Kentucky dropped a game against Florida, which they didn't play particularly well in. That style of play, unfortunately, carried over to Tuesday night at home against Georgia. Everything was 1-on-1, nothing was easy offensively, and the defense was non-existent most of the night. With 7 minutes to go, Kentucky was down 10 to Georgia at home. Could the Cats come back again?
Kentucky couldn't blame it on a slow start this time; the Cats actually had an 8-point lead with 8 minutes to go in the first half. Collin Chandler was again on fire, Rupp was loud, and Kentucky looked to be well on its way to a much-needed win.
But then, like so many times this season, Kentucky flipped a switch and a lull allowed the Bulldogs to outscore them 22-10 over the last 8 minutes of the first half.
Kentucky's defense was atrocious
We warned you about how elite Georgia's offense was, but I don't think this Kentucky team got the memo. Once again Kentucky's 3-point defense was just not good enough, simple as that. Georgia found itself wide open way too many times for a team that loves to shoot the 3. They were 14 of 31 for the night.
Kentucky found a little fight late in the second half, after allowing Georgia to get on a 10-0 run, Collin Chandler nailed a big 3 to cut it to 4. Like clockwork, Kentucky allowed Georgia a good look at a 3, which they canned to push it back to 7 with just 4:51 to go. Chandler was 6 of 10 from deep on the night.
Historic victory for Georgia
Georgia was 4-40 coming into the night at Rupp Arena. They had not won since the Billy Gillispie-led Wildcats lost to the Bulldogs in February of 2009. Joe Lunardi had the Bulldogs on the bubble heading into the game, but a win in Lexington would move them a little closer to tournament safety.
Make no mistake, this would be a historic win for the Bulldogs, one Mike White and company desperately needed. But this would be a disastrous loss for a Kentucky team that a lot of people believed had turned a corner.
Free throws and turnovers cost the Cats again
Despite leading the game by 8 two different times in the first half, an Otega Oweh 3 hit the corner of the backboard with the Cats down 7 with 4:05 to go. But a review left Kentucky fans furious. Otega was getting screened by Blue Cain, and as he tried to fight off the screen, his elbow connected with Cain's head. That was elevated to a flagrant 1, which meant Cain could go to the line for 2; Georgia also got the ball. After converting from the line, Chandler made a great steal for an Oweh breakaway slam and-1 finish.
But Georgia was not done.
The lineup Mark Pope decided to roll with down the stretch in a crucial stretch was Denzel Aberdeen, Collin Chandler, Otega Oweh, Mo Dioubate, and Malachi Moreno. The big issue with that lineup is you have 2 non-shooters (Moreno and Dioubate) and 1 questionable shooter (Oweh). But the biggest problem is on the defensive end, where Moreno had to step out and guard Georgia shooters.
And it played out exactly like that.
After Kentucky cut it to 6, Moreno had to switch out on a Georgia guard who dribbled into Moreno and then drilled a 3 to push it back to 9.
An Aberdeen 3 got it back to 6, and then Kentucky got a stop. Denzel Aberdeen was fouled, but he missed the second to keep it at 5. Georgia fumbled that miss out of bounds, allowing Kentucky another chance. Denzel was fouled on a 3-point attempt, but the Cats' free-throw shooting woes continued. He made 2 of 3 to cut Georgia's lead to 81-78 with 1:57 to go.
Overall on the night, Kentucky was just 12 of 20 from the line.
A good defensive stand for the Cats meant they had a chance to get within 1 or tie. A Collin Chandler 3 grazed the front of the rim, but it allowed Kentucky to tie up Georgia. They had another shot with 1:17 to go.
The Cats got Otega on the ball, and he drove to the rim, which is what you want. But like so many times this season, he just dribbled it off his own leg out of bounds.
After Kentucky forced a bad shot, Somto Cyril got a huge offensive rebound and put it back in. The Cats were empty on offense and they had to play the foul game. It didn't work.
Georgia beats Kentucky 86-78, and Mark Pope's team is in trouble.