UNC vs. Kentucky: Score and Twitter Reaction from 2014 Regular Season

Laugh all you want at the notion that the Kentucky basketball team could go undefeated in the 2014-15 season, but it looked completely dominant against yet another nationally ranked team Saturday.

The Wildcats destroyed North Carolina to the tune of 84-70, but the game wasn't even as close as the final score indicated. The Wildcats went on a run to open up a double-digit lead late in the first half and never looked back.

Willie Cauley-Stein led the way with 15 points, six rebounds, four steals and two blocks while Devin Booker chipped in 15 points off the bench. In all, four Wildcats ended up in double figures. Kentucky's athleticism and depth were simply too much for North Carolina to handle for the entire 40 minutes.

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Brice Johnson and Marcus Paige spearheaded the North Carolina attack with a combined 29 points, but it was far too little, too late.

The natural assumption whenever Kentucky takes the floor is that it will blow away the competition because of its length, size, depth and overall talent, but Doug Gottlieb of CBS Sports noted before the game that North Carolina could also cause some problems for the same reasons: 

Unfortunately for the Wildcats, they lost some of that depth during Thursday's practice when Alex Poythress tore his ACL. Head coach John Calipari discussed the significance of the loss, via ESPN.com:

"Things that people can't do, he can do—and they all came at great times. I can remember last year against Louisville his three-minute span was ridiculous. So now we don't have that guy that we can play poorly and he'll go do something that will get you back in the game."

Kyle Tucker of The Courier-Journal noted that Poythress was on the crowd's mind at tipoff:

It didn't take long for Kentucky to feed off the crowd's energy. Andrew Carter of The News & Observer explained why UNC got off to a slow start:

It was particularly concerning for the Tar Heels that Kentucky was hitting from the outside, which is the one thing the Wildcats don't do well. Coming into this game, Kentucky was only shooting 27.7 percent from three-point range. Nick Gray of The Kentucky Kernel acknowledged the shooting:

North Carolina survived the early storm and cut into the lead with a first-half run of its own. Carter described the action and opined about the importance of the pace of play:

While North Carolina hung within striking distance in the first half, Seth Davis of CBS Sports had an interesting observation: 

The Tar Heels may have kept the game close in the early going, but Kentucky's overwhelming talent took over down the stretch before halftime. The Wildcats drilled six three-pointers, forced North Carolina into 10 turnovers and held superstar Marcus Paige to a measly two points in the first 20 minutes. 

It was good enough for a 49-34 lead. Pat Forde of Yahoo Sports, Jeff Goodman of ESPN and John Clay of the Lexington Herald-Leader pointed out some of the problems that were crippling North Carolina's upset efforts:

North Carolina came out of the locker room energized and cut into the lead a bit when Paige hit a three-pointer. Gray passed along one of the interactions from the Wildcats on the floor in response:

The problem with pushing the pace against Kentucky, though, is that its incredible athleticism all over the floor shines through that way. Anytime the Tar Heels cut the lead down to fewer than 15 in the initial minutes after intermission, the Wildcats would respond by forcing a turnover and getting out in transition for an easy basket on the other end.

Another problem for the Tar Heels was Kentucky's shooting, as Tucker pointed out:

With Kentucky up 18 on the court, Matt Jones of Kentucky Sports Radio passed along an inspiring development off the floor:

Paige carried the Tar Heels back to within nine points with a couple of threes and assists. Gray acknowledged how important Paige was to the comeback efforts: 

The mini-spurt from North Carolina was a minor concern for Kentucky, but the most alarming development in the second half was Tyler Ulis leaving with an injury, as Tucker noted:

Even without Ulis on the floor, things appeared hopeless for North Carolina. Tucker pointed out that even with Paige playing up to his potential in the second half, the Tar Heels were struggling to get within striking distance: 

Kentucky also received more good news with just less than seven minutes remaining in the game when Ulis returned to the floor. It ended up only being a cramp, which was encouraging considering he missed the recent victory over Columbia with a minor injury.

The Wildcats effectively put the game away in a one-minute stretch with five minutes remaining. They broke North Carolina's press and set up Cauley-Stein for an emphatic alley-oop slam to go up 14. Kentucky then found Cauley-Stein for another dunk in transition on the next possession.

By the time North Carolina looked up, it was 78-62, and the crowd was going crazy with about four minutes remaining in the game. Both Tucker and Gray praised Cauley-Stein for his incredible efforts:

From there, the rest of the game was just a formality. That allowed Goodman to take a bigger-picture look at Kentucky:

The Wildcats put it on cruise control for the last few minutes and won in dominating fashion, 84-70.

Jon Bois of SB Nation put it best:

What’s Next?

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This showdown with North Carolina was just the first in a grueling series of three games for the Wildcats before SEC play begins.

Kentucky plays UCLA in Chicago on Saturday in the CBS Sports Classic and then travels to Louisville to take on the archrival Cardinals and their suffocating defense. North Carolina will also be in Chicago on Saturday for the CBS Sports Classic, but it will take on Ohio State in the first game of the doubleheader.

Before the clash with the Buckeyes, the Tar Heels get a warm-up game Tuesday against UNC Greensboro.

These type of nonconference showdowns are exactly what the selection committee is looking for come Selection Sunday. Strength of schedule is important, especially when competing for a No. 1 seed, and the scheduling from North Carolina and Kentucky will not go unrecognized.

Neither will 14-point victories over ranked teams.