Who Shined in North Carolina’s Win Over Kentucky

The North Carolina Tar Heels passed a major test by defeating the Kentucky Wildcats 67-64 on Tuesday night at Rupp Arena.

Coming off a defeat similar to the one against Michigan State last week, North Carolina had to prove doubters wrong and find a way to steal a win on the road in a primetime game. The Tar Heels did just that by minimizing Kentucky's offensive production, making the Wildcats play in uncomfortable circumstances despite being the home team.

There were several impressive performances from North Carolina's perspective, but it was not the same usual suspects that we tend to see every week step up for the Tar Heels.

Let's take a look at a few players who perform their best on Tuesday night.

Henri Veesaar

Stat line: 17 points and 10 rebounds

With notable players not shooting as efficiently as usual, Veesaar was forced into a more offensive role, taking over the game in the second half.

The former Arizona center was dominant on both ends of the floor, grabbing rebounds, blocking shots, and cleaning up missed opportunities for easy layups and dunks. Despite the rest of the offensive players missing a handful of shots, Veesaar went 8-of-12 from the field, which was an outlier in comparison to the rest of the players on both sides.

Because North Carolina roster is filled with freshmen and other transfer players, Veesaar will continue to step up as a leader on the court, especially with Seth Trimble unavailable. Tuesday night was a prime example of the junior center taking control of the moment and uplifting his team when it needed him the most.

Caleb Wilson

Stat line: 15 points, 12 rebounds, 6 assists, 2 steals, and 2 blocks

This was by far Wilson's worst performance of the season, shooting 5-of-19 from the field. However, the freshman forward's energy and second effort on loose balls and rebounds were unmatched. Scoring 15 points on that volume is not that impressive, but grabbing 12 rebounds, with six assists, and a couple of steals shows that Wilson can impact a game in a multitude of ways.

What Wilson demonstrated on Tuesday night was very impressive for a freshman. Most of the time, when you see a young player struggle with his shot, he tends to press and keep forcing the situation by taking ill-advised shots throughout the game. However, Wilson found other ways to impact the game.

Luka Bogavac

Stat line: 12 points, 4 rebounds, and 2 assists

It was an up-and-down performance by Bogavac on Tuesday night, but he hit multiple timely shots late in the game that kept North Carolina within striking distance.

There were several moments, specifically in the second half, where it looked like Kentucky was on the verge of pulling away and winning comfortably. The Tar Heels never gave in, and Bogavac was a key piece in creating that narrative.

The transfer guard has had moments of inconsistency, which came to light again on Tuesday night, but his clutch shots were monumental for North Carolina, finding a way to win the game.

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