GAME GLANCE: UK, UNC meet with Final Four spot on the line
MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Kentucky avenged an earlier season loss to UCLA on Friday night. On Sunday, it’ll be top-seed North Carolina, who defeated Butler in the Sweet 16, trying to even the score with the Wildcats.
Malik Monk led Kentucky with 47 points in the Wildcats’ 103-100 win in Las Vegas during December. Point guard De’Aaron Fox scored 24 points and dished out 10 assists for Kentucky while Justin Jackson scored 34 points for North Carolina in the loss. The two teams meet in the FedExForum with a trip to the Final Four on the line.
NO. 2 KENTUCKY VS. NO. 1 NORTH CAROLINA, 5:05 P.M.
TV: CBS (Jim Nantz play-by-play, Grant Hill and Bill Rafferty color)
Radio: UK Radio Network (Tom Leach play-by-play, Mike Pratt color)
Series history: North Carolina leads the overall series 23-15. John Calipari is 6-2 against North Carolina. Roy Williams is 8-9 vs. the Wildcats. Kentucky has won the previous two meetings.
PROBABLE KENTUCKY LINEUP
Name Pos. Ht. Wt. Cl. P/RPG
Bam Adebayo F 6-10 260 Fr. 13.3/8.1
Derek Willis F 6-9 228 Sr. 7.0/5.2
De’Aaron Fox G 6-3 187 Fr. 16.2/4.1
Malik Monk G 6-3 200 Fr. 20.2/2.5
Isaiah Briscoe G 6-3 210 So. 12.7/5.5
PROBABLE NORTH CAROLINA LINEUP
Name Pos. Ht. Wt. Cl. P/RPG
Theo Pinson F 6-6 211 Jr. 5.8/4.2
Kennedy Meeks F 6-10 260 Sr. 12.5/9.1
Justin Jackson F 6-8 210 Jr. 18.2/4.7
Isaiah Hicks F 6-9 242 Sr. 12.3/5.6
Joel Berry II G 6-0 195 Jr. 14.7/3.1
STORYLINES TO FOLLOW
Premier blue blood matchup. Kentucky played its first blue blood rematch on Friday night and will do so again Sunday. There's a possibility the winner of the game will play Kansas in the Final Four in the national semifinal, which would represent yet another blue blood matchup in the tournament.
Kentucky is going for its fifth Final Four appearance under John Calipari and 18th Final Four appearance in school history. North Carolina is going for its 20th Final Four appearance. These two teams have met three prior times in the NCAA Tournament. The Tar Heels won in the regional finals in 1977 and 1995 while Kentucky won in 2011.
Another Elite 8 appearance. Kentucky is making its 33rd Elite 8 appearance. It's the sixth time under Calipari. The Wildcats are 4-1 in regional final games since 2010. The only loss came to West Virginia in Calipari's first year at Kentucky.
Fox on fire. Fox scored a career-high 39 points against UCLA on Friday night. He's led Kentucky in scoring in each postseason game this season. He's become a dangerous offensive threat with his offensive scoring over the past few weeks.