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Rupp Arena 2-17-26
This ‘Cats team is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you’re going to get. After defeating a solid Tennessee at home in their last home game at Rupp, the ‘Cats returned to Lexington with a demoralizing defeat to an inferior Georgia team late on Tuesday night. A team ranked 298th in the country in three-point percentage at an average of 31.7% for the season, the Bulldogs went inferno in Rupp, shooting 45% from beyond the arc and connecting on 14 threes in the game. The Bulldogs also welcomed back star PG Wilkinson, who missed last weeks combination of games for Georgia with injury. He returned against the ‘Cats with 19-points. Blue Cain contributed a team high 20-points in the win. Oweh led the way for Kentucky with 28-points, while Chandler connected on 6 threes in the game for 18-points. The ‘Cats bench didn’t contribute many points in the game, combining for a total of 8 points in the game. This one felt like a dud for the ‘Cats, in a season full of ups and downs. Oweh and the ‘Cats will look to get back on track in conference play as they head to Neville Arena to take on the struggling Auburn Tigers, who have lost their last four games prior to their matchup with Mississippi State on Wednesday night. The ‘Cats seem firmly in the projected NCAA tournament field at this point in the season, but they need to continue to stack wins to get a somewhat favorable draw and path that will garner any hope of postseason success.
Pre-Game Overview:
The starting lineup for the ‘Cats featured Denzel Aberdeen, Otega Oweh, Collin Chandler, Andrija Jelavic, and Malachi Moreno
The spread for Tuesday night’s game was -6.5 (Kentucky) and the Over/Under was set at 161.5.
Game Recap:
First Half
The ‘Cats won the tip but turned it over on their first possession of the game. Oweh was rejected by Cyril after a missed Georgia three. The block on Oweh was a missed goaltending call by the officials, as the ball bounced off the backboard prior to being blocked. The ‘Cats turned it over once again and forced a foul on Cain, who went to the line for free-throws. Cain hit both free-throws for the first points of the game. Oweh drove and dumped off a pass to Moreno for a dunk. Oweh nailed a corner three for the first three of the game for the ‘Cats. Aberdeen connected on a floater in the pain for a 7-2 ‘Cats lead. The ‘Cats took the 7-2 lead into the under 16-minute media timeout. Chandler nailed a three to respond to a Bulldogs bucket. Wilkinson then hit Georgias first three of the game. Johnson made a nifty pass to Garrison in the paint and Garrison was fouled on the shot. Wilkins hit a three for Georgia and Oweh drove and scored quickly down the court. Oweh nailed a mid-range pull up jumper and the ‘Cats led 16-12 with 11:55-minutes to play in the first half. Johnson hit a floater for the ‘Cats, his first points of the game. Millender nailed a deep three for Georgia. Moreno then could not handle an entry pass and lost the ball out of bounds. Cain drove and scored to make it 18-17 Kentucky. Aberdeen broke the press and found Jelavic for a slam. Chandler stopped and popped a deep three for the ‘Cats. Moreno was fouled and went to the line. He hit both free-throws. Wilkinson answered with a floater to make it 25-19 Kentucky with 7:41-minutes to play in the half. Oweh hit a pull up jumper and was fouled on the shot. Oweh went up and under on a cute to the basket for a score. Cyril connected on an and-one chance for the Bulldogs. His free-throw made it 29-26 Kentucky. Cain nailed a three over Jelavic for the tie. Aberdeen scored on a short jumper. Cyril collected an offensive board and slammed it home. Millender then scored on a transition jumper for to make it 34-31 Bulldogs. The Bulldogs went on a 12-2 run in just 2-minutes of game action to take the lead over the ‘Cats. Jelavic scored over a defender in the paint off an Oweh entry pass. Cyril dunked in the paint again for Georgia to take a 36-33 lead. Wilkinson nailed a three before the buzzer to give Georgia a 39-34 lead into halftime.
In a half that saw Kentucky lead by as much as 8-points midway through the first half, the ‘Cats went cold to end the half, going scoreless for the final 3-minutes of play. Oweh led Kentucky scorers with 12 first half points, while Chandler added 6 points. The ‘Cats shot 45% from the field but just 25% from beyond the arc in the half. Georgia shot 41% from the field and 35% from three-point land in the first half. The ‘Cats did not share the ball willingly in the half, assisting on just 5 of 13 made field goals. The ‘Cats will look to up the intensity on defense and find a rhythm on the offensive side of the ball if they want to get back on track.
