Zeller and Henson big in Kentucky win

First went Terrence Jones. Then Josh Harrellson. Next, Eloy Vargas. And finally, Brandon Knight.

In the final four minutes of North Carolina’s 75-73 victory against No. 10 Kentucky at the Smith Center, the Wildcats lost the battle of attrition as four of their 10 players in uniform fouled out.

That was in large part because of the aggressive play down low of both John Henson and Tyler Zeller.

The two Tar Heel big men played a big role in accumulating fouls on every Wildcat above 6-foot-7 while stifling the Kentucky big men on the offensive end of the floor.

“I knew they had the two bigs, and beyond that they were kind of small,” Zeller said. “It creates mismatches, but also creates mismatches for us, because we have to get out on the floor and guard.”

Zeller took full advantage of those mismatches, scoring a career-high 27 points on 8-for-13 shooting, to go with 11 rebounds and five blocks.

“Tonight was my night to be able to step up,” Zeller said. “Obviously, every big game you need someone who can step up.”

Henson was able to force Kentucky’s heralded freshman Jones into a 3-for-17 day from the field.

Jones’ nine points were a far cry from the 20.7 points he averaged coming into the game.

“I saw him play a few games on TV, and I took it as a personal challenge to not let him do what he was doing to people,” Henson said. “I tried to use my length and sit on his left hand.”

The box score may have only listed Henson with three blocks on the night, but that number obscures the impact he had in leading the defense.

“I think on one of the plays, (DeAndre) Liggins drove right by me,” guard Dexter Strickland said. “I was confident John was going to get me. He had a big block, we got the steal and scored off the transition. His presence down low is very important to us.”

Henson’s length bothered Jones, as he never seemed comfortable when Henson was on him.

“We’ve been pretty good defensively,” UNC coach Roy Williams said. “We’ve been getting better and better. I said that after the College of Charleston game.”

The team is quickly starting to develop its identity as a stingy defensive team.

In three of their last four games, the Tar Heels (5-3) have held their opponents below 40 percent shooting from the field in wins.

“I think we’re pretty close to reaching our potential (on defense),” point guard Larry Drew II said. “We still have mental lapses and breakdowns here and there, but once we erase all of that, we’re going to be pretty hard to beat.”

In the second half, UNC buckled down, allowing Kentucky to shoot just 30 percent from the field, as the Wildcats struggled to get any rhythm offensively.

“There were some plays made that I just shook my head,” Kentucky coach John Calipari said. “Roy said to me after, ‘Not real well played, but a good game.’”

In what Williams termed a “hand-to-hand combat type of game,” UNC was able to win through toughness and attrition.

“This was a big win for us,” forward Harrison Barnes said.

“For us to go out there and perform the way we did, not give in, not get down on ourselves as the lead got bigger, that showed a lot.”

Contact the Sports Editor at sports@unc.edu.