UNC basketball snapped a long-lasting drought in Lexington

It was a gutsy road win for the UNC Basketball program on Tuesday night. That was one of those wins that former North Carolina head coach Roy Williams used to say, "we went into their place and stole their cookies."

Boy, did they ever.

It wasn't pretty, but the Tar Heels grinded out a victory using defense and grit on the road in Rupp Arena and accomplished something that the UNC Basketball program hasn't accomplished in 18 years.

That 2007 team was ranked No. 1 in the country when they faced Kentucky and walked out of Lexington with a win. Since then, we have seen two of the most historic programs in college basketball meet plenty of times at neutral sites (six times to be exact), but the UNC Basketball program has only traveled to Rupp Arena three times since that win in 2007, each time, coming away empty handed.

Two of those matchups were heartbreakers. The 2009-2010 team lost by two points, 68-66, in a game that Kentucky led by as many as 19 at one point and by 8 with around six minutes to go. In 2011-2012, No. 5 ranked North Carolina traveled to No. 1 Kentucky and lost 73-72 as John Henson had his game winning shot attempt blocked by Wildcat star freshman Anthony Davis in the final seconds.

The win on Tuesday night versus Kentucky brings the UNC Basketball program's all-time record in Lexington versus Kentucky to 7-8, with a 3-5 record in Rupp Arena. Needless to say, it's been a tough place for even the best of UNC basketball teams to win, so for the 2025-2026 Tar Heels to grind a tough road win in one of the toughest places in the country to play says a lot about this team's potential for the rest of the season.

Another interesting stat following Tuesday night's win is that the UNC Basketball program moves to 26-18 all time versus Kentucky, the most wins by a non-SEC team against one of the most historic programs in college basketball.

Needless to say, this year's Tar Heels are up to the challenge of playing tough opponents in tough environments. North Carolina will now turn it's attention to the remainder of the non-conference schedule getting through their matchup versus three ranked opponents (Kansas, Michigan State, and Kentucky) with a 2-1 record.