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After an early season loaded with various tournaments and invitationals, the Kentucky Wildcats came into Saturday’s battle with the North Carolina Tar Heels at Rupp Arena looking to make a big statement on the national stage. Behind a 17 point and 11 rebound effort from Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, the Cats managed to squeak by the Tar Heels 73-72, running John Calipari’s record to 38-0 at home as Kentucky’s headmaster.

North Carolina had a chance to win the contest late as they had the ball with 13 seconds left, but when John Henson went to put up a contested jumper in the corner with five seconds left, Kentucky freshman Anthony Davis seemingly came out of nowhere to block the shot, and when the Heels seemed to forget that there was still time left on the clock, the Wildcats came away with the emotional win.

The game represented the second huge test that the Tar Heels have had this week, as they downed the Wisconsin Badgers on Wednesday in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge. Facing two top-10 teams in the span of four days would be a rough assignment for any squad, but with their star player Harrison Barnes still fighting through an injury, the Tar Heels made a valiant effort to take both contests and prove why they had been ranked as the top team in the country before the season.

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