That just can’t happen. You cannot lose to Georgia, which is exactly what the Kentucky Wildcats did 86-78 Tuesday night at Rupp Arena.
Georgia came into this game having lost five of six, with four of those coming by 15 points or more. It’s embarrassing all the way around.
First Half
Kentucky’s offense showed great ball movement, which was key against Georgia’s rim protection to spread them out.
Unfortunately, the Wildcats could never pull away to a comfortable margin. Kentucky led by as many as eight at 27-19 midway through the second half. Then, Georgia started feeding big man Somto Cyril and knocking down shots from beyond the arc. The Bulldogs came all the way back to take a 34-31 lead with 3:23 to play in the second half, courtesy of a 12-2 run.
Georgia would hold Kentucky without a field goal for the final 2:25 of the first half. Despite shooting just 14-34 from the field in the first half, the Bulldogs knocked down six three-pointers and had eight assists to just three turnovers.
Kentucky, on the other hand, had seven turnovers and just five assists. Oweh had 12 points on 5-11 shooting, but he was just 1-3 from the free-throw line in the first half.
After being held in check for most of the first half. Georgia’s Somto Cyril exploded for eight points and four rebounds to help the Bulldogs get back into the game and take control of it at the end of the first half.
Cyril and the Bulldogs’ frontcourt made life chaotic for Malachi Moreno, who turned the ball over three times.
Turnovers, missed layups, and missed free throws were the story of the first half for Kentucky. It turned an eight-point lead into a five-point deficit in less than eight minutes.
Second Half
Kentucky came out firing in the second half, with Otega Oweh scoring 11 points in the first 3:58. It brought the Cats to within one possession.
Georgia also came out firing to start the second half. The Bulldogs made four of their first six shots, including 3-5 from three-point range.
The Bulldogs led by as many as 12 in the second half. It wasn’t looking good, and the outlook looked grim.
No matter what Kentucky did, it seemed like Georgia had big answer after big answer. It looked even worse when Otega Oweh was called for a Flagrant 1 on Georgia’s Blue Cain, which Cain converted both free throws.
Then, though, Kentucky put the chops down and mounted a comeback.
With about four minutes to play, Otega Oweh converted a three-point play on a breakaway dunk. It cut the Wildcats’ deficit to six points at 78-72.
Denzel Aberdeen converted four free throws to make it a three-point game at 81-78.
But it wasn’t enough, as Georgia’s Somto Cyril got a putback bucket off an offensive rebound to extend the lead to 83-78.
The combination of lackluster defense and free-throw shooting doomed Kentucky, in addition to 13 turnovers.
Kentucky missed its last five shots and six of its last seven, not scoring in the final 2:13 of the game.
Box Score
MVP: Otega Oweh
How can it not be? He was in takeover mode the entire second half. Oweh kept coming at Georgia even as the Bulldogs seemed to have total control of the game, scoring 16 of his 28 points in the second half.
Kentucky vs. Georgia Twitter Reactions
Big Blue Nation was up late and in full force for this game. Here are the best Twitter reactions from Big Blue Nation.