The Kentucky Wildcats lost at home to the Georgia Bulldogs on Tuesday night by a score of 86-78.
The Cats got off to a hot start for once, but the first-half blues hit yet again. This time, Mark Pope’s odd substitution patterns appeared to be the culprit. Kentucky led by as many as eight points with just seven minutes to go in the first half, but after mass subs, the Bulldogs went on a 20-7 run to take a 39-34 lead into the half.
This trend is getting tiresome. Game after game, the Cats fall behind.
Sometimes, they come back. Sometimes, they don’t. It isn’t really fun anymore. It’s frustrating more than anything, and even more so because it’s unclear why the head coach at the University of Kentucky can’t figure it out. It’s also not a long-term winning formula, as you could see tonight.
After the break, Kentucky fell apart. Georgia exploded. Pope dropped another game at home to a mediocre team. What’s really sad about it is that it wasn’t even that close until a very late run when it was too little too late. Yet another unacceptable performance.
Georgia is now 5-40 all-time in Rupp Arena. Pope is really racking up a lot of stats you don’t want to see this season.
There’s not much else to say, but we’ll try below.
The defense was abysmal
Kentucky has been a bit bipolar on the defensive end this season. You never know what you’re going to get. On the season, the stats aren’t that bad, but in SEC play, they’ve been playing with fire.
The inconsistency has come back to bite them in the last two games and also in the Vanderbilt blowout. For once, the rebounding was actually pretty good, so that wasn’t the issue. Kentucky just couldn’t stop Georgia from doing whatever they wanted inside and out.
The Bulldogs were lights out from three, but the effort was pathetic in attempting to run them off the three-point line. Somto Cyril, a former Kentucky commit, also dominated the paint by dunking the ball each and every time he wanted to.
This was a really bad loss at home and defense was the primary reason why.
Oweh takes over
Otega Oweh has been a heater since SEC play began and he didn’t slow down in this one. Otegatron showed up in full force in what was a dominant performance as he set a career high in scoring.
Oweh was the Preseason SEC Player of the Year, and despite a slow start this season, he’s proving exactly why. The senior guard gets to the rim at will. His shot is somewhat inconsistent, but it was hitting tonight. When you combine those two attributes, it makes Oweh impossible to guard.
Georgia learned that lesson the hard way in this game. There are not many players in the county better than OO. What’s made him even more special of late has been taking on the task of guarding the opposing team’s best player more often than not. He’s taken that role in stride and all it’s done is add to his All-SEC resume.
Chandler is a human flamethrower
Collin Chandler was one of Kentucky’s best players through the first month or so of the season. He then went on about a six-week stretch when he looked like the worst player on the court. He was borderline unplayable.
Chandler has been playing really well and he caught absolute fire in this game. He’s developed into a solid defender and one of the best shooters in the country. Chandler’s athleticism has really allowed him to blossom in Lexington.
CC is a really good, really mature player, and he’s learned how to become a consistent option for the Cats. It’s easy to forget about Koby Brea when Chandler does what he did tonight.
No team is winning the national championship with CC as its best player, but he’s shown the potential to be an important piece on a championship caliber team.
Next up, the Cats will travel to the Plains to take on the Auburn Tigers on Saturday night at 8:30 P.M.
