It’s a long-standing belief in college basketball, even in the era of one-and-dones and the transfer portal, that experience wins in March.

That might still be the case, especially when it comes to those plucky mid-majors who always seem to give the big boys early-round fits.

But this is December, not March.

And both North Carolina and Kentucky are among the bluest bluebloods in the college game.

In this case, on a neutral court Saturday afternoon, it was the team with the athletic, energetic youngsters that got the best of one whose roster has a higher average age than some NBA teams. Including 2 members with a Final 4 pedigree.

The Wildcats’ collection of fabulous freshmen had every chance to buckle when the veteran Tar Heels battled back from a 12-point 2nd half deficit to take a 1-point lead with just over 5 minutes remaining.

Instead, they answered right back – without coach John Calipari having to use a timeout to help them regain their composure – to finish off an 87-83 victory.

It was an entertaining battle whose outcome will mean much more to the passionate fan bases of their respective teams than the NCAA selection committee 3½ months from now. While it could potentially affect where they’re placed in the bracket, both Kentucky and UNC have the talent and the look of teams fully capable of making a deep Tournament run.

So let’s not get carried away by making any knee-jerk, big-picture conclusions.

At the same time, though, there’s still plenty to be learned from what went down on the court in Atlanta.

First and foremost is a lesson the college football establishment might want to file away for future reference. It’s that an expanded playoff field won’t take away from the regular season they hold so dear.

As Saturday’s game and the sellout crowd that attended it graphically illustrate, meaningful early matchups between playoff-worthy teams not only enhance the regular season, they actually add to the anticipation of the best, most exciting playoff in all sports.

As for the teams on the court, it’s hard not to be impressed by the young Wildcats.

They’re talented and deep, and they play without any fear. Which at this point in their development is both a blessing and a curse.

Their frenetic style lends itself to scoring blitzes that can make them look unbeatable at times, as they did in running Miami off the court at Rupp Arena earlier this season. But its penchant for ill-advised shots and bad decisions is just as susceptible to the kind of scoring droughts that led to a stunning loss to UNC Wilmington 4 days later.

Both of those extremes were on display against the Tar Heels.

Every time Kentucky roared out to a double-digit lead, the combination of its own youth and UNC’s poise helped to tighten things up again.

Until the time in the game in which all that experience is supposed to pay off.

After a pair of free throws by 5th-year senior Armando Bacot gave the Tar Heels their 1st and as it turned out, only lead at 72-71 with 3:44 remaining, the Wildcats responded by scoring the next 7 points, All of them came from freshmen – on an offensive rebound by Aaron Bradshaw and a pair of driving layups by Rob Dillingham.

The duo also made enough free throws down the stretch to put the game away, a development that bodes well as their team matures and evolves.

Even though UNC is much more of a finished product because of the makeup of its roster, it too has room to grow.

Some of it showed on Saturday with transfer guard Cormac Ryan finally breaking out of his shooting slump to go 8-of-12 from floor and 4-of-7 from 3-point range on the way to a season-high 20 points.

But there were also some troubling signs.

As was the case in an earlier loss to Villanova, Bacot was a nonfactor offensively for most of the game. He attempted only 4 shots and was limited to 9 points and 6 rebounds.

The Tar Heels’ offense continues to stagnate in halfcourt situations and just as he has in each of his 1st 2 seasons, coach Hubert Davis has begun to rely almost exclusively on his starters. Only 2 others spent more than 13 minutes on the court against Kentucky.

And then there was the end-of-game situation.

We’ll never know what Davis drew up with his team down by 3 and a chance to tie on its final meaningful possession. Before UNC could get a shot off, or Kentucky foul to prevent it, point guard Elliott Cadeau threw a pass that hit an unsuspecting Ryan in the back. By the time leading scorer RJ Davis tracked it down, it was too late to prevent an over-and-back violation and the Tar Heels’ 17th turnover of the game.

Ironically, the more experienced team on the court was done in by a freshman mistake.

But at least it’s only December.