These are the type of non-conference matchups that makes early season college hoops fun. The Kentucky Wildcats and North Carolina Tar Heels are set to meet up in the CBS Sports Classic in Chicago on Saturday evening in a battle of top-25 teams, each with high hopes for the year.
The Tar Heels come into play off a huge win over Gonzaga that helped catapult UNC into the top-10 in the most recent ranks by both the AP and Coaches’ Poll. Lacking a big win like that on their early season resume, the Wildcats are several spots lower in the rankings, but still boast a talented crop of young players along with a surprising number of returning players from last year’s team for a John Calipari led program.
Overall, we have some great talent on the floor for this one, but the question remains: Can UNC build off the Gonzaga win last week and get another major non-conference victory, this time against a SEC powerhouse? Or is this where Kentucky begins its own climb back towards the top of the rankings?
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Kentucky Wildcats vs. North Carolina Tar Heels
Date and Time: Saturday, December 22, 2018, 5:15 p.m. ET
Location: United Center, Chicago, Illinois
College Basketball Odds: Check Back Later
Wildcats vs. Tar Heels TV Coverage: CBS
Kentucky came into the season with their typically lofty expectations. They remain a top-25 team, but have yet to establish themselves amongst the top teams in college hoops, instead residing a level below for the time being.
The Wildcats have a more veteran team than usual with several players forgoing the typical one-and-done approach that Kentucky is known to embrace. With some returning players along with a huge transfer in Reid Travis, the team brings some experience along with the young talent.
The team’s gotten off a good start going 8-2, but the two losses do create a level of concern as Duke and Seton Hall have both gotten the best of Kentucky. The rest of the Kentucky schedule to date hasn’t been all that difficult.
As a team, the Wildcats have been able to put points on the board regardless of the opponent. The issue has instead been the rebounding and defense at times.
Freshman Keldon Johnson leads the team in scoring with 16.1 PPG. He’s a strong shooter inside and out and is a good blender on the court, able to bring in some key rebounds and notching a steal from time to time.
Overall, the Kentucky backcourt has a ton of good young talent with fellow freshman Tyler Herro, Immanuel Quickley, Ashton Hagans, and Quade Green getting solid minutes, too. Each have their own qualities. Herro is averaging double-digit PPG though doing most of it from mid-range. Green is the better shooter outside. Meanwhile, Hagans has a team leading 3.1 APG.
To go along with the young talent outside, the frontcourt features Travis, PJ Washington, EJ Montgomery and Nick Richards.
Travis and Washington are the starters, but Montgomery and Richards are the defensive players inside the paint. They’re combining for just over 20 minutes a game, but have a combined 2.7 blocks in that time.
Washington is a solid rebounder and defender, too, but also has 13.5 PPG. As for Travis, he’s the most electric player inside.
On the other side of the hardwood, UNC enters play having beaten Gonzaga the last time out, shooting 54.7-percent from the floor in that game and sinking over half their shots on the outside.
The Tar Heel backcourt can certainly compete with Kentucky’s talented youngsters outside. This team has a lot of players able to move inside and out and shoot all over the floor, including Luke Maye and Cameron Johnson. Playing more inside, the two open up the floor and have led to UNC’s amazing offensive performance to date. The team is scoring 94 PPG and shooting nearly 50-percent from the floor in 10 games.
The deep UNC roster also includes Coby White, Nassir Little, Kenny Williams and Seventh Woods all with at least 16.4 MPG.
Outside, White, Williams and Woods are good ball handlers and help set up their teammates with quality shots. UNC has a ton of assists. Johnson, meanwhile, played 31 minutes in the win against Gonzaga with 25 points, shooting 8-for-12 and 6-for-8 from three.
Inside, Maye owns the floor though Little and Brooks are big players as well. Maye’s the team’s leading rebounder with 10.1 RPG and 14.3 PPG. That’s a real advantage against most teams.
Live Betting
Kentucky and UNC represent two of the better basketball conferences in the country as they get set for tipoff on Saturday. The two programs are loaded with talent and strong shooters. Both teams are shooting well from the floor—and on the perimeter—this season.
With both of these teams able to put up the points, defense and rebounding may be the main difference makers. North Carolina is second in college basketball with 46.1 per game. The only team with more is the same Duke team that handled Kentucky rather easily in early November.
There will be a number of live betting opportunities for this game at BookMaker.eu. Keep tabs on how both teams are shooting early and how well Kentucky is able to compete on the boards to help drive those live betting decisions.
Key Player
There will be better players on the court than Kentucky’s PJ Washington, but the Wildcat forward may be the biggest key in this one.
UNC is coming off a big win with the Gonzaga game their best barometer coming into play. Meanwhile, the Duke loss seems to be the best parallel for Kentucky. If that’s the case, this game could come down to whether Kentucky can hang in there with one of the game’s elite rebounding teams.
Washington is the Wildcat team leader in rebounds with 8.3 per game, but had just two in the Duke game earlier this year, playing only 17 minutes.
Washington has seen his playing time increase since then and has three double-doubles this year. The two rebounds he had against the Blue Devils are the fewest in any game this season. In fact, he’s nabbed at least eight in five of his last seven games.
Wildcats vs. Tar Heels Live Betting
These are two of the nation’s best teams going at it head-to-head on a neutral court. That should lead to an exciting, and close, game. In the end, take the Tar Heels to get the win. We’ve already seen Kentucky come up short against another elite team based in North Carolina this season, falling short against Duke. The Tar Heels aren’t quite as stacked, but they’ve still got a very good, and very balanced, roster.
Count on a big game from Maye both on the boards and scoring as the Tar Heels do well both opening up the floor and rebounding. Both of these teams are solid shooting teams, but count on North Carolina taking advantage of a few more opportunities afforded by the extra rebounds to come away from this one victorious. UNC is trending up after last week’s win over Gonzaga. Look for that trend to continue.
Be sure to check out all of the live betting at BookMaker.eu for this weekend’s college basketball action.
NCAA Basketball Score Prediction: UNC 89, Kentucky 85
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