By R.L. Bynum
LEXINGTON, Ky. — Derek Dixon was on point with poise down the stretch in the best game of his freshman season on a night when outstanding rebounding produced a huge road win for No. 16 North Carolina.
Dixon hit two clutch buckets in the final minute as the Tar Heels rallied for a 67–64 win Tuesday over No. 18 Kentucky at Rupp Arena in the Heels’ first true road game of the season in the ACC/SEC Men’s Challenge.
UNC (7–1) outrebounded Kentucky 41–30, pulling down 52.6% with a season-high 20 offensive rebounds to produce a season-high 22 second-chance points.
Davis said that was no accident.
“I keep telling them, this is who we are. We’ve got to get to the offensive glass. We have to get second-chance opportunities,” said Davis, whose team is 7–0 when winning the rebounding battle.
Dixon replaced Kyan Evans, who he had outplayed, with UNC trailing by five with 5:50 left and changed the momentum with nine points (tying his season-high), three rebounds and two assists and solid defense.
“I thought he was really good defensively, keeping them out of the lane and making them take tough shots, rebounding the basketball, and then running the team,” Davis said. “There were situations where we ran a play and just didn’t get what we were looking for. In those times, you just need players to step up and make plays, and Derek made a number of them.”
One of those was Dixon’s late step-back 3-pointer with 16 seconds left, when a play meant to go to Veesaar broke down.
After Dixon’s driving layup off a Veesaar ball screen put Carolina ahead with 16 seconds left, Wilson rebounded a miss by Kentucky’s Colin Chandler with four seconds left. He added a free throw two seconds later, then stole the Wildcats’ long inbounds pass to seal the victory.
“The three was he had to go make a play,” Davis said. “Just is what it is. The one where he got to the basket, he had a number of options. But he felt like he had an edge.”
Veesaar was aggressive inside all night to produce a double-double (17 points, 10 rebounds), as did Wilson (15 points, 12 rebounds) for the fifth time. Wilson struggled with his shooting at the line and from the floor, but Davis emphasized his versatility after leading the team with a season-high six assists and a season-high six offensive rebounds.
— Crash boards and conquer: Heels’ physical edge inside decides big win at Kentucky
— Heels jump 11 spots in NET, 10 higher than best standing last season
— Changing of the guard? Dixon’s heroics in big moments seal big UNC win
“Caleb is not just a scorer,” Davis said. “He’s a dude, OK. He’s an elite passer. He led our team in assists. He checked a number of boxes there.”
After Evans scored a layup in the first minute, Kentucky went on a 10–2 run to go up by six on a Kam Williams dunk. After a UNC timeout, Jonathan Powell scored two 3-pointers during an 11–4 run to take a three-point lead at the 11:46 mark of the first half.
UNC had consecutive turnovers on lazy passes, one by Zayden High, that UK turned into dunks in a 6–0 run to go up by three. Wilson whipped a back-door pass to Jarin Stevenson for a dunk to cap an 8–4 UNC run to go up by one.
It was tied at 31 at halftime after Kentucky missed all eight 3-point attempts but scored 28 points in the lane.
Kentucky opened the second half with an 8–2 run to go up by six. UNC responded with a 9–2 run, but the Wildcats then scored seven in a row to lead by five at the 12:16 mark. Veesaar scored seven consecutive UNC points and nine of 11, with his driving dunk cutting UK’s lead to two at the 10:22 mark.
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The Wildcats went 10 minutes and 15 seconds without a field goal, missing 13 consecutive shots, their longest drought in at least eight seasons. UNC could only knock three points off the lead during that span.
“We were sound and simple on the defensive end,” Davis said of that stretch. “We were standing between them and the basket. We were giving them one contested look, and then we were boxing out and rebounding.”
Kentucky was shooting 35.3% from 3-point range coming into the game, but made only 1 of 13 attempts.
“We knew they were an elite 3-point shooting team,” Davis said. “I thought the way that we played defense and the way that we switched on and off the ball, the size and length [were factors.]
A Wilson jumper and two free throws, and a transition High layup started an 11–3 run as UNC took a two-point lead on a corner Luka Bogavac 3 with 2:26 left to set up Dixon’s late heroics.
