Kentucky stumbles to 1-5 after lackluster second half against Tar Heels
Kentucky hoped to ride a wave of momentum produced by a rousing 37-16 second-half rally against Notre Dame last weekend.
“That game gave us a lot of confidence and showed how we can play with a lot of energy and fight. …,” Devin Askew said. “We can fight and we can be that team Kentucky usually is.”
But the second half against North Carolina on Saturday was a flipping of the script. The Tar Heels had the edge after halftime and defeated Kentucky 75-63 in the CBS Sports Classic in Cleveland.
The result was far from what Kentucky usually is.
It was UK’s fifth straight loss, which was only the sixth time in program history that’s happened.
The 1-5 record was only the fourth time that’s happened to Kentucky.
North Carolina’s big men made the difference. As a result, foul trouble contributed to this Kentucky defeat. Olivier Sarr, Lance Ware, Isaiah Jackson and Terrence Clarke all fouled out.
With so many players having limited playing time, Kentucky went more than nine minutes without a basket in the second-half turnaround.
Davion Mintz led UK with 17 points. Brandon Boston added 15 and Devin Askew 12. Sarr scored only two points and grabbed four rebounds.
No. 22 North Carolina (5-2) was led by Armando Bacot with 14 points.
Kentucky had led 38-34 at halftime.
UK met its presumed goals of reducing turnovers and not letting North Carolina reap a rebounding bonanza on the offensive backboard.
UNC came into the game ranked No. 8 nationally in rebound margin (plus 15.5). But Kentucky outrebounded UNC 21-15 in the half.
And Kentucky did it despite early foul trouble for its “bigs.” Jackson picked up two fouls before the first TV timeout. Ware had two before the second TV time and Sarr got his second before the third TV timeout.
In the half, North Carolina had only five second-chance points.
Earlier in the week, Calipari had emphasized rebounding as a key.
“You’re going to have to fight,” he said on Thursday. “You’re going to have to go body to body. … You better rebound. That means five guys. You better gang rebound because they do.”
As for turnovers, Kentucky had six in first half. North Carolina had only two points off UK turnovers.
That’s because five of Kentucky’s six turnovers resulted in stoppages of play rather than transition opportunities for the Tar Heels. The six included two walks, one stepping on a sideline, one illegal screen and one charge.
Mintz helped Kentucky get off to a fast start. His three three-pointers propelled UK to a 19-8 lead less than eight minutes into the game.
North Carolina rallied, twice taking two-point leads down the stretch.
Mintz’s putback — which capped Kentucky’s 14 second-chance points — broke a 29-29 tied with 2:24 left.
Boston, who led UK with 12 points in the half, scored five in the final 90 seconds to help set the 38-34 lead at intermission.
Foul trouble complicated Kentucky’s second half. Jackson picked up his third foul 57 seconds after halftime.
Ware picked up his fourth with 12:51 left.
Sarr, the player Calipari has talked about revolving thee offense around, picked up his fourth foul with 11:43 left.
Kentucky led by as much as six points early in the second half. The fouls on Ware and Sarr came during a 12-1 run that gave North Carolina a 54-49 lead. That prompted a UK timeout with 9:42 left.
Next game
Kentucky at No. 23 Louisville
When: Noon Saturday
TV: ESPN2
This story was originally published December 19, 2020 at 4:37 PM.
