Quick Hitters - North Carolina vs. Kentucky (CBS Sports Classic)

Isaac Schade presents Quick Hitters from North Carolina’s 75-63 victory over Kentucky on Saturday afternoon in the 7th annual CBS Sports Classic.

Quick Hitters from North Carolina’s 75-63 victory over Kentucky on Saturday afternoon in the 7th annual CBS Sports Classic.

Highlights

• Kentucky’s record is historically bad, but they are still one of the most talented teams in the country. This is a huge win for a young Carolina team still working to find their identity.
• Today was the first time Carolina has beaten Kentucky in their three matchups in the CBS Sports Classic. The Heels are now 5-2 overall in the event, the best record of the four participating schools.
• Down 13 to UNLV in the first half. Down 16 to Texas in the first half. Down 16 to Iowa in the first half. Down 11 to NC Central in the first half. Down 11 to Kentucky in the first half. In five of the last six games, the Tar Heels have found themselves in a double-digit hole in the first half. In each of those five games they have taken a lead at some point. They even won three of the games. However, ACC play is upon us and the time is now for Carolina to find a way to begin games with the same level of urgency they use to dig out of the holes.
• RJ Davis bruised his knee in the first half when he fell to the court after a foul. He didn’t start the second half (Andrew Platek started in his place) and only played 2:34 after halftime. Hopefully Davis will be ready to go by the ACC opener on Tuesday at NC State.
• With Davis missing time, Kerwin Walton and Puff Johnson played invaluable minutes. The two freshmen were a major factor in Carolina being able to secure the victory. They combined to score 15 points on a perfect shooting day: 4-4 field goals, 3-3 three-pointers, and 4-4 free throws. Walton also drew the fourth foul on Olivier Sarr. Here is one of Walton's threes, set up by a beautiful pump-fake and step back:

• We are all aware of the sheer depth of the Carolina frontcourt. It was on full display today as the Tar Heels fouled out four Kentucky players. It’s rare for that to happen in a game that finishes in regulation.
• One of the Kentucky players who fouled out was Wake Forest transfer Olivier Sarr. Sarr, who had a double-double against the Tar Heels last year on Senior Night, was held to two points and four rebounds. Perhaps most impressively from a defensive viewpoint, he didn’t attempt a single field goal, despite the fact that the Wildcats had made known that they wanted to operate their offense through him today. 
• The Tar Heels had some foul problems of their own, but were able to navigate the game without anyone fouling out. Garrison Brooks, Caleb Love, and Andrew Platek each finished with four.
• As you might guess in a game with multiple players in foul trouble, both teams reached the bonus before the under-12:00 timeout of the second half.
• Kentucky has not been a good three-point shooting team in the early-going of this season. However, teams often seem to have a “get-right” game against Carolina from beyond the arc. This appeared to be one of those days as Davion Mintz connected on three triples in the first 6:30 of game action. Would you like to know how many treys the Wildcats made after that? Zero.
• It’s amazing what happens when you hang onto the ball. The Tar Heels committed 11 turnovers today, their second-fewest of the season. Importantly, Caleb Love only had two of those 11 and dished out six assists. Love has 16 assists in his last three games, an average of 5.33 per. Here's one of those assists, an alley-oop to Garrison Brooks (who brilliantly points to the passer before he even lands):

• Love did several nice things today. He had a beautiful finish at the rim to make the score 29-27 Tar Heels – he refused a ball screen and had a wide open lane but had to adjust in mid-air at the rim to avoid a defender. Love also had a HUGE bucket right before the break, plus the free throw to cut Kentucky’s lead from seven to four (which feels a lot more doable). Also, Love drew a charge even though he was saddled with three fouls. A risky play to be sure, but one that ultimately paid off. Here is video of both of those Love baskets:

• We wondered if perhaps the Tar Heels had gotten over their early-season free throw woes after shooting greater than 80 percent against NC Central. Unfortunately, that was not the case as UNC hit just 50 percent of their first 22 attempts today. The Heels did redeem themselves by making all seven of their attempts in the final 2:00 of the game to both seal the victory and finish shooting 18-29 (62.1 percent) from the line.
• On the topic of low shooting percentages, the Tar Heels came into the game shooting 27 percent from three-point range. The lowest end-of-season percentage in program history is 30.4 percent, set last year. Carolina is more than three percentage points down from that threshold. And today, despite Walton’s marksmanship, the number dipped again as Carolina went 5-for-20 (25 percent) from beyond the arc. Until the Heels prove they can consistently bury shots from deep, teams will continue to pack the paint and the frontcourt won't have enough space to operate.
• The Heels were out-rebounded for the first time all season - 42-38. However, they had more offensive rebounds than Kentucky (15-14). Despite losing the rebounding margin battle today, Carolina is still +12.71 on the season.
• Offensive rebounding continues to be strong for Carolina overall. Even though they rebounded a season-low 34.9 percent of available offensive rebounds and a season-low 34.3 percent of missed field goals, the Heels are still over 40 percent in both metrics for the season (41.3 and 42.8 percent respectively).
• The 2020-21 Tar Heels have broken 80 points just once (the loss to Iowa). Their adjusted tempo continues to drop according to KenPom’s stats. Coming into today, Carolina was 92nd in adjusted tempo and fell to 106th following the game. In the Roy Williams era, the Heels have never finished a season worse than 67th in that metric. Of those 17 Roy Williams-coached seasons, UNC has finished in the top 25 of adjusted tempo 13 times and in the top 10 five times.
• You know you are shooting the ball at an efficient level when you go 5-for-8 from the field and your field goal percentage goes down. Such is the case for Armando Bacot whose field goal percentage dropped from 76.7 to 73.7 today. No Tar Heel has ever shot 70 percent for the season (minimum 50 made baskets). Bacot also had two blocks, one of which you can see here:

• Andrew Platek continues to contribute value minutes this season. He hit another three today but perhaps most importantly played a major role in limiting Kentucky’s leading scorer Brandon Boston to 15 points on 5-for-14 shooting. Yes, Boston is more athletic, and frankly a superior basketball player. But Platek has experience and desire, and those attributes served him well against the Kentucky freshman standout. Platek also hit a huge three at the 6:00 minute mark when Kentucky had closed the gap to two. You never want to be in a situation where the opponent could tie or take the lead on one possession. Platek’s three pushed the gap back to five and Kentucky never got any closer. Here's Platek's three (which comes off a nice two-man inside-outside game with Day'Ron Sharpe):

• Each time Kentucky made a push down the stretch, Carolina responded. Day’Ron Sharpe made several nice plays in that period, both scoring and distributing. Sharpe and Bacot each had and-ones. As a team, Carolina had three tap-outs on missed free throws (Oregon in the Final Four, anyone?). Here is video of a beautiful assist from Sharpe as well as one of the free throw tap-outs which led to a Walton three-pointer:

• Great fight. Great tenacity. Now let’s use that momentum to get off to a hot start in Raleigh next week.

Box Score

 Roy Williams postgame press conference

Players postgame press conference

Kerwin Walton

Armando Bacot

Andrew Platek

Caleb Love

Remember to check in for Quick Hitters after every North Carolina basketball game. Next up is the Tar Heels' first ACC game on the road in Raleigh against NC State. Tipoff is Tuesday, December 22 at 9:00pm ET on ACC Network.

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