 |
| (AP Photo/James Crisp) |
It was like watching an Ali-Frazier match with both teams slugging it out in a game that went down to the final second.
But in the end it was Kentucky freshman Anthony Davis' block on John Henson with six seconds on the clock that lead UK to a 73 - 72 win over UNC.
UNC had the ball on the last possession. Kendall Marshall passed to Tyler Zeller. When Terrance Jones came to double team, Zeller passed to Henson, who pulled up for a jump shot. But Davis gave Henson a dose of his own medicine, swatting his shot and grabbing the loose ball.
The block was so stunning that the UNC players forgot to foul and time expired.
Davis may have saved the win, but the player of the game was his freshman teammate Michael Kidd-Gilchrist.
He put up a double-double, with 17 points and 11 rebounds, most of which came in the second half.
Both teams started the game at a track meets pace lead by Harrison Barnes who scored 14 points and Terrance Jones who also scored 14 points (13 in the first half).
ANALYZE THIS
Most analysts thought UNC would have to dominate the paint to win, or UK would need to shoot well from the outside. But it was actually UNC that was shooting the lights out, and UK that was controlling the paint.
UNC shot 61 percent on 11 - 18 three pointers. But only shot 41 percent overall.
Kentucky meanwhile shot only 23 percent on 4 - 17 three pointers, and 44 percent overall.
As close as this game was, two stats killed UNC. Turnovers and Rebounds. UNC was out rebounded 36 to 33 and gave up 14 offensive rebounds, which for them, should not happen with Henson and Zeller in the front court.
Kentucky also forced UNC into 13 turnovers, while the Wildcats only committed nine.
Ironically this game ended much like the last match-up when UNC played UK in the Elite 8 last March.
In that game Terrance Jones blocked a layup by UNC guard Kendall Marshall that might have tied the game.
No comments:
Post a Comment