FINAL: No. 6 Kentucky punked by Georgia 82-69 in first SEC road game

If it wasn’t already clear, there will be no “easy” games in the Southeastern Conference this season. Kentucky just learned that the hard way.

On Tuesday night in Athens, the No. 6 Wildcats (12-3) were manhandled by the Georgia Bulldogs (13-2) with a final score of 82-69. In a game dictated by physical play, Kentucky looked overwhelmed and unwilling to fight back. The Bulldogs shot 19 more free throws than UK in a game that featured 44 total foul calls. But it’s tough to blame the officials when Kentucky shot 6-25 from deep and turned the ball over 14 times (while recording just eight assists).

Lamont Butler and Brandon Garrison did what they could to keep Kentucky alive. Butler finished with 20 points while Garrison added 13 in place of Amari Williams, who was dealing with severe foul trouble all game. Otega Oweh rounded out the double-digit scorers with 12 points and seven rebounds. After finishing with a 37.5 percent shooting clip, UK is now 1-3 on the season when going under 40 percent from the field as a team.

It was an all-around ugly performance from the ‘Cats in the team’s first SEC road game of the season. It’s only going to get tougher from here.

Compared to most of the season, Kentucky started off this game well. The ‘Cats took a quick 8-5 lead and handled the road environment with confidence. But once Georgia began to flex its muscles and lay on the physicality, Kentucky started to shrink. The Bulldogs’ pure strength soon took over the game. Georgia was living at the free throw line (12-12 at the half) and pushed UK around inside the paint on both ends of the floor.

It didn’t take long before foul trouble became a real issue for Kentucky. Williams was tagged with three first-half fouls while Oweh had two. Butler’s 13 points on 6-8 shooting was the only thing keeping the ‘Cats from getting completely blown out. At one point, Georgia made six straight field goals and rattled off an 18-7 run. After 20 minutes of play, the Bulldogs were ahead 47-34 as everything seemed to be going right for the home team.

Georgia’s offense — which shot 48.4 percent in the first half — began to come back down to earth to start the second half. A handful of missed free throws didn’t help the Bulldogs either. After Williams picked up an early fourth foul, Garrison was inserted to pick up the slack for UK. While it wasn’t always pretty, he found ways to help bring the ‘Cats back into the game. A coast-to-coast layup by the sophomore big man made it just a five-point contest, 55-50, with 12 minutes to go.

But no matter how wide Georgia left the door open for a comeback attempt, Kentucky just couldn’t close the gap any further. After cutting it to a five-point game, UK went over four minutes without a made field goal. Georgia took advantage by building its lead back to a dozen. Kentucky went away from its usual offense as players tried to go one-on-one for tough baskets. The plan didn’t work. The Bulldogs controlled a double-figure lead the rest of the way.

Up next: Kentucky hits the road again to take on No. 14 Mississippi State (13-1) this Saturday. Tipoff in Starkville is set for 8:30 p.m. EST on the SEC Network.