Kentucky vs. North Carolina: Game Preview, Prediction

Two of the most winning programs in college basketball history renew their rivalry on Saturday.

The North Carolina Tar Heels travel to Lexington to face the Kentucky Wildcats at Rupp Arena in a game between two of the top three schools in all-time wins (Kentucky is first, North Carolina is third).

These two teams have been meeting regularly on the court over the past decade. In fact, since 2000, they have met in every regular season except 2012-13. North Carolina leads the all-time series 23-13, including winning seven of the last 10 games.

This season’s Tar Heels are 6-2 and are ranked 21st in the country by the Associated Press. Head coach Roy Williams has five players averaging in double figures, led by All-American guard Marcus Paige, who is scoring 14.0 points per outing. Big man Kennedy Meeks averages 13.8 points, while Brice Johnson (11.3), Justin Jackson (10.4) and J.P. Tokoto (10.0) are also double figure scorers.

Kentucky has adopted a two-platoon system this season, with head coach John Calipari generally substituting five players at a time. With nine McDonald’s All-Americans on the roster, Calipari had to find a way to get them all playing time, and so far, the platoons seem to be working. Kentucky is 10-0 this season, having won every game by double digits.

Due to the platoon system, players are generally playing only half of the time. Therefore, Kentucky’s statistics are somewhat skewed. The Wildcats have only one player, Willie Cauley-Stein, averaging in double figures in scoring (10.3 points per game). However, seven players average at least seven points per game, while playing between 17 and 23 minutes per contest.

Kentucky got a scare from Columbia on Wednesday night. After trailing at the half, Kentucky rallied in the second half to win 56-46, but it was certainly the worst performance of the season for this talented group.

On Saturday, Kentucky figures to have the upper hand, although Carolina’s ability to score could put pressure on UK’s defense. The home crowd will be loud and lively, and Kentucky should feed off of that enough to pull out a close win.

Final score prediction: Kentucky 70, North Carolina 62

Tim Letcher is a contributing writer for www.RantSports.com and a member of the Football Writers Association of America and the United States Basketball Writers Association. Follow him on Twitter @TimLetcher , on Facebook or add him to your network on Google.