Rodd Baxley, Fayetteville ObserverWed, December 3, 2025 at 10:06 AM UTC·4 min readLEXINGTON, Ky. — There was no fear, no hesitation, no thought of failure in front of more than 20,000 rabid fans inside Rupp Arena.
When the moments arrived, UNC basketball freshman Derek Dixon snatched them and sent a sea of blue — Big Blue Nation — to the exits in the final seconds. Over the course of 53 seconds in the 16th-ranked Tar Heels’ 67-64 win at No. 18 Kentucky, Dixon buried a contested, step-back 3-pointer to beat the shot clock and made a driving left-handed layup over a 7-footer for the go-ahead bucket.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisement“He’s not scared of the moment,” UNC coach Hubert Davis said of Dixon after UNC’s first win in Lexington since 2007.
“You could see that throughout the entire game. He felt really comfortable out there. I felt like he had good command on both ends of the floor.”
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In a game that featured nine ties and 14 lead changes, including six in the final 3 ½ minutes, Dixon played nearly 24 minutes, including the final 5:50 as UNC (7-1) rallied from a six-point deficit with a 17-8 run to take down the Wildcats (5-3).
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisement“I’ve always been a fan of road games, feeding off that crowd and that energy,” said Dixon, who finished with nine points to match his season-best effort, along with three rebounds and two assists. “Just going in, obviously when they go on a run, it’s gonna get loud. But we had to stay together, stay tight. It was just a lot of fun.”
An early appearance for Dixon in the first half, when UNC starting guard Kyan Evans picked up his second foul and was sidelined, helped build that confidence for the key moments in the second half.
“I think, throughout the game, I had gotten some good run and I felt like I was pretty confident out there on the floor,” Dixon said. “So I felt like, down the stretch, I just kept that same confidence when we needed a big play and was able to come up.”
Caleb Wilson (15 points, 12 rebounds, 6 assists) and Henri Veesaar (17 points, 10 rebounds) logged double-double performances as UNC’s leading scorers and rebounders. Both were impressed with the poise under pressure that they saw from Dixon in those crucial minutes against the 'Cats.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisement“I was just excited for him, honestly. It’s a big moment. You’re on ESPN, playing Kentucky. It don’t get no bigger,” Wilson said. “Just to see him succeed and play well, it was great. I was just so happy that he was aggressive enough to take the shots that he took down the stretch.”
Veesaar, UNC’s 7-footer at center, was struck by “how calm” Dixon was in those tense situations with the game hanging in the balance. Whether it was defending Kentucky's slashing guards, navigating pick-and-roll sets or controlling the pace as the Wildcats tried to increase the pressure, Dixon never wavered.
“He was just awesome all game long,” Veesaar said.
And Dixon’s demeanor didn't appear to change, no matter the situation.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisement“I feel like I’ve just always been that way. I’m always straight-faced, not too high, not too low,” he said. “I feel like that’s just a characteristic about me, so I feel like it treats me well in these type of environments.”
But the guard's guard came down once the buzzer sounded.
With Kentucky fans silently filing out, UNC’s contingent of fans created a welcoming environment for the Tar Heels that could be heard throughout Rupp Arena. The loudest noise came from Dixon's teammates as they surrounded the freshman during a postgame interview with ESPN’s crew, which included Dick Vitale.
“One of the biggest things that anybody can do is to be able to celebrate somebody else’s success," Davis said. "When you got 15 guys in there that feel like they made the 3, they made the layup, that’s really great as a coach to be able to see that.”
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementRodd Baxley covers North Carolina Tar Heels athletics for The Fayetteville Observer as part of the USA TODAY Network. Follow his ACC coverage on X/Twitter or Bluesky: @RoddBaxley. Got questions regarding UNC? Send them to [email protected].
This article originally appeared on The Fayetteville Observer: Derek Dixon gives UNC basketball big moments in win at Kentucky
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