KSR's takeaways from Kentucky's blowout win over North Carolina

Forced to find a new opponent with Ohio State pulling out of the CBS Sports Classic, Kentucky instead took on North Carolina in a head-to-head battle of blue bloods. It was the darker shade of blue, though, that came out victorious.

And they did so in dominating fashion.

Pulling off the 98-69 victory in Las Vegas, it was Kentucky’s most complete game of the season. The Wildcats shot 54.2% from the field and 53.3% from three to pull off the second-biggest win over UNC in series history.

How did the victory come to fruition? Check out some of KSR’s top takeaways:

Sahvir Wheeler responds in a major way

Wheeler was played off the floor against Notre Dame, missing open shots and giving up baskets on the defense. The Fighting Irish stopped guarding him, essentially playing 4-on-5 in the time he was on the floor. It was inarguably his worst performance as a Wildcat.

Just one game later, Wheeler finished with a team-high 26 points on 12-15 shooting to go with eight assists, four steals, three rebounds and just two turnovers in 32 minutes.

He set the tone early, jumping the passing lanes and converting on easy transition opportunities before destroying the Tar Heels on drives and scores at the rim. The junior guard also knocked down a few jumpers, an added bonus after struggling in that area a week ago.

Make no mistake about it, Wheeler was unguardable in the blowout win.

Kellan Grady breaks through

Grady has been efficient all season long, averaging 9.1 points on 44.8% shooting, 40% from three and 80% from the line. The volume, though, has been low, averaging just 7.4 shots per contest.

After averaging 17-plus points per game all four years of his career, it’s been frustrating seeing Grady pass up open shots and defer to his teammates so often. He’s been passive at times Kentucky has needed a player to step up in the shooting and scoring department.

Tonight, though, the Grady we saw at Davidson broke through, finishing with 18 points on 6-8 shooting and 5-7 from three to go with six rebounds. It wasn’t his season-high — he scored 19 against Robert Morris — but it was his best performance against real competition for the Wildcats.

UK doesn’t need him to average 17 points per game like he did at Davidson. They do, however, need him to be more than a catch-and-shoot specialist. He’s a strong three-level scorer, and we got to see that on display against North Carolina.

Oscar Tshiebwe is an NBA player

It’s time to stop assuming Tshiebwe is a multi-year player with little pro potential. Ten games into the season, it’s clear he’s more than just a clean-up specialist with elite rebounding ability. Much more.

Knocking down mid-range jumpers at a consistent clip while feasting down low with polished footwork and legit post moves, Tshiebwe is not the same player we saw in high school or even at West Virginia. He’s got clear NBA talent at this point.

He was limited to just seven first-half minutes, but still finished with 16 points on 7-12 shooting to go with 12 rebounds and an assist. 22 minutes of total action, but he still finished with a team-high +33 in plus/minus.

Similar to the growth we saw out of Nick Richards during his third and final season at Kentucky, it’s time to start thinking of Tshiebwe as a legitimate pro talent. He’s simply too good.

Armando Bacot gets no help for the Tar Heels

The former McDonald’s All-American finished with 22 points on 8-13 shooting and 6-9 from the line to go with 10 rebounds, two assists and one block. It was a strong performance on both ends, especially when Tshiebwe dealt with foul trouble in the first half.

Outside of Bacot, though, North Carolina got a whole lot of nothing from the rest of the roster. RJ Davis had 10 points, but was 3-8 from the field and 0-3 from three. No other Tar Heel had more than eight points, with the team as a whole shooting 43.4% overall (23-53) and 7.7% from three (1-13).

North Carolina entered the day with five players averaging double figures, with the team as a whole scoring 80.4 points per contest and hitting 40.9 percent of its shots from three. The Tar Heels came up well short in all three categories.

A much-needed win for Kentucky

Beyond the individual standouts and team stats, it was a quality win for the Wildcats that desperately needed one. Kentucky’s resume up to this point was abysmal, with its biggest win coming against Ohio.

North Carolina isn’t an elite team, but they’re talented and they have name recognition. A win over the Tar Heels looks good on paper, no matter what you think of them as a potential title contender or even a top-tier team in the ACC.

Kentucky needed to learn something about itself against a real opponent, and they did just that on Saturday. The matchup, the location, the national attention, the timing, and the way it unfolded, all significant.