UNC leads No. 1 Kentucky 43-38 at halftime

LEXINGTON, KY. — No. 5 North Carolina leads the No. 1 Kentucky Wildcats 43-38 at halftime on Saturday.

DTH senior writers Jonathan Jones and Mark Thompson share a few thoughts from the first half’s action.

*Henson-Jones III
*

There’s no love lost between John Henson and Terrence Jones. The two did battle twice last season in the teams’ matches and they have picked up right where they left off in March.

Henson has six points on 3-of-6 shooting with three blocks and three turnovers. Jones has helped keep Kentucky in the game with a game-high 14 points on 5-of-11 shooting, including a 3-pointer with the shot clock at 2.

Jones has talked plenty of smack to Henson. After a layup early in the game, Jones turned around to flex his left bicep at Henson and mouthed a profanity to the junior as they ran down the court.

Henson has shown little interest in passing the ball when he receives it anywhere near Jones on the offensive end.

Neither is in foul trouble and it will be a match to keep an eye out for throughout the game.

-JJ

*PJ Hairston just fine
*
Up until a few hours before tipoff, no one expected guard P.J. Hairston to play against Kentucky. And even then, Hairston was questionable with a sprained left wrist and bone contusion. Hairston looked fine in warmups and he’s been a huge spark for the Tar Heels in the first half.

Hairston played nine minutes in the first half and shot 2-for-2 from the field, both of which were 3-pointers. With Harrison Barnes in early foul trouble, Hairston could continue to play a big role in this game. And to think, not long ago he wasn’t even going to play this game.
-MT

*Barnes in foul trouble
*
After leading the Tar Heels on Wednesday with 20 points against Wisconsin, Barnes began the game hot with two 3-pointers. But he picked up two quick fouls and picked up a third with 6:18 left in the game in the backcourt.

UNC head coach Roy Williams sat his top scoring threat for the rest of the half. But his replacements P.J. Hairston and Reggie Bullock have been more than suitable to fill Barnes’ role.

Hairston is coming off a wrist injury suffered in the second half of the Wisconsin game. He has stroked two 3-pointers and has eight points to lead all bench scorers. Bullock knocked down a 3-pointer from the corner that put UNC up 37-30 with less than five to play in the half.
-JJ

*3-pt shooting
*

Credit North Carolina for making shots in response to big Kentucky baskets in this first half. That’s helped the Tar Heels limit any momentum swings for the Wildcats. One other area that North Carolina deserves credit for is its shooting.

The Tar Heels shot 15-for-31 from the field, and an impressive 6-of-9 from long range. It’s tough to think UNC can sustain such a high percentage from behind the arc, but many of those shots have been fairly open looks. What’s even harder to expect is for Kentucky to keep giving UNC those open 3-point chances.
-MT

*Zeller overcomes early struggles
*

UNC senior forward Tyler Zeller had some trouble in the early going on Saturday in the low post.

Twice he turned the ball over in the paint after Anthony Davis and Terrence Jones (who would come off Henson in the post to double-team) forced the big man to lose control of the ball.

Zeller would rebound nicely though after taking a breather. He tipped in a Henson miss with nine minutes left that got him rolling. He finished the half with a team-high 10 points and five rebounds on 4-of-4 free throw shooting.
-JJ

*Turnovers key
*
North Carolina turned the ball over three times in the first two minutes against Kentucky, but finished the remaining 18 minutes of the half with four.

North Carolina’s point guards, Kendall Marshall and Dexter Strickland, each have four assists in this game and have committed three turnovers. Marshall’s assist-to-turnover ratio is 4-to-1 while Strickland’s sits at 2-to-1.

The first half of the UNC-UK game was rough, with few fouls called. Keeping turnovers down will be critical for both teams.