Rewind | North Carolina 75, Kentucky 73

MEMPHIS, Tenn. – Kentucky is one win from its fifth Final Four in John Calipari’s eight seasons as coach, but the No. 2 seed Wildcats will need to upset No. 1 seed North Carolina to reach that goal.

After avenging a December loss in an impressive showing against No. 3 seed UCLA in the Sweet 16, Kentucky will look avoid letting North Carolina do the same for its non-conference loss to the Wildcats Sunday. The winner of the game will face Midwest No. 3 seed Oregon in the Final Four Saturday.

Follow along here for live analysis from the Elite Eight matchup and make sure to follow Courier-Journal staffers Fletcher Page (@FletcherPage), Jon Hale (@JonHale_CJ), Tim Sullivan (@TimSullivan714), Jeff Greer (@JeffGreer_CJ), Michael Clevenger (@MClevenger_CJ) and Matt Stone (@MattStonePhotog) on Twitter for more updates from the arena.

FINAL: North Carolina 75, Kentucky 73
Wow. Malik Monk hits a long 3 to tie with nine seconds left. Luke Maye hits a long two with 0.3 seconds left to give North Carolina the win.

UNC 73, UK 70 (16.9, 2H): Frantic stuff. UK forces five-second call, Malik Monk hits long three, but Tar Heels score on a breakaway and Bam Adebayo loses a ball for a tie-up to give it back to the Tar Heels.

UK 71, UNC 67 (46.8, 2H): A De'Aaron Fox 3 keeps it interesting, but Cats in crisis mode now. Malik Monk had an awful turnover and a bad miss on an open 3 to let it get out of hand. He's 2 for 8 tonight.

UNC 69, UK 64 (1:45, 2H): Cats in trouble. John Calipari calls a timeout down five with 1:45 left to try and stop a 10-0 North Carolina run. The run started with a Roy Williams' timeout, so UK fans will have to hope for similar luck.

► UNC ends Kentucky's season at Elite Eight

► Who stays, who goes for UK basketball?

► Instant Analysis | UNC 75, Kentucky 73

UK 64, UNC 63 (3:22, 2H): UNC timeout did exactly what Roy Williams hoped for as his team is within one and will have two free throws to take the lead after the timeout. Justin Jackson now has 17 points for North Carolina. De'Aaron Fox is up to 10 and Malik Monk has six. This is shaping up as an epic finish. Does one of the stars come through in the clutch or does this continue to be a game where someone comes out of nowhere to win it for either team?

UK 64, UNC 59 (5:03, 2H): Isaac Humphries quickly reaching legendary status for Kentucky. Two long jumpers from him and Roy Williams has to call a timeout. Humphries has a career-high 12 points to go with five rebounds. Also worth noting: Isaiah Briscoe has seven points, six assists and four rebounds. Cats are on a 6-0 run.

UNC 57, UK 56 (7:27, 2H): The improbable rise of Isaac Humphries continues. He'll got to the line after the timeout with a chance to give UK the lead after another offensive board. He's got six points and five rebounds so far with two offensive boards. Without Humphries, Kentucky is not even in the game right now. Bam Adebayo now leads UK with 13 points and six rebounds. He also has two assists, including a nifty pass to Humphries for his last bucket. Those performances are keeping UK in the game despite a combined 5-for-18 shooting line from stars De'Aaron Fox and Malik Monk. Cats need to be better at the free-throw line down the stretch. They've hit 10 of 17 (58.8 percent) of their attempts there so far.

► Calipari: I probably should've called timeout

► Jackson: 'A little friendly banter' with Monk

UNC 52, UK 47 (10:39, 2H): UK's Derek Willis very slow to get up after picking up his fourth foul under the basket on what can end up a three-point play for North Carolina. Foul trouble has killed Willis so far, but he's been very productive when in the game with six points, six rebounds and one assist. He is 3 for 5 from the field but has missed both 3-point attempts. Have to imagine Willis will sit for some time now. Isaac Humphries is checking back in for him. Bam Adebayo has come to life in the second half and now has nine points and four rebounds. North Carolina is just 4 for 14 in the second half but has hit two 3s, including one that went for a four-point play thanks to Malik Monk's third foul.

