Kentucky falls to Georgia 75-68 in must-win game; NCAA Tournament chances slipping

Kentucky’s hopes of making the NCAA Tournament just took a significant hit.

On Saturday afternoon at Stegeman Coliseum, the Wildcats (16-9; 7-5 SEC) were flat-out embarrassed on the road by the Georgia Bulldogs (15-10; 5-7 SEC), falling by a final score of 75-68. Coming into the contest, Kentucky was considered to be just inside the projected field of 68, but losing to Georgia, which had lost six of its previous seven games, is a massive blow to the Wildcats’ resume and will likely put them on the outside looking in of the 2023 NCAA Tournament the rest of the season.

Kentucky received 20 points from both Oscar Tshiebwe and Antonio Reeves, but only one other Wildcat finished in double-figures. With rotational guards Sahvir Wheeler and CJ Fredrick sidelined due to injury, head coach John Calipari rolled with a seven-man rotation that shot just 38.5 percent from the field. Cason Wallace played arguably his worst game as a ‘Cat, finishing with five points on 2-8 shooting. Jacob Toppin added 12 points, eight rebounds, and five assists.

Final from Athens. pic.twitter.com/rf5yhOPBdV

— Kentucky Men’s Basketball (@KentuckyMBB) February 11, 2023

Down two key guards, Kentucky got off to another slow start, falling into an early 13-5 hole just eight minutes into the game. Luckily for the ‘Cats, Reeves was ready to play. The Illinois State transfer began to heat up and helped tie the game at 13-13 with a pair of triples. Unfortunately, foul trouble prevented UK from building on Reeves’ sharpshooting.

Wallace was the first to sit with two fouls, which brought in freshman Adou Thiero, who would eventually get hit with two fouls of his own. Sophomore Daimion Collins also was tagged with a pair of fouls as Georgia shot a perfect 12-12 from the free-throw line in the first half.

Kentucky would again knot the score up, this time at 23-23, but then Georgia’s Kario Oquendo got rolling. He scored nine points for the Bulldogs in the final six minutes of the opening half, helping UGA to a 42-32 lead at the intermission. Oquendo and Reeves both went into the locker room with 17 points for their respective teams.

The second half started off with Kentucky continuing to foul, but the scoring slowly picked up, as well. Tshiebwe, Toppin, and Reeves hit a groove, combining for 18 points in the first nine minutes out of the break as the ‘Cats took a 52-48 lead at the under-12-minute timeout. But Tshiebwe, Toppin, and Collins were all dealing with three fouls while Wallace, Livingston, and Thiero were playing with two.

Georgia would strike back right away, rattling off a quick 7-2 run that gave the ‘Dogs the lead back at 55-54. The advantage for the home team would only grow from there, eventually reaching a score of 66-58 with under two minutes left following a couple of daggers from UGA that all but sealed the Bulldogs’ victory.

Despite Georgia shooting just 41 percent overall, it was the Bulldogs’ 25-29 mark from the free-throw line that led to the win. Oquendo finished with 21 points for UGA while Justin Hill and Braelen Bridges combined for 27 points.