Halftime: Kentucky 34 – Georgia 39
Second Half
Georgia began the second half with the ball and nailed a three to begin the half. Oweh answered with a three of his own. Jelavic collected an offensive board and Chandler hit a very deep three to make it 42-40 Bulldogs. Cain answered for Georgia with a three. Oweh nailed another three for the ‘Cats. Cyril dunked it home once again for Georgia. Oweh again answered with an and-one chance. He hit the free-throw to make it 47-46 Bulldogs. Chandler lost Cain on defense and he nailed a corner three. Oweh again answered with an and-one layup for Kentucky. Georgia led 50-48 at the first media timeout in the second half. Oweh contributed 11-points for the ‘Cats in the first 4-minutes of the second half. Johnson nailed a three for the ‘Cats. Wilkinson answered once again for the Bulldogs with a big three. Cain was fouled and hit 1 of 2 at the line. Dioubate was fouled on a drive to the basket. He made 1 of 2 at the line. Chandler nailed a deep three for Kentucky. Wilkins converted an and-one for Georgia on a Jelavic foul in transition. The ‘Cats trailed 61-55 with 11:38-minutes to play in the game. Millender nailed a three to make it 64-55 Georgia. Oweh turned it over and Cyril slammed it in once again. Pope calls a timeout with the ‘Cats now trailing 66-55 with 10:55-minutes to play, with Georgia on a 10-0 run in the last 2-minutes. Oweh rolled in a mid-range jumper. The ‘Cats defense held strong on the next possession. Stagg nailed a corner three for the Bulldogs. Chandler answered with a three, his 5th of the game. Aberdeen was fouled on a drive to the basket. The ‘Cats trailed 71-61 with 7:27-minutes to play. Aberdeen nailed a open three at the top of the key. Moreno scored in the paint to make it 71-66 Georgia. Chandler nailed a deep three for the ‘Cats. Catchings answered with a three to make it 76-69 Georgia with 4:51-minutes to play. A terrible call of a flagrant 1 foul on Oweh gave Georgia two points. Oweh dunked home an and-one for the ‘Cats to respond. Millender nailed a deep three. Aberdeen nailed a deep three for the ‘Cats. Aberdeen drove and got fouled in the paint. He went to the line for free-throws. He hit 1 of 2. The ‘Cats trailed 81-76. Aberdeen was fouled on a three-pointer. He made 2 of 3 to make it 81-78 Bulldogs. The defense forced a shot-clock violation to regain possession. After a missed three the ‘Cats jumped on a jump ball with the possession arrow in favor of the ‘Cats. Pope called a timeout to draw up a play with 1:17-minutes to play. Cyril gathered an offensive board and converted a bucket with the foul. The ‘Cats faltered down the stretch and Georgia went on to win by a score of 86-78.
Final: Kentucky 78 – Georgia 86
Game Stats:
Georgia FG %: 43% (45% 3PT – 14 of 31) (74% FT – 14 of 19)
Kentucky FG %: 46% (40% 3PT – 12 of 30) (60% FT – 12 of 20)
Rebounds: 43 – 36 Kentucky
Assist/Turnover Ratio: 13:13
Turnovers: UK (13), Georgia (7)
Bench Points: 29 – 8 Georgia
Points off Turnovers: 22 – 9 Georgia
Fast Break Points: 16 – 11 Kentucky
Paint Points: 30 – 24 Georgia
Player Stats:
Otega Oweh – [(28 points) (4 rebounds) (4 assists)]
Collin Chandler – [(18 points) (4 rebound) (2 assists) (1 steal)]
Denzel Aberdeen – [(14 points) (1 rebound) (4 assists)]
Malachi Moreno – [(6 points) (7 rebounds) (3 blocks)]
Jasper Johnson – [(5 points) (1 rebound) (1 steal)]
Andrija Jelavic – [(4 points) (4 rebounds) (1 steal)]
Brandon Garrison – [(2 points) (5 rebounds) (1 block)]
Mouhamed Dioubate – [(1 point) (9 rebounds) (2 assists) (1 block)]
Trent Noah – [(1 rebound)]
Jayden Quaintance – [OUT/DNP right knee swelling]
Kam Williams – [OUT with foot surgery]
Jaland Lowe – [OUT for the season with right shoulder surgery]
Next Game:
The Kentucky Wildcats (17-9, 8-5 SEC) will hit the road to take on the Auburn Tigers (14-11, 5-7 SEC) on Saturday, February 21 in Neville Arena. Tipoff is scheduled for 8:30 p.m. EST. The game will be televised on ESPN.
