Kentucky 73 - 72 N. Carolina (No. 2,060)

To begin with, we should recognize just how rare games like this are. For example, in all of its history, UK had only played three games against UNC where both teams were ranked in the top five -- and the Heels had won all three. In fact, it is rare for UK to host any game where both teams are in the top five. Here is a list of all such games played by UK at Rupp Arena:

12/15/1979: (5) Kentucky 69, (1) Indiana 58

12/04/1982: (3) Kentucky 93, (4) Villanova 79

01/22/1984: (3) Kentucky 74, (4) Houston 67

02/09/1994: (3) Arkansas 90, (4) Kentucky 82

12/22/1998: (5) Kentucky 103, (2) Maryland 91

12/03/2011: (1) Kentucky 73, (5) N. Carolina 72

That's it, that's the list. So this sort of game in Rupp -- huge crowd, big non-conference opponent, national media in attendance -- is something unusual and precious; especially if the Cats win.

Second, let's give a shout-out to the fans at Rupp. A lot of times -- particularly during a desultory performance against some team like East Tennessee State or Auburn -- the UK message boards will light up with complaints about the crowds at Rupp. Supposedly the "blue hairs" on the lower level aren't cheering enough, or the whole place is "like a tomb." There's a lot of whining about why doesn't Kentucky have the same sort of atmosphere as Cameron Indoor Stadium. Personally, I've always thought this type of allegation was silly and unfair, because I've always had the sense that the crowd paces itself. Yes, Rupp can sound quiet when Kentucky's up by 10 points in a boring game in early January. But whenever the Cats really need it to be, Rupp can become a fearsome place for the other team. I have seen UK beat a lot of great, great teams at Rupp -- including today. I do not think Kentucky would have won this game if it had been played in Chapel Hill, and I want to credit the UK fans for putting on a fantastic show of support.

Third, I think the most rabid fans for both UK and UNC will have to tone down their rhetoric after today's game. It is one thing to yell and scream at each other on message boards, but now we have a lot more evidence of how the teams compare. My guess is that almost every UK fan found that UNC was a little better than we had expected, and I'm sure the Carolina fans feel the same way about Kentucky. I, for one, will not argue that guys like John Henson and Tyler Zeller are overrated stiffs, that Harrison Barnes isn't worth the hype, or that this Carolina team only wins because of the officials. This is a great, great team -- one that is absolutely capable of going all the way.

Now, with those observations out of the way, let's talk about the game. Unlike Kentucky, where we expect the team to play with fire and passion at all times, Carolina sometimes eases into games -- which is why they have so many come-from-behind victories. But sometimes, like today, a game really grabs their attention, and you get the true forty minutes of Heel. After spotting Kentucky a quick 9-3 lead, the Heels put on one of the best displays of basketball I've ever seen against Kentucky. In the span of eight minutes, they went on a 25-11 run to take a 28-20 lead, and it looked very much as thought they were simply too good for the Cats. But then, Darius Miller shot a three that bounced around and around before finally going in to make the score 28-23. It was UK's first made three of the game, and it seemed to steady the Cats somewhat. UK also benefited from a great performance by Terrence Jones, who scored 14 badly-needed first half points to keep the Cats afloat. Still, UK trailed 43-38 going into the locker room.

In the first half, UK had tried to play at a very fast clip -- taking quick shots, trying to score in transition. It made sense on paper -- UNC was determined to stop Anthony Davis from scoring, this opened up driving opportunities for everyone else, and UK is blazingly fast. But it didn't work. UNC has added a spectacular three-point shooter named P.J. Hairston, and he and Harrison Barnes were wearing Kentucky out from long range. UK, which had not given up more than 65 points in any game this year, was on pace to give up 86 points to the Heels. So in the second half, it seemed to me, Coach Cal made a decision to slow things down and concentrate more on defense. Kentucky started working the ball more carefully, and UNC found it harder to get open looks.

This strategy worked much better, and UK started clawing back into the game. But UNC's uncanny three-point shooting (the Heels were 11-18 from behind the line) made it extremely difficult to catch up. Finally, the Heels hit a cold spell. Down 56-51, UK held UNC to only four points in eight minutes. The result was a (very slow) 12-4 run that put the Cats up 63-60 with 6:40 to go.

