Carolina Basketball: What Beating Kentucky Would Mean

On Saturday, the North Carolina basketball team will face Kentucky at Rupp Arena. The Wildcats are ranked number one in the country (unanimously), and have dominated every team they have played this year. In their ten games this season, their lowest margin of victory was ten points, and they have a 12-point win over 8th-ranked Texas, and a 32-point victory over 10th-ranked Kansas.

Carolina star Marcus Paige will have to have a big game if Carolina is going to beat Kentucky. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports

Their only loss was in October in an exhibition event against the Dominican Republic national team (which is ranked 20th in the world). Kentucky is one of the most stacked teams in recent memory, and is the odds-on favorite to win the national championship this year. Many believe the Wildcats will go undefeated, and few people are giving Carolina a chance to win the game. And really, who can blame them, as the Heels have already had two surprising losses and have not played up to their potential thus far.

But, what if the Heels can pull off the upset and shock Kentucky? What would be the impact of a Carolina victory against the best team in the country?

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First, and most importantly, a win would catapult the Heels back into the National Championship conversation. They have slipped all the way to 21 in the latest rankings (after being ranked sixth in the preseason), and they have not looked like a team that could win a National Title. But a win over a team many think won’t be beat would show that the Heels are better than they have played this year. It would inject some new hope and energy into their season, and would probably energize the Heels going forward.

Second, it would be a win for Roy William’s system. Kentucky’s strategy the past few years has been to get the best high school talent for one year before they head on to the NBA. Of the ten players who average more than ten minutes per game for Kentucky, just two are juniors, and four are freshmen. And this is far more balanced than last year’s team, when five of the seven players who averaged at least ten minutes were freshmen.

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In contrast, the Heels build teams around players who play three or four years at Carolina. For instance, in the last few years, the Heels have built teams around seniors Tyler Hansbrough and Tyler Zeller and this year’s team is built around junior Marcus Paige. Much of college basketball, including Duke, is transitioning to John Calipari’s “one-and-done” model. If the Heels win on Saturday, it would help show that Roy’s traditional way of building teams still works. That might lead to a boost in recruiting, as it could help the Heels sign kids who want to win, not just play a year somewhere before going pro.

Finally, a win on Saturday would quiet rabid Kentucky fans.

Kentucky fans will be out in force on Saturday. If Carolina can pull out a win, it would quiet them down considerably. Mandatory Credit: Mark Zerof-USA TODAY Sports

Kentucky fans are almost as annoying and distasteful to Carolina fans as Duke’s “Cameron Crazies,” and you can be sure that they will be out in force on Saturday. If the Heels can go out and beat the Wildcats on their home court, it would quiet the fans and, at least for a while, put doubt in their mind over whether their team is really as great as they think. Aside from beating Duke or winning a National Championship, that’s about as satisfying as it gets for Heels fans.

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North Carolina Basketball: What Beating Kentucky Would Mean

By Jackson Hicks | Dec 12, 2014