Enjoy the talent — The game may not be the matchup of an undefeated No. 1 and an undefeated No. 2 like we expected, but that doesn’t mean the insane amount of talent that will be on the floor has been diluted.

“North Carolina is the greatest team in the last 22 years,” head coach John Calipari said, although I’m not sure what his requirements are for that distinction. Still, he has a point when you get past that. “They lose a game (to UNLV), all of a sudden, this guy can’t do this, this guy can’t do that. What? … North Carolina is still, if not the best team, one of the best two or three teams in the country.”

Representatives from nearly every NBA team are expected to be at the game. UK has received 289 credential requests for the game. The “FanCam,” used for high-profile sporting events, will be at the game to take a 360-degree panorama picture of Rupp Arena before the game.

Every player has enough talent to be considered a star. North Carolina has Kendall Marshall, as “pure” a point guard as there is in college. He’s scored 33 total points in 222 minutes, mostly because he’s too busy feeding the ball to everyone else (72 assists and 19 turnovers, compared to UK point guard Marquis Teague’s 24 and 20).

That “everyone else” includes Harrison Barnes, a preseason Player of the Year candidate who is still waiting to have that one virtuoso game. Barnes has been talked about as a potential No. 1 pick in the NBA Draft — but that distinction has been taken by UK’s Anthony Davis.

As for Davis, he and North Carolina’s John Henson should be swatting shots all over the place. Davis has 26 blocks, Henson has 23; both may or may not be of a different species. They’re long and gangly and are a flying swirl of lashing arms.

No matter what, it should be an insanely fun game.

Post game — Both teams have solid frontcourts. UK’s toughest matchup will be with center Tyler Zeller, who is averaging 13.3 points and 7.1 rebounds per game. Last year, Zeller torched UK the first time the teams played. In the Elite Eight, however, UK held him in check with a combination of a better Josh Harrellson and doubling down on Zeller with a perimeter player.

UK doesn’t have a player like Harrellson who can body up to Zeller on his own. UK’s guards will probably be active in doubling Zeller in the post. That could open the perimeter up for the Tar Heels, but UK got a break when North Carolina’s top shooter, P.J. Hairston, tweeted that he would be missing the game with a left wrist injury.

Validation — UK got the No. 1 ranking when North Carolina lost early last week. Since then, No. 2 Ohio State crushed a highly ranked Duke, and now-No. 5 North Carolina knocked off No. 7 Wisconsin.

So UK doesn’t have the No. 1 ranking wrapped up. Not even close. But the UNC game is an opportunity to prove the top ranking should belong to them and them alone.

Does it matter whether they do? A win’s always nice. But a December win is not equal to a March win, or even a January win, in some cases.

See the full UK men’s basketball schedule.