“I think it’s significant for this new group, this new team, for them to win in this type of environment,” Davis said. “I just want to give them a taste of what it’s like to put on that jersey and play in this building against this type of team and program and be able to come up big.”
Guard Otega Oweh led Kentucky (5–2) with 16 points, with Chandler adding 12.
Notes
— Carolina returns home at 5 p.m. Sunday to face Georgetown (ESPN). The Hoyas (5–2) take a two-game losing streak into Wednesday’s 8 p.m. home game against UMBC (truTV).
— The Tar Heels’ win helped the ACC get out to a 6–3 lead in the Challenge, giving them a 2–1 led in the event.
— Carolina has already has doubled the number of Quad 1 victories last season with two.
— The 67 points were the fewest for Carolina in a win over Kentucky since a 64–55 win in Lexington on Dec. 13, 1966.
— The 64 Kentucky points were the fewest UNC has in the series since a 61–56 Wildcats victory at Rupp Arena on Jan. 3, 2004.
— UNC wore early-1980s throwback uniforms.
— After attempting only two first-half free throws, Kentucky had 20 attempts in the second half.
— Bogavac, who fouled out with 1:41 left with 12 points, was 1 of 4 from the free-throw line, including missing the front end of one-and-ones twice, one of those in the last two minutes.
— UNC leads the series 26–18, including 3–5 in Rupp Arena and 7–9 in Lexington.
— Factoring in NCAA tournament losses in 1989 and 1992, the Tar Heels are 3–7 in Rupp Arena.
— There were 14 lead changes and nine ties, both season-highs for a UNC game. The previous highs were 10 lead changes against Michigan State and six ties against Kansas.
— Carolina’s 26th win over Kentucky gives the Tar Heels the most by a non-SEC school, surpassing the 25 by Indiana.
— UNC, which beat Kansas 87–74 on Nov. 7, has beaten the Jayhawks and Kentucky in the same season for the first time since the 1981–82 national-championship season. Carolina beat Kansas 74–67 in Charlotte on Nov 28, 1981, in Michael Jordan’s first college game and topped Kentucky in the Meadowlands 82–69 on Dec. 26, 1981.
— When Kentucky’s starting lineup was announced, “Sirius” by The Alan Parsons Project, the song that the Chicago Bulls began to play when starters were announced in the Michael Jordan era.
No. 16 UNC 67, No. 18 Kentucky 64
| Team | League | Overall | NET* | WAB* |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. 1 Duke | 17–1 | 29–2 | 1 | 2 |
| No. 10 Virginia | 15–3 | 27–4 | 13 | 11 |
| Miami | 13–5 | 24–7 | 32 | 28 |
| No. 19 North Carolina | 12–6 | 24–7 | 23 | 19 |
| Clemson | 12–6 | 22–9 | 36 | 33 |
| No. 24 Louisville | 11–7 | 22–9 | 14 | 25 |
| N.C. State | 10–8 | 19–12 | 35 | 45 |
| Florida State | 10–8 | 17–14 | 69 | 74 |
| California | 9–9 | 21–10 | 65 | 49 |
| Stanford | 9–9 | 20–11 | 59 | 51 |
| SMU | 8–10 | 19–12 | 39 | 50 |
| Virginia Tech | 8–10 | 19–12 | 53 | 52 |
| Wake Forest | 7–11 | 16–15 | 64 | 81 |
| Syracuse | 6–12 | 15–16 | 83 | 92 |
