There is a lot to unpack from Kentucky‘s loss to North Carolina in Rupp Arena. The abysmal three-point shooting and the poor execution down the stretch stand out. The second-half scoring drought was a killer.
But the number that best explains why Kentucky walked off with another deflating loss is on the glass, where North Carolina outrebounded the Wildcats 41-30 and outscored them 22-5 in second-chance points.
The worst stretch came late when Andrija Jelavic blocked a shot, and UNC snagged back-to-back offensive rebounds to keep the possession alive. Down two, the Tar Heels called a timeout, and then Derek Dixon drained a go-ahead three with under a minute left.