UNC 91, Kentucky 78
Game Summary
I don't go to many games in person, but I was asked at the last minute if I was interested in a couple of tickets to the Kentucky game. How can I turn down UNC-Kentucky? The answer is I can't. So my wife and I made a day of it at the Dean Dome. And it was worth every penny (even though I was in the nose bleed section).
Carolina came out with a ferocity I haven't seen in some time. It just looked like the guys were determined to win no matter what. We started out on a 8-0 run and was at 16-5 after just 5 minutes. The refs were terrible all night, but Felton was the only real concern with fouls after he picked up his 3rd with 2:00 left in the first half. Fouls were a big problem for Kentucky though. Their two top point guards ended up fouling out of the game along Chuck Hayes who is perhaps their best player.
McCants had another standout game by scoring 28 points (20 in the first half). He is in a zone right now and no other player in the country is better than him. This was also a coming out for Sean May who had 19 rebounds and 14 points. He played like a man possessed and did a great job of running the floor.
This was the kind of game I love to see in person because the crowd was in to it and there was no shortage of dunks and other great plays. With a tough win over Indiana and drilling Kentucky (who never led the entire game), I think this makes a case for a top 5 ranking for Carolina in the next poll. I guess we'll see...
Game Breakdown
Who: Kentucky
Where: Chapel Hill
Viewing method: In person!
Box Score
Photo Gallery 1
Photo Gallery 2
Coach Williams Quotes
UNC Locker Room Quotes
Coach Tubby Smith Quotes
Starters
Ray Felton - Felton may have not had the best night stats wise, but we wouldn't have won the game without him. He scored just 3 points on 0-5 shooting, 3-9 from free throw line, 7 assists and 5 turnovers. He controls the pace of the game perfectly. What I love about this year's team that I didn't see very much last year is that even when the other team makes a basket, Felton will be dribbling the ball at half court before most of the other team has stopped celebrating. He had a few bad passes and was having a tough time shooting, but his wrist obviously still hurts him. In the second half, #4 from Kentucky stripped the ball from Felton but obviously mugged him in the process. The problem was that the refs didn't call a foul and Felton was in MAJOR pain. If you've ever had a nagging injury and then tweak it bad again, you know what I'm talking about. He had to walk it off for several minutes and ultimately Quentin had to come in the game. Fortunately, he turned out to be ok and came back in to lead the team to victory. To be honest, I'd take his poor shooting any night with all the other intangibles he brings to the game.
Sean May - Alright, this is the May we all wanted to see. He had an awesome game to say the least. He finished with 19 rebounds! He was a monster tonight. He had several dunks under the basket and was running the court like a guard. May had back to back dunks followed by a layup shortly thereafter. If we could get this kind of game out of him every night, no one could touch us. He was going to the basket much stronger than usual. His finesse game is what gets him in trouble sometimes, so I was glad to see this change of pace.
Rashad McCants - If anyone can make a case for someone other than McCants being the best player in the country right now I'd love to hear it. He is playing incredibly well. He had 20 points at the half! And ended with 28 on the evening. Mind you, this is against Kentucky -- one of the best teams in the country. He also had an awesome steal and dunk. Of course he had another NBA-style 3 in the first half. I think he looked at his weak peformance last year against Kentucky and used it as motivation.
Jawad Williams - Jawad continues his consistently high level of play. He had 19 points on 6-9 shooting. He has come so far since his freshman year. Now, I don't mind so much when he shoots that little turnaround J from the baseline that he likes so much. He is also a threat from the 3 point line even though he went 0-1 there tonight. Hopefully he won't get hurt this year (like last) and will keep it up.
Jackie Manuel - Jackie had a good night. He went 3-6 from the floor and 3-3 from the charity line for 9 points. He also had 3 steals and played great D as usual. I assume he got the defensive award for the game (unconfirmed).
Reserves
Melvin Scott - Melvin played sparingly (11 minutes) and made 3 points on 1-3 shooting behind the 3 point line.
David Noel - Mr. Consistency had another good night. He went 4-4 from the floor and ended with 10 points in just 16 minutes. He had a dunk, but nothing flashy. I don't know about you, but I'd kind of like to see some flashy dunks from him :-)
Marvin Williams - Marvin had a quieter night than his last couple of outings. He did a good job and even made a 3 pointer.
Quentin Thomas - Quentin subbed in for Felton and did a decent job. He definitely doesn't have the floor vision of Felton or his speed, but then again there may only be a handful of people in the entire country (NBA included) that do. Quentin played solid D and had a nice steal. I feel better with him at the point than Melvin.
Wes Miller - Did not play.
Byron Sanders - Did not play.
Reyshawn Terry - Did not play.
Damion Grant - Did not play.
C.J. Hooker - Did not play.
Charlie Everett - Did not play.
Sidelines
Coach Williams was a little more animated today than in previous games. I think he gets up for these big games like the players do. I think this one meant something to him especially since we hadn't beat Kentucky in several years.
(Courtesy of the Associated Press)
Announcers
I was at the game in person and didn't bring a radio so I couldn't listen to any commentators.
Refs
If I had to use one word to describe the refs tonight, it would be HORRIBLE (yes, in all caps). In fact, these refs are the worst of the year so far (beating out the refs in the Indiana game). And this was on our own court! Where are the hometown refs when you need them. They called touch fouls from the beginning, which I don't like, but what made it worse is that they were very inconsistent. Some players would get robbed (like Felton) and no foul called and in other situations there would be a clear block and they would call it.
My preference would be for the refs to just let them play and make sure it doesn't become a brawl, but if you are going to call touch fouls, please at least be consistent. It seems when they start showing inconsistency like this, they start trading bad calls as the coaches start to get on their case.
Crowd
The crowd was very loud. With so many thrilling plays (dunks, steals, clutch shots), it was hard not to be excited. The one gripe I do have is that there were some (not a lot) of empty seats. The stadium was mostly full and supposedly it was a sell out so that means some fans bought tickets and didn't give them up to someone else even though they couldn't make it. For a game like Kentucky, every single seat needs to be filled.
It is also worth mentioning that after Felton got hit in his wrist by #4 Rondo Rajon, Rondo was booed every single time he got his hands on the ball. When he fouled out, the crowd cheered loudly. Now it isn't the fact that he intentionally tried to hurt Felton. I'm sure he didn't. But the fact that one of theirs hurt one of ours, regardless of the situation, calls for our crowd to let the opposing player know we don't like that. All in good clean fun :-)
