Ramon Harris and John Wall, at times, made Kentucky look nearly unstoppable. (Kentucky Herald Leader photo)
Kentucky started its game Saturday afternoon against the Tar Heels with the same amount of speed that the thoroughbreds its state is known for when said horsies burst out of the gate at Churchill Downs.
After John Wall’s ridiculous reverse layup (video STILL not available online), I turned to my brother and said we were watching, far and away, the most exciting team in college basketball. UK would eventually cool off from a 28-2 run before settling into something you couldn’t quite call a groove.
The Wildcats needed all of those 28 points in the run. UNC slowly fought back and may have won the game if it was 42 minutes long instead of 40. Yes, UK looked quite suspect when John Wall was out of the game. Wall will have a three-man team watching over him, making sure he’s filled up with fluids on game days to prevent cramping again. Kentucky has a lot of weapons. It isn’t as deep as many people think, but that doesn’t mean that can’t change by Valentine’s Day.
Most Kentucky fans, in the big picture, hardly care about that as is. Has any team gone from one extreme to the other in the past 15 years the way Kentucky has? A year ago this program was going nowhere, unhappy and losing its luster under Billy Gillispie. Calipari comes in, brings a basket full of recruits and everyone in the Bluegrass State couldn’t be happier with the state of the program right now.
The Heels have proved the have the ability to blow big leads and come back from large deficits.
North Carolina was absolutely depantsed in terms of running the floor and fast-break points. Kentucky was treating Roy Williams’ team like Williams’ team treats a 16-seed in March.
At certain points it was getting embarrassing. But the team that has had trouble holding leads cut into a big deficit. UNC lacks nearly as much experience as Kentucky, so its ability to make a charge on the road in an environment like Rupp must be commended.
Had it not been for the stupid play of DeMarcus Cousins and Eric Bledsoe (it should be noted that Wall had more turnovers than Bledsoe, too), Baby Blue probably doesn’t make the game worth watching in the final three minutes.
With each game we usually learn something about a team. There are ebbs and flows, of course, but this one showed that both squads could be playing on that final Monday in April or could flame out if they get too careless. Added emphasis on early-season games may give UK a tiebreaker on seeding, too.
As for the 2,000 wins, Kentucky will most certainly outrun the Heels. The Wildcats are currently perched at 1,996 and UNC is sitting five games behind.