| Pittsburgh | 5–13 | 12–19 | 109 | 146 |
| Notre Dame | 4–14 | 13–18 | 93 | 121 |
| Boston College | 4–14 | 11–20 | 159 | 217 |
| Georgia Tech | 2–16 | 11–20 | 167 | 210 |
* — Through Sunday games
Saturday’s results
No. 1 Duke 76, No. 19 North Carolina 61
Boston College 77, Notre Dame 69
Clemson 79, Georgia Tech 76
No. 24 Louisville 92, Miami 89
Florida State 92, SMU 78
Stanford 85, N.C. State 84
Wake Forest 80, California 73
Pittsburgh 71, Syracuse 69, OT
END OF REGULAR SEASON
ACC tournament
Spectrum Center | Charlotte
Tuesday through Saturday
| Date | Month/day | Scores | Opponent/event (current ranks) | Record |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| October | ||||
| 24 | Friday | L, 78–76 | vs. BYU in SLC | Exhib. |
| 29 | Wednesday | W, 95–53 | vs. Winston-Salem St. | Exhib. |
| November | ||||
| 3 | Monday | W, 94–54 | vs. Central Arkansas | 1–0 |
| 7 | Friday | W, 87–74 | vs. No. 17 Kansas | 2–0 |
| 11 | Tuesday | W, 89–74 | vs. Radford | 3–0 |
| 14 | Friday | W, 97–53 | vs. N.C. Central | 4–0 |
| 18 | Tuesday | W, 73–61 | vs. Navy | 5–0 |
| Fort Myers Tip-Off | ||||
| 25 | Tuesday | W, 85–70 | vs. St. Bonaventure | 6–0 |
| 27 | Thursday | L, 74–58 | vs. No. 11 Michigan State | 6–1 |
| December | ACC/SEC Men’s Challenge | |||
| 2 | Tuesday | W, 67–64 | at Kentucky | 7–1 |
| ————————— | ||||
| 7 | Sunday | W, 81–61 | vs. Georgetown | 8–1 |
| 13 | Saturday | W, 80–62 | vs. USC Upstate | 9–1 |
| 16 | Tuesday | W, 77–58 | vs. ETSU | 10–1 |
| CBS Sports Classic in Atlanta | ||||
| 20 | Saturday | W, 71–70 | vs. Ohio State | 11–1 |
| ————————— | ||||
| 22 | Monday | W, 99–51 | vs. East Carolina | 12–1 |
| 30 | Tuesday | W, 79–66 | vs. Florida State | 13–1, 1–0 ACC |
| January | ||||
| 3 | Saturday | L, 97–83 | at SMU | 13–2, 1–1 |
| 10 | Saturday | W, 87–84 | vs. Wake Forest | 14–2, 2–1 |
| 14 | Wednesday | L, 95–90 | at Stanford | 14–3, 2–2 |
| 17 | Saturday | L, 84–78 | at California | 14–4, 2–3 |
| 21 | Wednesday | W, 91–69 | vs. Notre Dame | 15–4, 3–3 |
| 24 | Saturday | W, 85–80 | at No. 9 Virginia | 16–4, 4–3 |
| 31 | Saturday | W, 91–75 | at Georgia Tech | 17–4, 5–3 |
| February | ||||
| 2 | Monday | W, 87–77 | vs. Syracuse | 18–4, 6–3 |
| 7 | Saturday | W, 71–68 | vs. No. 1 Duke | 19–4, 7–3 |
| 10 | Tuesday | L, 75–66 | at No. 25 Miami | 19–5, 7–4 |
| 14 | Saturday | W, 79–65 | vs. Pittsburgh | 20–5, 8–4 |
| 17 | Tuesday | L, 82–58 | at N.C. State | 20–6, 8–5 |
| 21 | Saturday | W, 77–64 | at Syracuse | 21–6, 9–5 |
| 23 | Monday | W, 77–74 | vs. Louisville | 22–6, 10–5 |
| 28 | Saturday | W, 89–82 | vs. Virginia Tech | 23–6, 11–5 |
| March | ||||
| 3 | Tuesday | W, 67–63 | vs. Clemson | 24–6, 12–5 |
| 7 | Saturday | L, 76–61 | at No. 1 Duke | 24–7, 12–6 |
| 10–14 | Tues.-Sat. | ACC tournament | Spectrum Center, Charlotte | |
| 12 | Thursday | L, 80–79 | Quarterfinals: vs. Clemson | 24–8 |
| NCAA tournament | ||||
| 19 | Thursday | L, 82–78, OT | First round: vs. VCU in Greenville, S.C. | 24–9 |
Photo courtesy of UNC Athletics
