Three takeaways from Kentucky basketball’s humbling of the North Carolina Tar Heels
Three takeaways from Kentucky basketball’s 98-69 thrashing of North Carolina in the CBS Sports Classic on Saturday:
1. Sahvir Wheeler put on a Las Vegas show
Call it a Comeback Show. Benched down the stretch in UK’s 66-62 loss at Notre Dame last Saturday, UK’s point guard came out with a vengeance against the Tar Heels, wheeling and dealing, driving and dishing, taking the ball right to the rim. And scoring.
Boy did he score. Just because Wheeler isn’t the greatest outside shooter does not mean the New York product can’t score. He finished with a game-high 26 points on Saturday, going 12 of 15 from the floor. Those 26 points — a personal best so far as a Cat — came without benefit of a single three-point attempt.
Afterward, Wheeler downplayed the bounce-back angle, dismissing the idea that he had something to prove. He was just excited to play against a marquee opponent, he said. It’s why he left Georgia for Kentucky. He also said that he and his father went back and watched North Carolina’s 89-72 loss to UK’s fellow SEC member Tennessee in the Tip-Off Tournament at Mohegan Sun. The Volunteers scored 22 baskets off either dunks or layups that day in Connecticut.
Kentucky scored 20 such baskets on Saturday. UK head coach John Calipari credited a switch back to his old dribble-drive offense for igniting the engine. But Wheeler was certainly at the wheel. He added eight assists to his successful star of the case.
“The main thing is I wanted him to be the leader,” Calipari said.
Wheeler led all right, and his Cats followed.
2. UCLA, Ohio State and North Carolina all failed to show in Vegas
Ohio State and UCLA had a written excuse, COVID-19 issues rearing their ugly head in both those programs, forcing Ohio State on Thursday to back out of its game with Kentucky and UCLA to pull the plug Friday on its game with North Carolina. That’s why the CBS Sports Classic was downsized from a doubleheader to a Kentucky-North Carolina single-header on Saturday.
Alas, the Heels were horrible. Hubert Davis’ team entered the game eighth nationally in three-point shooting at 40.9 percent. Against UK, Carolina clanged 12 of their shots from behind the three-point line. UNC was 0-for-6 in the first half while digging a 40-29 halftime hole, then went 1-for-7 in the second half.
And when North Carolina missed, Kentucky rebounded. The Cats dominated the glass 44-26. UK center Oscar Tshiebwe produced yet another double-double, scoring 16 points and collecting 12 rebounds despite playing just 22 minutes because of foul trouble. Kellan Grady had previously caught Calipari’s attention for the Davidson transfers lack of rebounding. Grady grabbed six Saturday. Jacob Toppin contributed five and Lance Ware four to the effort.
“When they’re rebounding,” said a grinning Oscar afterward, “I don’t have to do all the work.”
North Carolina has a lot of work to do. The Heels are now 8-3 in their first season under Davis, the popular former UNC star who replaced the retired Roy Williams. Carolina has lost by nine to Purdue, by 17 to Tennessee and now by 29 to Kentucky. The latter was North Carolina’s most lopsided loss since a 90-57 thumping by Leonard Hamilton and Florida State on Jan. 14, 2012.
Maybe North Carolina’s performance Saturday had something to do with those ghastly black uniforms the Tar Heels donned. Or maybe now we know why Duke is the only ACC team ranked in the AP Top 25. Tough times on Tobacco Road.
3. Saturday was the real confidence-builder Kentucky needed
When the Cats were feasting on those seven straight cupcakes at Rupp Arena, Calipari said his team needed those guarantee games as tune-ups and confidence-builders for yet another nearly new roster. Last week’s slip-up at Notre Dame appeared to poke a hole in that strategy.
Saturday was a real confidence-builder. A notable opponent. A big stage. And a knockout performance. “I told Hubert that was by far the best we’ve played all season,” Calipari said afterward.
You could just see and feel Kentucky’s swagger swelling as the game progressed. The Cats were aggressive on both ends of the floor. They played fast and free. Despite’s Wheeler insistence otherwise, they played like a team that desperately wanted to make a point.
What does all this mean going forward? It was just one game, after all. It only counted as one win. A loser to Western Kentucky in Bowling Green on Saturday, Louisville limps into Rupp Arena on Wednesday night. Or at least we hope the Cards are coming to Rupp on Wednesday. With COVID-19 staging a comeback on the sports scene, who knows what the future holds.
“We said today this might be the last game we play for awhile,” Wheeler said.
And Calipari added, “I told these guys, just be glad you’re playing.”
Kentucky proved it can play. Here in Vegas, it showed just how well it is capable of playing when it is hitting on all cylinders. The trick now is to keep it up.
Why Dontaie Allen did not play
I caught up with Calipari after his press conference and asked the coach why Dontaie Allen did not play at end of game. Cal said he asked Allen if he wanted to go into the game with the walk-ons and Allen declined. Calipari said he was perfectly fine with that.
“I always ask,” Calipari said. “My coach did that to me a couple of times (without asking) and I was pissed.”
This story was originally published December 18, 2021 at 9:20 PM.
