How No. 18 Kentucky matches up vs. No. 16 North Carolina — with a game prediction
How the No. 18 Kentucky Wildcats (5-2) and the No. 16 North Carolina Tar Heels (6-1) match up at each position for Tuesday’s NCAA men’s college basketball ACC/SEC Challenge — with a game prediction:
Small forward
• Kentucky’s Collin Chandler (11.7 points per game, 3.6 rebounds, 48.8% 3-point percentage) has scored in double figures in six of UK’s first seven games. The 6-foot-5, 205-pound sophomore from Farmington, Utah, had 14 points, five rebounds and five assists in the Wildcats’ 104-54 crushing of Tennessee Tech last time out.
• North Carolina’s Caleb Wilson was a major recruiting target for Kentucky in the class of 2025. So far, the 6-10, 215-pound product of Atlanta is playing like a contender for national freshman of the year. Wilson is averaging 19.9 points, 9.9 rebounds and leading the Tar Heels in steals with 1.7 per game. Though making 58.8% of his field-goal attempts, Wilson has hit only 25% of his 3-point tries. Wilson had 24 points, seven rebounds and four assists when the Tar Heels defeated Kansas 87-74 on Nov. 7.
Advantage: North Carolina.
Power forward
• Although Kentucky sophomore Kam Williams boasts meager stats (5.4 points, 3.9 rebounds), his presence on the floor seems to lead to UK’s most successful basketball. The 6-8, 205-pound transfer from Tulane was a team-best plus-11 in UK’s 96-88 loss at Louisville last month and a team-best even in the plus-minus in the Wildcats’ 83-66 loss to Michigan State in the Champions Classic. A 41.2% 3-point shooter last season, Williams has yet to find his outside shot so far at Kentucky (26.1%).
• North Carolina’s Jarin Stevenson (7.9 points, 4.4 rebounds, 42.1% FGs) played against Kentucky four times over the prior two seasons while at Alabama. The 6-10, 215-pound Chapel Hill, N.C., product averaged 6.8 points and 3.3 rebounds in those four contests, although he went for 16 points and four boards in Bama’s 99-70 thrashing of UK in last season’s SEC Tournament quarterfinals.
Advantage: Even.
Center
• Kentucky freshman Malachi Moreno (10.6 points, 7.6 rebounds, 58.7% FGs) has been an early-season standout. The 7-foot, 250-pound freshman from Great Crossing High School in Georgetown had 13 points and 11 rebounds in UK’s pasting of Tennessee Tech last week.
• North Carolina’s Henri Veesaar (15.9 points, 8.3 rebounds, team-high 1.6 blocks, 42.9% 3-point attempts) played well in UNC’s 74-58 loss to Michigan State last week in the Fort Myers Tip-off. The transfer from Arizona hit 6 of 9 shots against the Spartans and finished with 13 points and six rebounds. A 7-foot, 225-pound product of Tallinn, Estonia, Veesaar has scored in double figures in all seven UNC games and has two points-rebounds double-doubles.
Advantage: North Carolina.
Shooting guard
• Though it feels like Kentucky senior Otega Oweh (13.0 points, 3.7 rebounds, 46.5% FGs, 31.8% treys) has started slow this season, the 6-4, 220-pound product of Newark, New Jersey, has scored in double figures in all seven of UK’s games. In the victory against Tennessee Tech, Oweh hit 6 of 11 shots and had a season-high 16 points to go along with two rebounds, three assists and two steals.
• North Carolina’s Luka Bogavac (12.0 points, 2.6 rebounds, 38% FGs, 31.7% treys) had 11 points and five assists in the loss to Michigan State. The 6-6, 215-pound product of Mojkovac, Montenegro, has scored in double figures in five straight games and in six of seven on the season.
Advantage: Kentucky.
Point guard
• Kentucky senior Denzel Aberdeen (team-high 14.0 points, 4.3 rebounds, 3.4 assists, 53% FGs) went for 16 points, four assists and three steals in the victory against Tennessee Tech. The 6-5, 195-pound transfer from Florida has scored in double figures in all seven UK contests to date.
• North Carolina’s Kyan Evans (7.9 points, 3.0 rebounds, 41.3% FGs, 32.4% treys) has 31 assists versus 16 turnovers. A 6-2, 175-pound junior from Kansas City, Evans had a rough go in the loss to Michigan State, making only 1 of 7 field goals and missing all five of his 3-point tries en route to four points and two assists. A transfer from Colorado State, Evans played well in UNC’s win over Kansas with 12 points, two rebounds, three assists and two steals.
Advantage: Kentucky.
Bench
• Kentucky freshman guard Jasper Johnson (7.7 points, 2.1 rebounds, 42.2% FGs, 35.7% treys) leads the Wildcats in assists with 25 versus only 11 turnovers. The 6-5, 180-pound former Woodford County star has had four assists or more in five of UK’s seven games. … Ex-Harlan County star Trent Noah (6.0 points, 3.4 rebounds, 56% FGs, 50% treys) had a career-high 16 points in the win against Tennessee Tech. The 6-5, 220-pound sophomore hit 5 of 6 shots and 4 of 5 treys against the Golden Eagles. … Andrija Jelavic (6.3 points, 4.6 rebounds, 51.4% FGs), the 6-11, 225-pound Croatian forward, set career highs with 10 rebounds and three assists versus Tennessee Tech. … Brandon Garrison (5.9 points, 5.6 rebounds, 58.1% FGs), a 6-10, 245-pound junior, has averaged 7.5 rebounds in the past two games. … Mouhamed Dioubate (11.6 points, 5.8 rebounds, 62.2% FGs), a 6-7, 220-pund junior, has missed UK’s past two games with an ankle injury.
• North Carolina’s depth has been thinned by the broken left forearm Seth Trimble (14.5 points, 5.0 rebounds) suffered in a weight-room accident last month. … Freshman guard Derek Dixon, a 6-5, 200-pound product of Vienna, Virginia, is averaging 4.9 points and 2.6 rebounds while making 50% of his 3-point tries. … A transfer from West Virginia, Jonathan Powell (3.9 points, 2.4 rebounds) is in a shooting slump. The 6-6, 190-pound sophomore is a combined 3 of 13 on field-goal tries over UNC’s past four games. … At 6-10, 230-pounds, Zayden High (2.6 points, 2.6 rebounds, 33.3% FGs) gives the Tar Heels interior size.
Advantage: Kentucky.
Trends and history
• North Carolina leads the all-time series with Kentucky 25-18. However, UK has won seven of the past 10 vs. UNC.
• Kentucky coach Mark Pope has not coached against North Carolina while at UK.
• North Carolina head man Hubert Davis is 0-2 vs. Kentucky.
• All-time, UK is 1-1 in the ACC/SEC Challenge; UNC is also 1-1.
• Mark Pope opened his UK coaching career 7-2 against teams ranked in the AP Top 25. However, the UK head man has subsequently lost six of his last seven such games, including both this season.
• North Carolina has also recently struggled against the strongest competition. Last season, UNC went 1-12 in what were classified as Quad 1 games in the NCAA Net Rankings. This season, the Tar Heels are 1-1 against the AP Top 25.
Advantage: Even.
Prediction
Kentucky 78, North Carolina 75.
This story was originally published December 1, 2025 at 6:30 AM.
