UNC-Kentucky Preview: Carolina's First True Road Game Comes in ACC/SEC Challenge

No. 16 North Carolina (6-1) vs. No. 18 Kentucky (5-2)
Lexington, Ky. — Rupp Arena at Central Bank Center
Tuesday, Dec. 2 — 9:30 p.m.
ESPN (Dave O’Brien, Dick Vitale and Jay Williams)

Quotables 

“(Kentucky) can pass, they can penetrate, they can shoot defensively, they’ve got the versatility to switch a number of different rotations and then they have bigs that can block and alter shots. So it’ll be a challenge for us, but we’re excited about the challenge..” — Hubert Davis on Kentucky

“I think they’re actually very similar to us in the way we play, and they’ve got a lot of good players. Caleb Wilson, he’s been a problem for a lot of teams that they play, so we’re ready for him and what he brings.” — Kentucky guard Collin Chandler on UNC

Pregame Notes

UNC’s First Loss: After leading by as many as seven points in the first half against No. 11 Michigan State on Thursday, the Spartans stifled the Tar Heels over the final 25-plus minutes, limiting North Carolina to a season-low in scoring, for a 74-58 final, in its first loss of the season. It was a combination of bad shooting from distance, 4-for-23 (17.4%), and first-half foul trouble on UNC’s big man Henri Veesaar. 

Thanksgiving was also a difficult night for UNC’s leading scorer, Caleb Wilson, who routinely found himself double-teamed by MSU’s defense in the paint, which held Wilson scoreless for a stretch of over 20 minutes (he still finished with 18 points).

The Tar Heels have played the last five games without their top perimeter athlete and defender in senior leader Seth Trimble, who remains sidelined with a broken arm, and is expected to return to action before the end of the month.

Looking at Kentucky: The Wildcats are off to a less-than-favorable start by their blue blood standards with a 5-2 record. Entering the year ranked No. 9, Kentucky lost to rival No. 6 Louisville on the road 96-88, and to Michigan State 83-66 on a neutral court at Madison Square Garden. UK has picked up its five wins against mid-major opponents, in Nicholls (77-51), Valparaiso (107-59), Eastern Illinois (99-53), and Loyola (Md.) (88-46), before thumping Tennessee Tech 104-54 over the Thanksgiving week instead of competing in a multi-team event.

Kentucky was picked to finish second in the SEC this season, with six returners from last season’s Sweet 16 run — two of which are walk-ons. The Wildcats welcomed 10 new additions this season, including three freshmen recruits, six transfers and an international player in Andrija Jelavić, whose eligibility is listed as a sophomore. 

Mark Pope is in his second year as Kentucky’s head coach after five seasons at BYU and his first head gig at Utah Valley from 2015-19. Pope led UK to a 24-12 record last season and an appearance in the Sweet 16. He’s recorded 20-plus wins in seven of the last eight seasons he’s coached and has totaled three March Madness appearances — two with the Cougars.

Injury-Stricken Wildcats Lean on Aberdeen and Oweh: Poised for high expectations in Pope’s second season, Kentucky’s loaded roster has dwindled after early-season injuries have plagued the Wildcats. 

Heading into the season, UK knew it would be without Arizona State transfer Jayden Quaintance — an expected NBA lottery pick — until late December while he rehabs from an ACL tear he suffered last season. However, during Kentucky’s preseason intrasquad scrimmage, prized transfer Jaland Lowe, who averaged 16.8 points per game for Pitt last season, injured his shoulder and then reaggravated it against Louisville, sidelining him since that third game of the season. 

The Wildcat’s injury woes then continued to mount against Michigan State when Alabama transfer Mouhamed Dioubate suffered an ankle injury. UK has missed the forward’s 11.6 points and 5.8 rebounds per game.

With Quaintance, Dioubate and Lowe out for Kentucky (and not expected to play vs. UNC), Denzel Aberdeen and Otega Oweh have assumed the scoring duties at the guard position. Leading the team with 14 points per night, Aberdeen has nearly doubled his scoring output from that of last year, when he tallied 7.7 on Florida’s national championship squad. This includes a 26-point effort against Louisville, where Aberdeen drilled four three-pointers. 

As for Oweh, the fellow senior guard has supplied a consistent 13 points, finishing with double figures in every game this season. He’s done so on 46.5 percent shooting from the floor and a 90 percent free-throw percentage.

Series History: The pair of Blue Bloods have met 43 times, most recently in 2023 when Kentucky knocked off North Carolina 87-83 in the CBS Sports Classic in Atlanta. The Tar Heels lead the all-time series with a 25-18 record, though the Wildcats have won seven of the last 10 meetings. 

Tuesday’s clash will be the first time UNC has played in Lexington since 2014, when Willie Cauley-Stein and Devin Booker led Kentucky with 15 points each to defeat UNC 84-70 despite 15 points by Brice Johnson and 14 from Marcus Paige. 

Projected UNC Starters: 
0 Kyan Evans (Jr., 6-2, 175) — 7.9 ppg, 3 rpg, 4.4 apg
8 Caleb Wilson (Fr., 6-10, 215) — 19.9 ppg, 9.9 rpg, 1.3 bpg
13 Henri Veesaar (Jr., 7-0, 225) — 15.9 ppg, 8.3 apg, 1.6 bpg
15 Jarin Stevenson (Jr., 6-10, 215) — 7.9 ppg, 4.4 rpg
44 Luka Bogavac (Jr., 6-6, 215) — 12 ppg, 2.6 rpg, 3.4 apg

Projected Kentucky Starters:
00 Otega Oweh (Sr., 6-4, 220) – 13 ppg, 3.7 rpg, 2.3 apg
1 Denzel Aberdeen (Sr., 6-5, 195) – 14 ppg, 4.3 rpg, 3.4 apg
3 Kam Williams (So., 6-8, 205) – 5.4 ppg, 3.9 rpg, 1.4 apg
5 Collin Chandler (So., 6-5, 205) – 11.7 ppg, 3.6 rpg, 48.9% 3FG
24 Malachi Moreno (Fr., 7-0, 250) – 10.6 ppg, 7.6 rpg, 1.1 bpg

Top Kentucky Reserves:
2 Jasper Johnson (Fr., 6-5, 180) – 7.7 ppg, 3.6 apg
4 Andrija Jelavic (So., 6-11, 225) – 6.3 ppg, 4.6 rpg
10 Brandon Garrison (Jr., 6-10, 245) – 5.9 ppg, 5.6 rpg

UNC Info:
Schedule/Results
Roster & Bios
Stats

Kentucky Info:
Schedule/Results
Roster & Bios
Stats