SERIES STANDOUTS: Best individual performances in UK-UNC history

Kentucky and North Carolina have been home to some of the best players to ever step on a college basketball court.

The series has also seen its share of outstanding individual performances on both sides.

Issel's 1969 performance may have been the best individual effort for a player on either team in the entire history of this series, and his 41 points helped the No. 2 Cats to a 94-87 win over No. 7 North Carolina. It was just the second time Kentucky had defeated the Tar Heels in a game played in the Old North State. The game was in Charlotte. Issel's 41 points were the most scored in any game by a Kentucky player that year, and it's the 10th highest scoring effort in the history of Kentucky basketball.

It's almost easy to forget just how good James Worthy was but it's easy to understand why that happens given that he played with Michael Jordan in college and then Magic Johnson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in the NBA. But he was great, and in 1996 he was selected as one of the 50 Greatest Players in NBA History for a reason.

The day after Christmas in 1981, No. 1 North Carolina met No. 2 Kentucky in East Rutherford, New Jersey. The Wildcats had to play without Sam Bowie, who had suffered a stress fracture, and that severely hampered their chances at a win. Of those who played in this titanic matchup, Worthy was the game's best performer. He poured in 18 first half points and finished with eight rebounds and six assists as well.

Sam Perkins took up the scoring cause in the second half, with 17 on in the game's last 20 minutes, and Kentucky was never really in a position to win the game.

This game was the second of four consecutive wins for Tubby Smith against the Tar Heels during a down period in the modern history of UNC basketball. North Carolina was unranked when they entered Rupp Arena to take on No. 11 Kentucky, and Tayshaun Prince made sure the Heels didn't take the crowd out of the game early.

While North Carolina ran off a string of early baskets, they were no match for Prince's now-famous five-three pointers before the game's first television timeout. The last one, of course, took place with Prince's feet lined up right on the edge of Rupp Arena's centercourt interlocking "UK" logo.

It's almost lost to history that Prince finished that game with a outstanding effort even after those first five minutes. He continued scoring, he rebounded, he passed, he defended, in what was undoubtedly one of the best games in his outstanding Kentucky career.

Both of Roy Williams' victories against a John Calipari-coached Kentucky team took place in the Dean E. Smith Center with this being the first. The Cats would eventually knock this North Carolina team out of the NCAA Tournament, in the East Regional Final, on the back of a strong deep-shooting performance. Kentucky hit 9-21 threes in this first of two matchups with North Carolina, but it wasn't quite enough.

That's because Tyler Zeller had one of the best games by any big man in this series' history. Not only did he score from seemingly every spot on the court inside the three-point arc, with an array of post moves and his patented ability to run the court, but he swatted five of Kentucky's shots. Four Kentucky players fouled out in that game, including three big men who were often assigned to defend Zeller.

No. 24 North Carolina defeated unranked Kentucky in this game played in Louisville, and on the surface it would seem to be a completely unremarkable contest between two heavyweights. Normally both teams have been ranked when this game has been played, but in that year neither team had one of their stronger squads with Kentucky on probation and the Heels having a down year.

But this game was an exciting, up-tempo affair, with UK's new coach, Rick Pitino, employing his new pressing style with his bunch of overachievers. North Carolina won a track meet 121-110, with the Heels shooting 40-66 from the floor and 50-percent from three, while the Cats connected on 21 threes and forced 22 turnovers.

The player of the game was King Rice, North Carolina's point guard. While UK's Deron Feldhaus and Derrick Miller both outscored Rice, he stuffed the stat sheet and facilitated most of the Heels' offense. By halftime the score was 64-47 in UNC's favor and everything went through Rice.

Kuester's 19 points weren't among the most ever scored in a game by a player in this series. But his 19 points, and all of his time on the court, was extremely valuable. North Carolina clung to a lead of a dozen points in the second half when All-American point guard Phil Ford went down with an injury. Mind you, this game was the East Region's Final, with a trip to the Final Four on the line.

Ford would have continued playing if he had been able to, but Dean Smith had to sit him the rest of the way. Kuester entered the game and played well enough for UNC to hold onto their lead and punch their ticket to the sport's final weekend of games. Kuester connected on 13 of 14 free throws and that stymied Kentucky whenever the game got close.

North Carolina was the higher-ranked team (9th) when they took on Kentucky (15th) in Louisville in 1974, but Jimmy Dan Conner's offensive explosion helped the Cats defeat the Heels 90-78. Dean Smith was 13-3 against Kentucky during his long run in Chapel Hill, and it took most of Conner's production to power UK to victory. The game was a close 38-34 affair at halftime with Kentucky leading. Conner finished 15-21 from the floor, with the rest of Kentucky's team combining to shoot 22-56.