By Connor Wilson
The 2022 CBS Sports Classic was everything that we asked for and then some. In the first game, the North Carolina Tar Heels defeated the No. 23 ranked Ohio State Buckeyes 89-84 in an overtime classic at Madison Square Garden. In the nightcap, No. 16 UCLA defeated No. 13 Kentucky by a score of 63-53 in another hard fought contest.
In game one, UNC was down as many as 14 points early in the first half, but head coach Hubert Davis’ crew never gave up and pulled off the thrilling comeback. The Tar Heels were led by senior center Armando Bacot, who matched his season high with 28 points and grabbed 15 rebounds.
“In the first half, they punked us, really,” Bacot said. “In the second half I thought we did a good job coming out early and our fight to come back and win in such a gutsy manner is huge for us and something to build on.”
Outside of Bacot, the backcourt for the Tar Heels also lit it up. Junior guard Caleb Love scored 22 points, including 19 in the second half/overtime. Love also had a game high seven assists. Fellow junior guard RJ Davis had 21 points including a tough and-1 finish to cut the deficit to two late in regulation.
UNC guard RJ Davis drives to the rim against Ohio St.
The game came down to the wire. After the Buckeyes built their big lead, the Tar Heels fought all the way back, fueled by a big run at the start of the second half. The crowd in Manhattan was dominated by Carolina blue and white from start to finish and was a major factor all throughout.
“As soon as I took the job, I said every year that Carolina will have a presence here in The Garden,“ Coach Davis said. “Every year Coach (Dean) Smith brought us here so it ties me back to that and the four years I started my NBA career here as well.”
The Tar Heels took the lead with under a minute left in regulation, but Ohio State junior forward Zed Key drilled a go-ahead triple to put the Buckeyes up by two. Bacot responded on the other end to tie the game with just under 30 second left, but Buckeye freshman wing Brice Sensabaugh hit another go-ahead shot for Ohio St. with two seconds left.
Trailing by two with less than two seconds to go, Coach Davis drew up a play that freed up graduate student forward Pete Nance on the far side and Nance sank the game tying mid range shot as time expired. The Tar Heels had never practiced that play before. Not even once.
UNC forward Pete Nance being guarded by Ohio St. forward Justice Sueing
“We have a number of plays in late game situations that we can go to,” Coach Davis said. “We didn't have one in that situation. I thought their execution was fantastic.”
In overtime, it was all UNC as clutch baskets from both Love and Davis sealed the deal to move the preseason No.1 Tar Heels to 8-4 on the season.
For the Buckeyes, Sensabaugh was phenomenal all night long. The freshman had a career high 22 points to go along with eight rebounds. Joining him in double figures were freshman guard Bruce Thornton (17), redshirt senior forward Justice Sueing (16) and Key (11).
Ohio St. wing Brice Sensabaugh takes a jump shot against UNC
“Hard fought game. Give Carolina credit,” Ohio St. head coach Chris Holtmann said. “Nance hit a tough shot there with just over a second to go. Give them credit for finishing the game.”
Freshmen such as Thornton and guard Roddy Gayle Jr. were asked to play a lot against an experienced Tar Heels team in the absence of graduate student guard Isaac Likekele (personal) and junior guard Eugene Brown III (concussion). The loss sends the Buckeyes to 7-3 on the season.
In the nightcap, it was the Jaime Jaquez Jr. show all throughout. The senior forward had his first double-double of the season with 19 points and 12 rebounds to lead the Bruins to the win. Head coach Mick Cronin loved what he saw from his senior leader.
“It became a chess game,” Cronin said. “Trying to get Jaime in some positions to score, but he’s a great player and that's why he’s the Player of the Year in the Pac-12.”
UCLA forward Jaime Jaquez guarded by Kentucky forward Jacob Toppin
The three headed monster of Jaquez, junior guard Jaylen Clark and senior guard Tyger Campbell propelled the Bruins to victory. Clark and Campbell each finished with 15 points in 35 minutes played.
The first half was all UCLA for a majority of it, as the Bruins led by as many as 13 in the period. The Wildcats went on a 7-0 run late capped off by a three pointer by freshman forward Chris Livingston. UCLA responded in a wild sequence at the end of the half that led to a Jaquez uncontested layup right before time expired.
Livingston led a struggling Wildcats offense off the bench with 14 points. The only other player in double figures for head coach John Calipari was senior guard Sahvir Wheeler, who finished with 11. Reigning National Player of the Year Oscar Tshiebwe struggled to score the ball with just eight points on 4-for-12 shooting and 0-for-4 from the charity stripe, but was his usual self on the glass with 16 rebounds.
“They were throwing guys at Oscar,” Calipari said. “And when they do that you have to make shots and we have good shooters. We’re one of the better three point shooting teams. And we missed.”
Kentucky forward Oscar Tshiebwe being swarmed by four UCLA defenders
The Wildcats brought that late first half momentum push into the second, as an 11-4 run fueled by eight points from Livingston and a triple from Wheeler tied the game at 38. From there, the team would score just 15 points in the final 15 minutes of the game. Kentucky missed its last 11 shots from the field and was held scoreless the final 4:31 of the game.
The defensive effort from the Bruins was excellent from start to finish. In a game so physical and defensive minded like this one, Cronin put it best:
“That there became a bloodbath,” Cronin said. “At some point that felt like a Big East game back at The Garden.”
UCLA had one of the most touted freshman classes in the nation coming into this season, but they struggled at the Mecca. Guard Amari Bailey had just three points and forward Adem Bona was held scoreless.
“We’ve got a lot of freshmen,” Cronin said. “This is a tough game for freshmen so our veterans had to carry us in a game like this.”
UCLA guard Tyger Campbell feeds teammate David Singleton down low
Playing on the big stage in front of a sold out Madison Square Garden is a dream for a lot of those players. Saturday was no exception.
“The atmosphere out there, it was like as a kid you look and see all of the historical games at The Garden. I think this game can go down as one of those too,” Bacot said. “Shoutout to the fans. Seeing all the white and Carolina blue really gave us a bump.”
“I’ve been to New York a handful of times,” Jaquez said. “The city is amazing and always an adventure, but MSG is something I’ve always wanted to be a part of, always wanted to play in it, and when I found out we were coming here it was marked on my calendar.”
All four teams play their next game on Dec. 21. North Carolina is set to take on Michigan in the Jumpman Invitational in Charlotte. Ohio St. returns to Columbus for a matchup against Maine. Kentucky is set to take on Florida A&M in Lexington and UCLA returns out west to take on UC Davis at home.