Kentucky Wildcats will be facing a different Georgia team tonight

John Calipari will be taking his undefeated “every game is your Super Bowl” Kentucky Wildcats on the road for the last true road game of the year tonight.  Last time Kentucky faced Georgia, Kentucky led for all but :20 of the game and stretched the lead to 18 points.  The shorthanded Bulldogs fought back and closed the gap to 5 points with 2:06 left, but Kentucky pulled away for a 69-58 win.  Nothing about tonight’s game will be the same as the game is at Athens  and Georgia will have their best player back.  And Kentucky has a new emerging star.

"The player Coach Cal is referring to is senior Marcus Thornton, who missed the Wildcats and Bulldogs’ first matchup due to a concussion. The 6-foot-8 Atlanta native has led Georgia in scoring and rebounding throughout the year, and is logging nearly 30 minutes per game. The Bulldogs, which are currently on a three-game winning streak, have gotten a big boost from Thornton’s return, as he has averaged 11.3 points and 8.7 rebounds during that stretch, including an 18-point, 13-rebound performance at Ole Miss. “They’re a better team,” Coach Cal said. “And they’re playing better.” Thornton isn’t the only forward who was missing during that first matchup. Kentucky freshman Trey Lyles was in the midst of battling an illness when the Cats first topped Georgia 69-58. Now Lyles is finally feeling 100 percent, and his performances are backing that up."

Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports

For those that have been saying all year that the Kentucky Wildcats will lose on the road … well, this is your last chance. And it will be a good test with Marcus Thornton back. Even though the Bulldogs are not ranked, they are a legitimate NCAA Tournament team.

"1. Georgia is an NCAA Tournament team. That’s what John Calipari called the 19-9 Bulldogs. “They’re an NCAA Tournament team we’re playing on the road,” the Kentucky coach said. Georgia has won three straight, winning at Alabama and at Ole Miss before mauling Missouri 68-44 at Stegman Coliseum last Saturday. Ken Pomeroy ranks Georgia 35th. Sagarin has the Dawgs at 39th. The RPI has Georgia at No. 32. Joe Lunardi has Georgia at No. 29 in his “S” curve. One thing the Bulldogs do very well is get to the foul line. Georgia has attempted 709 free throws compared to 548 for their opponents. “This will be a hard game,” Calipari said. (I know, you’ve heard that before, but this time he’s probably right.)"

Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports

IF John Calipari’s recent comments about how many Kentucky Wildcats are going to the NBA Draft are correct, we can expect almost a whole new team again next year. Kentucky fans have learned to accept and live with the changes and Isaiah Briscoe is one of the new faces we will be obsessing over last year. Here is a great read on how he eventually became a Wildcat.

"Isaiah Briscoe had only one hat with him as he made the trip up to Bristol, Conn. to make his college announcement on ESPN last November. It was a blue Kentucky baseball cap that he would soon pull over onto his head, proclaiming his commitment to the Wildcats."

“For the person I want to be,” Briscoe said in a recent interview with NJ Advance Media, “it’s a no-brainer that Kentucky was the best fit.”

Briscoe was firm in his decision, which he had made two days earlier in a long discussion with his father. But his journey to Kentucky started way before that.

One of the biggest misconceptions of the Isaiah Briscoe recruitment saga was that Kentucky got in on the Roselle Catholic point guard late. While the official scholarship offer didn’t come until the summer of 2014, Kentucky had been in contact with Briscoe since he was a freshman at St. Benedict’s.