North Carolina and Kentucky will face off against each other for the 43rd time as they meet in the CBS Sports Classic in Atlanta on Saturday. And this game is a pivotal one for both teams.
UNC enters the game 7-2 overall with wins over Tennessee, Arkansas and Florida State. Their only two losses have come at the hands of Villanova and most recently UConn, both on neutral courts. For Kentucky, they are also 7-2 with a loss to No. 1 Kansas and an upset loss at home to UNC-Asheville.
As the two teams get set to square off in a ranked battle, the Wildcats coaching staff knows just how good the Tar Heels are.
“Big, strong, physical team, a veteran team who has played a lot of games. And I think they were able to do really well in the portal,” Kentucky assistant coach Chuck Martin said of the Tar Heels via Kentucky Sports Radio. “They’ve got some kids who came into the program who fit in really nicely early on. This is a really good team, this is one of those teams that in March can make a run. It’ll be a really good matchup, a challenge for us in Atlanta this weekend.”
The same can be said from North Carolina’s side as well.
Although it’s a new-look roster for the Wildcats, there’s a lot of talent on the roster and there’s a reason why they are ranked going into this matchup. This is the first of back-to-back matchups against Top 15 teams for the Tar Heels after facing No. 5 UConn already. Can they pass this test?
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