If you love offensive clinics, beautiful ball movement, and rhythmic shooting, this game was not for you. If you love stress and anxiety, well you witnessed an instant classic at Rupp Arena between North Carolina and Kentucky.
In a game that set offensive basketball back a few decades, Kentucky and North Carolina traded bricks, turnovers, and bruises for 40 grueling minutes. It was a game defined not by who made the most plays, but by who survived the longest stretches of ineptitude.
Mark Pope’s offense never arrived, very little ball movement and just no real shot making ability at all. Instead, the Wildcats had to rely on a street-fight mentality to stay alive against a massive Tar Heels frontcourt that threatened to swallow them whole on the glass.
The 10-minute freeze that doomed Kentucky basketball
The second half will be studied by future historians as an example of how not to play offense by both teams.
After a tight first half, the lid completely sealed over the rim for the Wildcats. For a staggering stretch of over 10 minutes, Kentucky failed to record a single field goal and still were ahead for a large portion of it. There was no ball movement, no good screens, and just a bunch of hero ball.
The crowd at Rupp Arena grew restless, then silent, then terrified, then roared. Every possession felt like a 10 hour shift at work. Every missed three, and there were plenty, with the Cats shooting a frigid 1-of-13 from deep, sapped a little more energy from the building.
Just when it looked like the game was slipping away due to sheer offensive incompetence, Otega Oweh did what Oweh does.
With just over two minutes remaining and the offense invisible, Oweh drove into the teeth of the defense and finished a contested layup. It wasn't a highlight-reel play, but it was the most important bucket of the night. It snapped the drought, woke up the crowd, and gave Kentucky hope.
While the shooting was the headline, the rebounding was the story of the struggle. North Carolina bullied Kentucky on the interior, racking up a 41-30 rebounding advantage.
The Tar Heels grabbed 20 offensive rebounds, turning misses into second, third, and sometimes fourth opportunities. Kentucky center Malachi Moreno did his best to anchor the paint, but he was often left on an island against UNC’s relentless pursuit of the ball.
Despite the 13-minute drought, the horrendous shooting, and the rebounding deficit, Kentucky found itself clinging to a 59-58 lead with 2 minutes to play.
It defied logic. By all metrics, Kentucky should have been down double digits. But their defense forced 12 turnovers and generated 8 steals, keeping the game ugly enough to stay within striking distance.
As the clock ticked under three minutes, the "beautiful game" Mark Pope preached was gone. It was replaced by a desperate, physical brawl for survival.
Derek Dixon drained an open 3 after an offensive rebound to put Carolina up 2. Chandler drove to the basket and made a great layup to tie the game up at 64 with North Carolina calling a timeout with 31 seconds left.
The Cats had to have one big stop, and Malachi Moreno played drop coverage and allowed Dixon again to get an easy look and give the Heels the lead. Mark Pope called his last time out.
Collin Chandler gets to rim and misses a reverse layup with 2.6 to go in a shot you have to make. He didn't and Kentucky had to foul. Caleb Wilson made 1 of 2, but Kentucky threw it away on the inbounds and lost 67-64.
The Cats drop to 0-3 versus ranked teams, and a loss at home to North Carolina. This team is broken, I am not sure what can fix it.