At this point Doron Lamb took over. Lamb had been cold all night, and no one else had been able to shoot well for Kentucky. (The Cats finished the game shooting only 4-17 from three-point range). But with 5:38 to go and UK up 63-62, Lamb hit his first three of the game. And with 3:51 left and UK up 66-64, Lamb hit another three to give Kentucky a five-point lead. Barnes replied with another three to make the score 69-67, but Miller hit a huge jumper in the lane to put the Cats up four.

An exchange of free throws gave Kentucky a 73-69 lead, and when they got another turnover (UNC had 13 for the game), they had a four-point lead and the ball with about a minute to go. At this point, however, the roof fell in. First, UK fumbled the ball, and a quick pass down court found Reggie Bullock, who buried a three-pointer to make the score 73-72 with 35 seconds left. Then Marquis Teague (who handled the ball very well but struggled with his shot the whole game) missed the front end of a one-and-one. Suddenly UNC had the ball and a chance to win.

On the UNC message board they are in agonies about whether Roy Williams should have called time out and set up a play for Harrison Barnes. But UNC almost never calls time, and I wasn't surprised when they didn't. Instead, they played the ball inside to Tyler Zeller, who was being guarded by Anthony Davis. Zeller killed UK last year, and for this game Calipari had developed a plan whereby Davis would play behind Zeller, while Jones would switch over and double-team him as soon as he got the ball. This strategy had caused trouble for UNC all day (Zeller had four turnovers and shot only 4-9 from the field), and it did so again. Zeller fumbled the ball, which slipped away from him -- but went straight to John Henson, UNC's enormous forward. Because Jones had left Henson to trap Zeller, Henson appeared to be suddenly all alone about 12 feet from the basket. He had made several jump shots in the game, and now he took another for the win.

But Davis, who had been forced to sacrifice his individual game by UNC's defense, and who had been about three or four feet from Henson when Zeller lost the ball, suddenly showed everyone why he is one of the most talented Wildcats ever. He sprang over, timed his leap perfectly, and blocked Henson's shot -- something that almost never happens to the 6' 11" Henson. The ball spun straight up into the air, and Davis grabbed it.

There were still five seconds left, but there was no more action. Davis threw the ball to Teague, who dribbled out the clock (he may have stopped dribbling and started walking with about 0.7 seconds left), and no one from UNC fouled either of them. It was an odd ending -- as if Davis's spectacular block had convinced them that his play was a fitting ending for one of the very best regular-season games you'll ever see.

A few final observations. Looking back over this report, I see that I have not mentioned Michael Kidd-Gilchrist. This is wrong, because MKG was actually UK's leading scorer and rebounder (17 points, 11 boards), and was the only freshman who appeared to be fully awake during the first half. With the Heels concentrating on stopping lobs to Davis (he only got one for the game), the middle opened up for MKG, which plays to his strength -- getting to the rim. He also played great defense and was extremely active the whole game. In many ways, he was Kentucky's MVP.

There will be a lot of complaints about Teague, and he certainly shot very poorly yesterday, but he made only one turnover against a very quick and dangerous team, and Cal says that he is going to spend most of his time in the near future on Teague. In my opinion, Teague is nowhere near guys like John Wall and Brandon Knight in terms of raw talent, but I think he can be an excellent point guard before the year is out. He's actually made almost 37 percent of his three's this year, and if he can keep on that pace, teams will have to pay more attention to his shot.

Eloy Vargas had two rebounds and a block in six very hectic minutes of play, and Kyle Wiltjer (who played five minutes) made a really great move to put UK up 63-60 with 6:40 left in the game. So everyone is feeling good about those two guys.

Coach Cal was as happy after this game as I have ever heard him. I think he has been really, really worried about this game for weeks -- as he should have been. If he had not done a great job of getting these kids ready, they could have been embarrassed on national television. He is now 72-12 at UK -- sixty games over .500 -- and if this team keeps playing like this, he should be in the mix for National Coach of the Year.

One final thought. Each team's fan base probably feels pretty good about this result. Some UK fans feel like that UNC can't shoot that well again from the outside, and that we would be easy winners in a game where they aren't making 60 percent of their three's. Some UNC fans probably feel that they would have won easily on a neutral court. My own belief is that neither theory is correct -- these teams are very evenly-matched, and any game they play is likely to be close. For the record, I do not think UNC's three-point shooting was a fluke; I think Hairston and Barnes are that good. A lot of writers want a rematch, but I will be perfectly happy if we make it through the NCAA's without playing these guys again.