Boasting superior size, speed and strength, the Kentucky Wildcats handed UNC an 84-70 setback on Saturday in a men’s non-conference basketball game at Rupp Arena.

Willie Cauley-Stein starred for the No. 1 Wildcats in a brilliant all-around game with 15 points, 6 rebounds, 4 steals and a pair of blocks. Devin Booker came off the bench to match Cauley-Stein in points, while Aaron Harrison added 14 for the 11-0 Wildcats.

No. 21 UNC, to its credit, hung around when it looked like the Tar Heels could be blown out in a few spots but ultimately fell to the deeper squad in dropping to 6-3 overall.

Brice Johnson led the Tar Heels with 15 points, while Marcus Paige heated up in the second half and finished with 14 including a 4 of 6 effort from behind the arc.

UNC’s best stretch came on an 8-0 run, capped by a Kennedy Meeks tip in that moved the Tar Heels within single digits at 66-57 late in the second half.

With just under five minutes remaining Cauley-Stein had a slam dunk and was the successful oop in an alley from teammate Trey Liles as the Wildcats finally pulled away for good.

The Tar Heels tried to play catch-up throughout and had their moments, as when Paige silenced crowd with a trey four minutes into the second half, but it only cut the ‘Cats lead to 59-43.

The biggest differences in the first half came from behind the arc, where the Wildcats were 6 of 12, and at the free throw line as they connected on 13 of 17 attempts. Kentucky continually went to the basket, continuing that trend in the second half, and finished 23 of 31 at the stripe.

The Tar Heels had just three attempts from long range. connecting on one and were 3 of 4 from the charity stripe as their lack of physical play cost the Heels.

Kentucky had 29 points from its backcourt compared to just 6 for UNC and also committed four fewer turnovers (6).

The Wildcats 15 points bulge at the break (49-34) would have been bigger if an Aaron Harrison long distance three had not rimmed out at the buzzer.

Still, Kentucky was in firm control as it was throughout the contest, shooting a blistering 56.3 percent from the field, compared to a decent 45 percent mark for the Heels.

A more serious concern for the Tar Heels was head coach Roy Williams, who appeared dazed for a few moments during the second half. It wasn’t clear if he had slipped on the floor or perhaps just suffered a dizzy spell or something akin to that.

Williams appeared to be OK when congratulating Kentucky players at the end of the contest, however and there was no further report if his health was an issue immediately after the game.