Kentucky vs. North Carolina: Wildcats Will Expose Tar Heels Defense in Close Win

While Saturday sure seems like a college football day, No. 1 Kentucky and No. 5 North Carolina provide an epic bout in college basketball that is equally as

Kentucky will expose the Tar Heels' lackluster defense in a narrow victory at Rupp Arena.

The Tar Heels, just like many teams, have kinks to iron out before conference play. However, their defensive issues, especially stopping penetration, will continue against John Calipari and his dribble-drive offense.

North Carolina’s point guard Kendall Marshall may be the worst defending guard in the ACC. He was consistently gashed against UNLV earlier in the season. Kentucky will able to rival that performance from the Rebels.

Kentucky is averaging 84 points per game this season. Terrence Jones has picked up exactly where he left off a year ago, averaging 15 points, eight rebounds and two blocks per game. He does it all on the court.

Doron Lamb has been lights out (48 percent) from beyond the arc en route to his 14 points per game. Marquis Teague has filled Brandon Knight’s shoes formidably, averaging 11 points and four assists per game.

North Carolina has the clear-cut advantage against 99 percent of the teams they face this year in terms of frontcourt play. John Henson and Tyler Zeller are one of the best one-two forward combinations in the country.

But, Kentucky is a team that will be able to match up against them athletically. Jones has proven that he can rival any player he goes up against. We saw that in 2010. He is joined by freshman forward Anthony Davis. He has been one of the best freshmen in the country. Davis has averaged 13 points and nine rebounds per game.

This game is going to come down to three-point shooting from the Wildcats. North Carolina allowed 13 triples from the Rebels in their 90-80 defeat one week ago.

Kentucky is going to get their opportunities to score from the perimeter against the Tar Heels. Whether it’s in transition, on the glass or by using their dribble-drive offense, Kentucky will have a plethora of scoring chances from outside.

The wild card in this equation is motivation from the Tar Heels. They have been used to being the favorite in every game they have played this season.

Not this one.

Kentucky is favored by six points. Saturday will be the day when we finally see exactly what type of team Roy Williams has this year.

I wouldn’t be shocked if we saw a completely different team in this game.

When North Carolina allowed 90 points to UNLV in their first loss of the season, people were wondering if the Tar Heels were overrated. The answer is simply no. They aren’t overrated. UNLV was the better team on that day.

A team as highly talented as this won’t be motivated 100 percent of the time. They were caught off guard. We will get a better depiction of them on Saturday.

Kentucky will have their way against the Tar Heels defense, but North Carolina will be able to score at a great clip.

This will be a great game, but Kentucky will expose the Tar Heels’ Achilles Heel a little more after they escape Rupp Arena with a narrow victory.