North Carolina didn’t need flash or fireworks to beat Kentucky on the road last night — they just needed toughness. They needed to walk through the damn door that Kentucky left wide open for them in the end.

The Tar Heels struggled to find a rhythm offensively throughout this game. Caleb Wilson more than anybody who for the first time this season really struggled from the field going 5-19. Despite UNC not being able to get a good rhythm going from the field, they still found themselves tied with Kentucky 31-31.

In the second half, every time Kentucky would get something going, UNC answered with a stop, a rebound, or a second-chance bucket. That effort on the glass — 41 total rebounds, 20 of them offensive — ended up making a big difference. Those extra possessions kept Carolina afloat when the scoring stalled.

Where the door got left open for Carolina was when Kentucky went over ten minutes without scoring a field goal down the stretch of the second half. The Wildcats were begging UNC to take over the game and even after Kentucky did finally hit a field goal to hit end that drought, they still found themselves leading 59-58.

When the game tightened in the final minute, a freshman delivered, but it wasn't Caleb Wilson. Derek Dixon knocked down a go-ahead three with 53 seconds left, then calmly finished the play of the night: a left-handed layup with 16 seconds remaining to put UNC ahead for good. He scored five of the Tar Heels’ final six points and looked nothing like a newcomer in one of college basketball’s toughest environments.

Derek Dixon has been a player that's shown some flashes throughout the year of being a bench piece that a come off the bench and really give you something.

In these types of games, something Carolina has been lacking is somebody other than Caleb Wilson or Henri Veesaar to get a crucial bucket, and specifically somebody off the bench. The Heels got that tonight from Derek Dixon and it'll be interesting to follow his story from the guard position play out as Kyan Evans has been struggling scoring a bit.

UNC’s 67–64 win wasn’t pretty. It wasn't a pretty night for either team really. But, this is a game that will look terrific for the metrics when the computer spits it out and it'll look great and Carolina's resume later in the year, regardless of how the game played out.

For a group trying to climb their way closer to the upper tier of the top 25, these are the types of nights that matter. The Tar Heels will now prepare to welcome in the Georgetown Hoyas on Saturday.