by Paul Jordan
Welcome to the SEC, John Calipari. Today marked the opening to the SEC season for John Calipari and his Wildcat’s and the Georgia Bulldogs did not seem scared. All they knew was that the “second season” started today, and UK had an 0-0 record, just like the rest of the SEC. And for most of the game, the Georgia Bulldogs played as if it were for a championship, hanging with and frustrating the 15-0 Wildcats.
The game did not start that way however. The Wildcats started a little sluggish but the Bulldogs started even colder. Kentucky did get a quick six points from Patrick Patterson and took control of the boards early to take a 21-10 lead over the Bulldog’s with 10:00 remaining in the first half. At this point, the score was actually UK 21 Travis Leslie 10 as Leslie was the only Bulldog to score. One of the Leslie baskets was a posterizing dunk over DeMarcus Cousins, but the game still looked to be a pretty easy day for the Wildcats.
Then, Vincent Williams made a 3-pointer and once the rest of the Bulldogs got involved, it was not pretty. Shockingly, the Bulldogs went on a 21-5 run over the next 7:00 to take a 31-26 lead over a stunned Rupp Arena and Ashley Judd. The way that the Bulldogs took control was simple. They turned the game into a halfcourt game and got Trey Thompkins involved inside. They used their patience on offense to get DeMarcus Cousins and Daniel Orton in foul trouble. On defense, the Bulldogs threw up a nearly inpenetratable zone and forced UK to bomb away from outside and Kentucky was as cold from outside as the weather, going 0-8 on 3-point tries.
The good things about having a John Wall is that he can make thing happen, even when shots are not falling. On three possessions late in the first half, Wall penetrated the zone himself, facing three and four defenders in red, and got a layup and got two trips to the line to pull Kentucky to within one at the half, 35-34. All in all, it was a sluggish first half as UK shot 40% for the half and found themselves in the rare position of being out-rebounded 18-15. Kentucky also left a lot of points at the FT line, going just 10-18 from the charity stripe.
The second half started with more of the same as UK struggled to find any consistency on offense and the pesky Bulldogs staying in the game with Leslie, Thompkins, and the occasional trey from Ricky McPhee. Kentucky did not get their first 3-pointer until about 15:00 was left in the game, but even that did not jumpstart the Wildcat’s offense. On a day like today, defense would be the key to the game, and in the end, the Cat’s tenacious D is what would keep UK undefeated.
For the last 10:00 of the game, the Wildcat’s played their most tenacious D since the Tubby Smith days. DeMarcus Cousins got his big paws on and deflected at least half a dozen balls in the passing lanes and UK recorded 12 steals on the day. DeAndre Liggins showed his value to this team as he has 6 points and 3 steals in just 14 minutes. Liggins also forced a big tie up with just a few minutes left for a big turnover for the Cats. Both DeMarcus Cousins and Eric Bledsoe came up big in the steals category with three each. The Bulldogs were a game foe, however, as they cut the lead to just two points with about a minute left, but UK clamped down on defense and Wall and Bledsoe found Cousins under the basket for the timely baskets. On a day full up upsets in the Top 25, UK survived on sheer hustle.
In the end, a very sluggish performance for UK. It was a day when Wall, Bledsoe, and Cousins shot a combined 14-37 from the field and UK found themselves out-rebounded 31-29. Georgia clearly came in full of confidence after knocking off #17 Georgia Tech, but in the end, talent trumps heart. In a way, UK has taken on an almost invincible aura where you know they will pull the game out in the clutch, but you can only go to that well so many times in the SEC. Hopefully this game will serve as a wake up call for the Wildcat’s who must learn that every game in the SEC will be a battle and they need to be ready to face a hostile crowd in Florida on Tuesday night.
For the game, Patrick Patterson had 17 points and was the calming influence for most of the game. John Wall also had 17 points and DeMarcus Cousins had 16 to lead the Cats. For all the game stats, go here.
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