Inside The Numbers: Kentucky vs Georgia

by Corey Price

Today at 4 p.m. the Kentucky Wildcats take on the Georgia Bulldogs at Rupp Arena in their first game of SEC play this season, finishing non-conference play unbeaten for the first time since the 1992-1993 season. This is also UK’s best start to a season since 1969-1970 when they started 15-0 as well. A win against the Bulldogs would bring UK to their best start since 1965-1966 when they began the season 23-0. Here are some numbers and facts of interest heading into today’s game:

UK’s Various Records vs. Georgia
UK’s overall record vs. Georgia: 110-24 (.821)
UK’s record vs. Georgia at Rupp Arena: 28-4 (.875)
UK’s record vs. Georgia when UK is ranked and Georgia is unranked: 68-9 (.883)

UK’s Various Records in SEC Openers
UK’s record in SEC openers: 59-16 (.787)
UK’s record in SEC openers at home: 39-6 (.867)
UK’s record in SEC openers at Rupp Arena: 18-1 (.947)
UK’s record in SEC openers vs. Georgia: 8-1 (.889)
UK’s record in SEC openers vs. Georgia at Rupp Arena: 4-0 (1.000)

RPI Rankings (As of 9:30 p.m. January 8th)
UK: 14th
UK Strength of Schedule: 136th
Georgia: 90th
Georgia Strength of Schedule: 77th

Pomeroy Ratings (As of January 7th)
UK: 10th
UK Strength of Schedule: 198th
UK Non-Conference Strength of Schedule: 201st
Georgia: 111th
Georgia Strength of Schedule: 91st
Georgia Non-Conference Strength of Schedule: 113th

UK Individual Game Records vs. Georgia
Points: 42, Melvin Turpin (3/8/1984)
Rebounds: 23, Mike Phillips (2/9/1976)
Assists: 10, Roger Harden (2/24/1985) Dicky Beal (3/8/1984) Roger Harden (1/28/1984) Kyle Macy (2/27/1978)
Steals: 7, Reggie Hanson (2/3/1990)
Blocks: 8, Patrick Patterson (3/4/2009)
Free Throws Made: 14, Alex Groza (2/21/1949)
Field Goals Made: 18, Melvin Turpin (3/8/1984)
3 Point Field Goals Made: 5, Michael Porter (3/4/2009) Joe Crawford (2/2/2008) Tony Delk (1/8/1994) Derrick Miller (12/30/1986)

Georgia Individual Game Records vs. UK
Points: 38, Litterial Green (1/2/1991)
Rebounds: 24, Bob Lienhard (1/12/1970)
Assists: 10, Vern Fleming (2/25/1984) Tony Flanagan (2/9/1976)
Steals: 6, Terry Fair (1/29/1983)
Blocks: 4, Steve Thomas (1/9/2002) Elmore Spencer (1/4/1989)
Free Throws Made: 14, Alec Kessler (2/5/1989)
Field Goals Made: 17, Tim Bassett (2/19/1973)
3 Point Field Goals Made: 7, D.A. Layne (2/17/1999)

UK In The Top 30 In Team Statistics
Assists Per Game: 18th (17.1)
Blocks Per Game: 8th (7.5)
Field Goal Percentage Defense: 16th (37.8%)
Field Goal Percentage: 6th (50.2%)
Personal Fouls Per Game: 23rd (15.4)
Rebound Margin: 1st (+11.5)
Scoring Margin: 8th (+18.5)
Scoring Offense: 15th (82.8)
3 Point Field Goal Percentage: 17th (40.6%)

UK Players In The Top 50 In Individual Statistics
Assists Per Game: John Wall, 2nd (7.3)
Field Goal Percentage: Patrick Patterson, 6th (63%) and DeMarcus Cousins, 50th (54.1%)
Rebounds Per Game: DeMarcus Cousins, 39th (9.6)
Steals Per Game: John Wall, T-30th (2.4)

Georgia In The Top 30 In Team Statistics
Blocks Per Game: 27th (5.6)
Personal Fouls Per Game: 22nd (15.4)

Georgia In The Bottom 30 In Team Statistics
3 Point Field Goals Made Per Game: 323rd (3.9)

With a mediocre Georgia team coming into Rupp against a Wildcat team ranked in the top 5, do not expect the Bulldogs to just run through the motions and lay down for UK. There have been 3 games before where Georgia has defeated UK when the Bulldogs were unranked and the Wildcats were ranked in the top 5 of the AP Poll:

January 17th, 1950
#2 Kentucky – 60
Georgia – 71
Woodruff Hall, Athens, Georgia
Bob Schloss led the Bulldogs with 28 points

January 8th, 1994
#4 Kentucky – 90
Georgia – 94 (Overtime)
Stegeman Coliseum, Athens, Georgia
Charles Claxton led the Bulldogs with 21 points

January 17th, 2004
#5 Kentucky – 57
Georgia – 65
Rupp Arena, Lexington, Kentucky
Rashad Wright led the Bulldogs with 20 points

It’s a big day for Kentucky heading into SEC play versus the Georgia Bulldogs. For Paul’s preview of the UK/Georgia game, go here and if it’s more stats you are looking for, check out how UK ranks in the SEC so far by going here. If it’s football talk you are looking for, Paul will have an update soon on UK coaching staff changes and his thoughts on it.

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