I am stoked for Kentucky men’s basketball’s matchup against North Carolina in the ACC/SEC Challenge on Tuesday night at 9:30 p.m. inside the Wildcats’ Rupp Arena.
I think it’s always good for basketball when the Cats and Tar Heels meet up on the hardwood.
A sense of nostalgia quickly engulfs me whenever they are duking it out on the court. That’s why they should make it a point to play every season.
North Carolina leads the all-time series 25-18 but Kentucky has won eight of their last 12 games against the Heels dating back to 2009. The most recent matchup between the two squads involved Kentucky edging out an 87-83 win on Dec. 16, 2023, in Atlanta (Ga.).
But there are three other matchups earlier in this series that I remember much more fondly.
I was in seventh grade when fifth-ranked UK defeated No. 10 UNC 68-66 at Rupp on Dec. 5, 2009. First-year head coach and Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Famer John Calipari was just beginning his 15-season tenure as the Cats’ head man.
Freshman superstar John Wall went coast-to-coast to throw down a ferocious dunk and made an acrobatic reverse layup in back-to-back possessions early on. Kentucky then rocketed to a 30-11 first half cushion after falling behind 9-2 early.
After two dismal seasons under Billy Gillispie, there was a sense among Wildcat fans that Kentucky basketball was “back” at that point and was living up to its reputation as “the greatest tradition in the history of college basketball.”
Kentucky and North Carolina met again in the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament on Mar. 27, 2011.
Leading 70-69 in the final minute, the Wildcats’ DeAndre Liggins buried a corner three-pointer to put UK up 73-69 with 35.6 seconds left.
That was special. It proved to be the dagger as the Tar Heels didn’t score again, and the Cats prevailed 76-69 to move on to the Final Four in Houston.
Fast forward to Dec. 3, 2011, back at Rupp Arena. The top-ranked and eventual national champion Wildcats were hosting fifth-ranked UNC.
Trailing 73-72 in the final seconds, the Heels had the ball and a chance to win. But Kentucky superstar freshman Anthony Davis blocked a game-winning shot attempt by North Carolina’s John Henson and the Cats emerged victorious. The fans dressed in Kentucky blue were all going crazy.
Memories like those make me excited for the renewal of this rivalry on Tuesday night even if Luke Maye hit a game-winner to beat Kentucky in the 2017 Elite Eight.
Will both teams give us another memorable game or moment in the ACC/SEC Challenge? We can only hope so.
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