ATHENS, Ga — Kentucky was pushed to the edge in Athens tonight, going down as many as nine points late in the second half, but this Wildcat team answered the bell, winning 72-64.
UK (30-0, 17-0 SEC) had been rolling through the SEC over their last stretch, with an average margin of victory of 24. Georgia had the perfect game plan to keep the game close, and that’s what they did.
Georgia (19-10, 10-7 SEC) did the opposite of what most believe you have to do in order to beat the Wildcats. Most people believe that you have to dominate from the 3-point line, in the first half, Georgia went 1-of-10. Still, they found themselves tied going into the locker rooms at halftime.
The Bulldogs front court scored 26 of their 32 first half points, attacking the 7-footers from Kentucky. Nemanja Djurisic had a team leading 18 points for Georgia seemed almost unstoppable as he scored in a plethora of ways.
Coming out in the second half, Kentucky looked unfazed and completely poised, despite playing one of their worst halves in months. The calm from the Wildcat bench almost seemed odd, as the UK players prepared for a second half battle in Athens.
Georgia continued to play as well as we have seen them play all year, as they grew their lead to nine points with just over seven minutes remaining in the game.
Then it clicked. Kentucky showed what it takes to be unbeaten at this point in the year. They started pushing around the front court of Georgia behind their leading scorer, Karl Anthony-Towns, who finished with 19 points on the game.
Attacking play after play and showing their defensive prowess, UK outscored UGA 28-8 in the final minutes of the game.
Georgia didn’t help its own case by missing three straight 1-and-1’s on the final stretch.
Kentucky moved to 30-0, tying the second best start in SEC history and will go for a perfect regular season on Saturday against Florida.
UP NEXT
Kentucky celebrates Senior Night in Rupp Arena against Florida on Saturday
Georgia travels to Auburn on Saturday