Tyler Zeller and John Henson were great against Kentucky, but UNC is still UNC

North Carolina's 75-73 win over Kentucky on Saturday afternoon was a relief as much as anything.

Its only the first week of December. Rare in college basketball is a must-win game before the calender turns. But this was about as close as it gets, and not solely because of the Tar Heel's record.

UNC needed this one for their confidence. They needed this win to prove to themselves that they were capable of playing with the best teams in the country. Because coming into this one, the Heels had not. They lost to Minnesota and Vanderbilt in Puerto Rico. They were embarrassed by Illinois in Champaign in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge. And against Lipscomb and Charleston, UNC looked far from dominant.


There is a reason that the internet had been buzzing with talk of another Tar Heel meltdown.

Which is why this win was so important.

Its why the atmosphere in the Dean Dome was as electric as when Duke comes to town.

Terrence Jones, who had been Kentucky's best player early in the season, went 3-17 from the floor and finished with just 9 points and 6 boards. Brandon Knight had 15 points, but he committed six turnovers and played far from his best game. The Wildcats got a combined 30 minutes from Josh Harrellson and Eloy Vargas.

Simply put, losing to Kentucky at home when the Wildcats played far from their best game would have been a demoralizing loss.

Now, I urge North Carolina fans to keep perspective with this win. Tyler Zeller had 27 points, 11 boards, and 5 blocks while John Henson added 13 points, 12 boards, and 3 blocks. It was as well as either of these two have played since they have been in Chapel Hill. It was also against a Kentucky that has as many, if not more, front court questions as the Heels.

Harrison Barnes looked better, but he still finished just 4-10 from the floor with 12 points. Larry Drew and Kendall Marshall had 7 assists and 5 turnovers between them. Its refreshing to know that Zeller is capable of carrying this team if he has to, but the underlying issues that have plagued this team the past two seasons are still there.

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A couple thoughts on Kentucky from Saturday afternoon:

• Interior play may be a bigger issue than we imagined for this team. Tyler Zeller are both finesse players in the paint, yet they managed to foul out all three of Kentucky's big men and combine for 40 points, 23 boards, and 8 blocks. What happens when Kentucky plays Louisville and has to deal with a guy like Terrence Jennings? What happens when Georgia and Trey Thompkins come to town? Even Florida and Tennessee have a renewed focus on the interior. Can the Wildcats matchup with them?
• Doron Lamb had 24 points on 7-12 shooting and really showed the kind of complementary player he is capable of being for this Kentucky team. The same can probably be said for Darius Miller, who banged three big threes and finished with 13 points and 7 boards. You can't expect that kind of production for those two on a nightly basis, but it has to be comforting for John Calipari to know that he has those two in his pocket when Terrence Jones plays like he did tonight.
• As much as folks are going to talk about the lack of front court production being a problem for Kentucky, the lack of a true point guard could end up causing problems as well. Brandon Knight is not a point guard. He's a scoring guard that brings the ball up. Against UNC, he had six turnovers and scored 15 points on 12 shots. On the season, he is averaging 3.4 apg and 4.7 turnovers while shooting 44% from the floor and 34% from three (while shooting almost seven per game). Right now, I'm not seeing the next John Calipari point guard to be picked in the first round, I'm seeing the second coming of Kenny Boynton.