CHICAGO _ Maybe it was wearing blue uniforms for the first time this season. More likely, it was the chance to make amends for the opening-night debacle against Duke.
Whatever it was, Kentucky surely made the statement it wished to make in an 80-72 victory over North Carolina in the CBS Sports Classic on Saturday.
Going into this weekend, North Carolina had a NCAA Evaluation Tool rating of No. 13. Of UK's remaining opponents, only Kansas (No. 3) and Tennessee (No. 5) had a better mark.
UK's "bigs" came up big in victory. Besides combining for 31 points, both Reid Travis and PJ Washington set career highs for assists with three and eight, respectively.
Maybe North Carolina's preference for a fast-paced game relaxed Kentucky. According to Ken Pomeroy, North Carolina averaged the third-shortest time of possession (13.3 seconds).
Led by Keldon Johnson (23 points), Kentucky seemed to play free and easy at a fast pace. And the pace probably contributed to UNC's continuing problem with turnovers. The Tar Heels gave the ball up 17 times. Ashton Hagans made seven steals, one shy of Rajon Rondo and Wayne Turner's UK record.
Earlier in the week, North Carolina guard Kenny Williams spoke highly of Travis. He recalled Travis from UNC's game against Stanford last season.
"He's a bull," Williams said. "He's a workhorse. From what I remember, he's extending his range and knocking down the three a little bit. So we'll have to do a great job on him, keeping him out of the paint and off the board, and limiting his points in the paint."
Travis breathed life in those comments in the first half. He scored 16 of his 20 points in the first half as Kentucky took a 40-31 lead at the break.
The growing versatility that Williams spoke of was on display. Travis made one of his two 3-point shots.
But Kentucky's bull roared. Twice he scored while being fouled. Three times he combined with Washington for scores.
The 16 first-half points were more than Travis scored in six of UK's previous 10 games.
Kentucky needed Travis _ or someone _ to step up in half that saw his teammates make only nine of 25 shots.
With help from North Carolina's 10 turnovers, Kentucky's defense contributed. UK limited the nation's third-most prolific offense (94.3 points) to more than 15 points below its average of first-half scoring (46.5 points).
The Tar Heels made only 14 of 33 shots before halftime.
Kentucky got off to a troubling start in the second half. Hagans, who played on despite turning an ankle in the first half, picked up his third foul before the first TV timeout. So did Johnson.
In that span, North Carolina halved a 12-point Kentucky lead, which had reached its zenith at 43-31 early in the second half.
As UNC lurked, it twice appeared that fate was on Kentucky's side. Twice inside five minutes the Cats scored as the shot clock buzzed. The second was a 3-pointer by Johnson that put UK ahead 63-53 with 8:38 left.
Kentucky answered each North Carolina challenge down the stretch.
When UNC closed within 66-60, Washington swished a 3-pointer set up by a Travis pass. With the lead at 71-62, Washington made the pass that finished Tyler Herro's backdoor cut and layup.
