Kentucky basketball: Preview, prediction vs Georgia in SEC Tournament
By Drew Koch
The Kentucky basketball team will play Georgia is their opening round of the SEC Tournament. Georgia defeated Missouri on Thursday afternoon, setting up a showdown with the Cats on Friday.
The Kentucky basketball team opened SEC play this year against the Georgia Bulldogs in Rupp Arena. The Wildcats survived a tough match up against the Bulldogs and prevailed 66-61. Kentucky trailed at halftime and was in a neck-and-neck battle throughout the contest. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led the Wildcats with 21 points off the bench.
Georgia upset the No. 5 seeded Missouri Tigers on Thursday afternoon. Even the return of, projected 2018 NBA lottery pick, Michael Porter Jr. was not enough to lead the Tigers to victory. The Bulldogs already defeated Vanderbilt on Wednesday night, and now the Dawgs are searching for their 3rd victory in the SEC Tournament.
Date: Friday, March 9, 2018
Time: 3:00 PM ET
Location: St. Louis, Missouri
Venue: Scottrade Center
TV: ESPN
Live stream: WatchESPN
Keys to victory for the Wildcats
The question on everyone’s mind is the health of Jarred Vanderbilt. Now, while everyone in Big Blue Nation would love to have Vanderbilt suit up for Friday’s game, he was not part of the Wildcats victory over the Bulldogs on New Year’s Eve. Frankly, if the Wildcats need Vanderbilt to defeat a Georgia team with an 18-14 record, they don’t have a prayer when the Big Dance starts next week.
The key for the Kentucky basketball team is creating turnovers and limiting second-chance opportunities. The Bulldogs are the 2nd best offensive rebounding team in the SEC, led by their senior forward Yante Maten. Maten pulls down 3.5 offensive rebounds per game. Kentucky must keep Maten and the other Georgia players off the offensive glass.
The Wildcats must also win the turnover battle. In the previous game against the Bulldogs, the Wildcats forced Georgia into 15 turnovers and only had 9 themselves. The Bulldogs average about 13 turnovers per contest. If the Wildcats can force Georgia to make some bad decisions, and hang onto the ball when they’re on offense, UK stands a great chance to win the game.
Georgia players to watch
Grant Williams of Tennessee won SEC Player of the Year. But, for my money, Yante Maten is the most dominant player in the SEC. Georgia is not a good offensive team, scoring only 65.8 points per game during conference play. However, their defense ranks No. 2 in the conference, as the Bulldogs only allow 67.8 points per contest.
- Yante Maten – 19.5 points, 8.7 rebounds, 1.6 assists
- William Jackson II – 8.5 points, 2.2 rebounds, 3.7 assists
- Derek Ogbeide – 7.3 points, 6.1 rebounds, 60.6% FG shooting
Prediction
This is a game Kentucky should win, with or without Jarred Vanderbilt. I expect to see Quade Green playing a lot of minutes alongside Gilgeous-Alexander in this game. If Green and, to a lesser extent, Kevin Knox are knocking down open three-pointers, UK will be hard to beat. The Kkentucky basketball team had only 6 assists in their blowout loss at Florida. I expect to see more ball movement and better energy when the Wildcats take the floor Friday afternoon.