UNC vs. Kentucky: Live Score, Highlights and Reaction

Top-ranked Kentucky led from wire-to-wire in impressive fashion, racing past No. 21 North Carolina for an 84-70 win Saturday afternoon at home.

The Wildcats (11-0) shot 56.3 percent, getting 15 points apiece from Willie Cauley-Stein and Devin Booker while Aaron Harrison added 14 and Andrew Harrison scored 11. Coming off a rough 56-46 win over Columbia, a game it trailed 10-0 and by two points at halftime, Kentucky scored 49 first-half points against the Tar Heels (6-3) to set the tone.

Kentucky was playing its first game since losing junior forward Alex Poythress, who tore his ACL in practice on Thursday, but his absence wasn't felt offensively. The Wildcats were shooting 28 percent from three-point range before the game, but made 7 of 15 from outside, with Devin Booker and Aaron Harrison each hitting three long shots.

Cauley-Stein made 6 of 9 from the field and also chipped in six rebounds, four steals and two blocks. Tyler Ulis chipped in eight assists as Kentucky assisted on 19 of 27 field goals.

UNC shot 45 percent, the first team to hit more than 40 percent against Kentucky this season, and made 6 of 13 three-pointers. But the Tar Heels had no answer on defense, and committing 18 turnovers didn't help, either.

Marcus Paige had only two points in the first half before heating up from outside and finishing with 14. Brice Johnson scored a team-high 15, but 12 of that was in the first half that saw UNC trail 49-34 at the break.

UNC outrebounded Kentucky, 31-24 (including 18-11 on the offensive glass) but was 10 of 13 from the free-throw line compared to 23 of 31 for the Wildcats.

Scroll down for our real-time updates, tweets, highlights, pictures and everything else worth noting from this matchup of Top 25 teams.

Follow Brian J. Pedersen on Twitter at @realBJP.