Two of college basketball’s blue bloods (literally) will meet up on Saturday, as the no. 19 Kentucky Wildcats face the no. 9 North Carolina Tar Heels in the CBS Sports Classic. The game will be played at the United Center in Chicago with the Tar Heels favored by four points.
As usual, the Wildcats are young and have had some growing pains early in the season. They opened up by getting blown out by Duke and recently suffered another setback when they lost to Seton Hall. Other than that, they have cruised to victory in their eight other games. However, their most impressive win to date is last week’s blowout of a 4-5 Utah team.
The Tar Heels also enter this game with an identical 8-2 record. Roy Williams and company have experienced setbacks against both Texas and Michigan, losing to the Wolverines by 17 points in late November. However, North Carolina has also proven themselves in wins against Stanford, UCLA, and Gonzaga.
Every Which Way
The Tar Heels are one of the most potent offensive teams in the country, averaging close to 94 points per game. Ten games into the season, averaging that many points is not an aberration, especially when half of those 10 games have come against legitimate opponents. North Carolina currently has four players averaging double figures, led by sharpshooter Cameron Johnson, who’s shooting an astounding 49% from three-point range.
Of course, what makes the Tar Heels so lethal offensively is their ability to score in a multitude of ways. Senior Luke Maye remains a key part of the team and is scoring most of his 14 points per game inside the paint. Fellow forward Garrison Brooks is also chipping in nine points a game on the interior, doubling his scoring output from last season. Those two should help prevent Kentucky from focusing too much on Johnson and freshman Cody White, who’s averaging 15 points per game.
Moving On
Saturday’s game will be Kentucky’s second since the transfer of sophomore Quade Green. With John Calipari bringing in freshmen Immanuel Quickley, Tyler Herro, and Ashton Hagans, Green’s role was diminished from last season. Obviously, there’s no shortage of talent in the Kentucky backcourt, but facing North Carolina on a neutral court would have been a good game to have a player with Green’s experience. The Wildcats will now have to live and die with their young freshmen running the point full-time.
It should help that Kentucky is not necessarily a perimeter-oriented team. Leading scorers Keldon Johnson, Reid Travis, and P.J. Washington do most of their scoring inside the arc. That trio is averaging around 44 points per game, accounting for more than half of Kentucky’s scoring on the season. The Tar Heels need to find a way to take at least one of them out of the game and force one of the younger Wildcats to step up and score at a high rate.
Running Wild
The young Wildcats have not shown enough signs of being able to defend quality teams or score at will. Both could be issues against the Tar Heels, who love getting up and down the floor at high speeds. Ultimately, North Carolina will pull away and win comfortably. Bet on North Carolina beating Kentucky and covering the 4-point spread.