UNC 40, UK 39 (15:58, 2H): Kentucky opened the second half on a 6-0 run to take its first lead of the game at 39-38, but two Kennedy Meeks free throws have given Carolina the advantage again and the Tar Heels will have the ball out of the timeout. UNC is 0 for 5 from the field with four turnovers in the second half, but Kentucky is just 2 for 7 with two turnovers. After scoring 47 in the first meeting with UNC in December, Malik Monk has six points so far. Derek Willis has picked up his third foul for Kentucky. He played for awhile with three fouls but appears to be coming out for Isaac Humphries after the timeout.

HALFTIME: North Carolina 38, Kentucky 33

Kentucky missed its last six shots of the half, North Carolina missed its last five plus two free throws. Somehow the Wildcats are only down five with four starters on the bench with four starters sidelined with foul trouble for the last segment.

UNC 36, UK 30 (3:39, 1H): Danger zone for UK. Four starters (De'Aaron Fox, Malik Monk, Derek Willis and Bam Adebayo) each have two fouls. OUt of the timeout the Wildcats will be playing with Isaiah Briscoe, Dominique Hawkins, Mychal Mulder, Wenyen Gabriel and Isaac Humphries. That's not a lineup any UK fan expected to be used in a win-or-go-home game. The good news is Isaac Humphries is playing what might be his best game of the season with four points, two rebounds and one assist. Briscoe has two points, four assists and two turnovers. Both teams are shooting below 70 percent at the free-throw line so far.

UNC 31, UK 24 (6:16, 1H): UNC lead has grown to as many as nine with De'Aaron Fox on the bench with two fouls, but looks like he's staying on the bench out of the timeout. Dominique Hawkins has hit another 3 and has 10 points for the game. Isaac Humphries has four points and one rebound. Bam Adebayo, Malik Monk and Isaiah Briscoe have combined for just three points though. Adebayo, who just picked up his second foul, is 0 for 5 from the field and has been dominated by North Carolina's post players so far. Justin Jackson is heating up for Carolina with 10 points.

UNC 25, UK 19 (8:38, 1H): UK survived almost three minutes with neither De'Aaron Fox or Malik Monk on the floor by losing just point in the deficit. Monk is back in, but Dominique Hawkins was forced to call a timeout when he couldn't inbound the ball under the UK basket. Hawkins is UK's leading scorer with seven points on 2-of-2 shooting. He's hit one of his patented floaters in the lane and reached the free-throw line on another. Hawkins also hit a 3. Joel Berry is back in the game for North Carolina and has not looked slowed by his injury so far. He's got five points, Justin Jackson has six for the Tar Heels, who are 10 for 16 from the field.

UNC 18, UK 13 (11:15, 1H): Bad news for Kentucky as star point guard De'Aaron Fox has headed to the bench with two fouls. Not sure how long Kentucky can afford to play without him. Fox has five points and one assist so far and, of course, has been UK's best player throughout its postseason run. North Carolina's Joel Berry, the Tar Heels' second-leading scorer, headed to the locker room with what looks like a possible ankle injury but was spotted jogging back to the court just as play stopped for the under-12 media timeout. Cats are 5 for 12 from the field. Carolina is 7 for 13.

UNC 11, UK 7 (15:44, 1H): Slow start offensively for Kentucky, which missed its first three shots (plus two Isaiah Briscoe free throws) before De'Aaron Fox steadied the ship with five straight. John Calipari has gone to his big lineup early tonight with Isaac Humphries the first man off the bench to play alongside Bam Adebayo. He already has a bucket too, which could be a good omen considering UK has won every game he's scored in this season. Balances scoring from Carolina so far with five players on the board and none with more than three points. UNC is 4 for 6 from the field but does have two turnovers and four fouls so far.

STARTING LINEUPS:

Kentucky

De'Aaron Fox
Malik Monk
Isaiah Briscoe
Derek Willis
Bam Adebayo

North Carolina

Joel Berry
Theo Pinson
Justin Jackson
Isaiah Hicks
Kennedy Meeks

As you wait for the 5:05 p.m. tipoff, make sure you’ve caught up on all the Courier-Journal’s coverage leading up to the game.

► Page | Doubt UK? That's what these Cats want
► Sullivan | Kentucky's Bam a big deal to UNC
► John Calipari no fan of graduate transfers
► Calipari: Miller will do 'great job' at IU
► Cats take up for SEC after impressive tourney
► Does UNC really need to validate ACC strength?
► Sullivan: Flashy Fox leads Kentucky into Elite Eight
► UK seniors desperate to prolong careers
► Calipari: Devin Booker upstaged UK  win
► When Malik Monk smiles, Kentucky wins

Email Jon Hale at jahale@courier-journal.com. Follow him on Twitter @JonHale_CJ.