentucky

01/03/2004: #8 Kentucky 61 - 56 #9 N. Carolina

12/04/2004: #9 N. Carolina 91 - 78 # 8 Kentucky

12/03/2005: #10 Kentucky 79 - 83 N. Carolina

12/02/2006: #7 N. Carolina 75 - 63 Kentucky

12/01/2007: Kentucky 77 - 86 #1 N. Carolina

11/18/2008: #1 N. Carolina 77 - 58 Kentucky

12/05/2009: #5 Kentucky 68 - 66 #10 N. Carolina

Kentucky did win the first four games in the series, but in the first three of those games we were going up against "Coach" Matt Doherty, who may have been the worst coach in the history of college basketball. Once Roy Williams took over, UNC quickly ran off a five-game winning streak -- and that streak only ended last year because: (1) we got a real coach of our own, (2) we had a great team that went 35-3, (3) they had a lousy team that ended up missing the NCAA tournament altogether, and (4) we were at home. Even then we only won by two points.

Now UNC may have another lousy team this year. They have lost three of their last four games -- although none of those games was at the Dean Dome. And Ken Pomeroy has us winning today, 74-73 (although most folks in Vegas show Carolina as a 1-point favorite). I hope, with all my heart, that the Cats can pull this game out. Personally, I would rather win this game than any other on the schedule. But I admit to extreme pessimism.