Kentucky took a big loss off the court and responded with another big win on it.
Now the Wildcats (11-0) finally get a bit of a break.
The Wildcats, still the unanimous No. 1 in the AP poll after getting all 65 first-place votes Monday, are the only 11-win team in NCAA Division I basketball. No other team from a major conference has played more games.
Two days after 6-foot-8 junior forward Alex Poythress tore his anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee during practice, the Wildcats won 84-70 Saturday over North Carolina, which dropped three spots to 24th in the new poll.
“They were excited about playing the game, but I just think they’re – thank goodness we have time between games now to get ourselves right,” Kentucky coach John Calipari said after the game. “We played a lot of games in a short period of time. So we have a little (time), in two games in two weeks, which gives us some time.”