Kentucky’s second-half comeback attempt came up short this time around.
On Tuesday night in Rupp Arena, the Wildcats (17-9; 8-5 SEC) put together a poor defensive performance in an 86-78 upset loss to the Georgia Bulldogs (17-9; 6-7 SEC). Kentucky allowed Georgia to shoot 14-31 from long range, the Bulldogs’ second-most made triples against an SEC team this season. The ‘Cats also turned the ball over 13 times, leading to 22 points for Georgia.
Kentucky received high-scoring games from Otega Oweh (28 points, 11-18 FG) and Collin Chandler (18 points, 6-10 3PT), but did not see much production from the frontcourt. Denzel Aberdeen chipped in 14 points and four assists for the ‘Cats, which shot 12-20 (60 percent) from the free throw line as a team. UK trailed by as many as 12 points deep in the second half before cutting it all the way down to three in the closing minutes, but couldn’t get over the hump.
After winning eight of nine games, Kentucky has now picked up two straight losses. This one will go down as a Quad 2 defeat for the ‘Cats.
After Georgia scored the first two points, Kentucky was off and running. Oweh dropped in seven quick points (on seven total shots), although an uncalled goaltending cost him an extra bucket. UK was pacing Georgia, leading 16-12 by the second media timeout. The Bulldogs were full-court pressing from the jump, causing some ugly turnovers by Kentucky, but the ‘Cats were in control for most of the first half. Chandler hit a couple of threes and UK was owning the glass. It was a 27-19 lead for the home team with under eight minutes until the half.
Then the momentum flipped in Georgia’s favor. A 7-0 Bulldog run soon tied the game at 29-29 as Kentucky began to look lost on both ends of the floor. Georgia closed the half on a 20-7 run, capped off with a three-pointer just before the buzzer to take a 39-34 lead into the break. Seven UK turnovers translated to 10 Georgia points the other way. Oweh led all scorers with 12 points, but the final two segments for UK as a whole were not pretty by any means.
Out of the locker room, Oweh found plenty of success getting to the rim. A couple of threes followed by back-to-back and-ones from the senior less than four minutes into the second half made it just a one-point Georgia lead. But the hot-shooting Bulldogs kept pushing. Even after Chandler knocked down a pair of three-pointers of his own, UGA was clinging to a 61-55 advantage with 12 minutes to go. The Bulldogs would tack on five more points out of the media timeout to take an 11-point lead, forcing UK to burn one of its own timeouts.
Kentucky struggled to gain any ground over the next several possessions, still trailing by 10 with under eight minutes left in regulation. But some zone defense from the ‘Cats — along with Chandler’s outside shooting — allowed them to stay within striking distance. Even still, Georgia was up seven with four minutes to play. UK kept chipping away, though. Two Aberdeen free throws soon made it just a three-point game.
But that was as close as Kentucky would get down the stretch. Too many missed shots, plus an untimely turnover from Oweh, allowed Georgia to steal a big road win. This one stings…
