CLEVELAND – Kentucky coach John Calipari is used to early season learning curves for young players. Never in his 12 seasons have the Wildcats fallen so behind.
Armando Bacot scored 11 of his team-high 14 points in Saturday’s second half, collecting No. 22 North Carolina from a double-digit deficit to beat Kentucky 75-63 at the CBS Sports Classic.
Kentucky (1-5) has lost five consecutive times since John Calipari became coach in 2009 and has its worst start since the 1926-27 season.
“I’m just so disappointed, especially the last 10 minutes of the game,” said Calipari. ‘I know they are better than this. Just trying to make difficult pieces? I need to watch this tape and find out. “
Kerwin Walton scored 13 points and fellow freshman Caleb Love had 11 points and six assists for North Carolina (5-2), surpassing the Wildcats 33-15 to end the game.
Davion Mintz scored 17 runs – making all three of Kentucky’s three-pointers – and got eight rebounds. No Wildcats that appeared in the game were made available to the media.
Walton made two 3-pointers and scored eight runs in a 9-1 game-changing run of the Tar Heels, including the free throw at 50-49 with 11:42 remaining. North Carolina was down 11 in the first half.
“I knew my time was coming once I adjusted to the speed of the college game,” said Walton, who had six points in the first six games. “Every shot I took felt great today.”
Walton made a pair of 3-pointers immediately after Kentucky great men Olivier Sarr and Lance Ware went to the bench with their fourth errors. Sarr, Ware and teammates Isaiah Jackson and Terrence Clarke later walked out.
“The first half I was very disappointed because we didn’t play hard,” said Tar Heels coach Roy Williams. “But I’m as happy as I can be with the fight we showed when we got back.”
Wildcats attacker Brandon Boston Jr. scored 15 points and guard Devin Askew had 12. A third freshman, forward Cam’Ron Fletcher, walked off the bench and openly complained after just three minutes of play.
Calipari said Fletcher apologized in the locker room, adding, “You have to accept your position on this team.”
CHANGED PLANS
North Carolina was initially scheduled to play No. 20 Ohio State, while Kentucky was paired with UCLA. The matchups were changed on Wednesday by promoter Intersport to align the opponents with the most similar COVID-19 testing protocols.
Fans were not allowed to attend either game at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse, where the annual event was first held.
INJURY UPDATE
North Carolina: G RJ Davis (right knee contusion) was limited to three minutes in the second half and did not play the piece. Williams said the six-foot freshman will be re-examined Sunday. … Love briefly left the game after encountering an illegal screen from Sarr. He absorbed the blow to his upper body and was helped on the bench by a trainer. “I feel that tomorrow,” said Love.
CLEVELAND ROCKS
North Carolina played its first game at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse, the home of the NBA’s Cavaliers. The Tar Heels last played in town on November 29, 2003 – their third game under Williams – when they won at Cleveland State. Kentucky is 5-2 all time in Cleveland.
LARGE PHOTO
North Carolina: The Tar Heels are 0-2 against teams that are in the AP Top 25 and lost 69-67 to No. 11 Texas (in Asheville, North Carolina) and 93-80 to No. 3 Iowa in back- to-back competitions. … North Carolina has completed its nonleague-schedule and will play the next 20 games in the Atlantic Coast Conference.
Kentucky: The Wildcats started with a 81-45 home win over Morehead State on November 25, but lost their next four games with 33 points total. … Kentucky has one stock market player that also saw action in 2019-2020. Sophomore F Keion Brooks Jr. (calf bandage), who made six starts, has yet to play this season.
NEXT ONE
North Carolina: Plays in the state of North Carolina in the ACC opener on December 22.
Kentucky: Renews its state rivalry at No. 23 Louisville in a non-conference game on Dec. 26.
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More AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball and https://twitter.com/AP_Top25