Otega Oweh had 28 points for Kentucky but Georgia's physical play took a toll on UK. (Vicky Graff Photo)
Let’s just call this Kentucky team The Heartbreakers.
Forget the Comeback Cats because this time Kentucky could not come back from a 12-point deficit in the second half — after leading by eight points in the first half — and lost 86-78 to Georgia. Yes, Georgia, a team that had lost five of its previous six games and last won at Rupp Arena when Billy Gillespie was coaching the Cats.
It has been that kind of season. The Cats got dusted by Gonzaga, Michigan State and Louisville in non-conference play and then won four straight, including wins over Indiana and St. John’s. But that was followed by opening SEC play with a loss at Alabama and then a clunker to Missouri in Rupp Arena.
However, just as panic time set in, UK won eight of nine including a sweep of Tennessee and a victory at Arkansas. Even the loss Saturday at UK the Cats were competitive and played hard. That was not the case against Georgia when UK was bullied and lackadaisical going after loose balls.
“I think their physicality was a problem for us, especially early in the game,” Kentucky guard Collin Chandler, who had 18 points on 6-for-10 shooting from 3, said.
Former UK All-American Jack Givens admitted on the UK Radio Network postgame show that he was frustrated with the way UK played.
“It was very obvious from the start that Georgia said we are going to hit them any time they come close to us and if you don’t you are coming out of the game,” Givens said. “It’s tough when you are sitting on the sideline and you see it and guys just let it happen. Until Mo (Dioubate) came in … he was the only guy who hit back. On this level, you can’t play this way.”
No you cannot but yet Kentucky did. The Bulldogs had 10 offensive rebounds in the second half and had 17 second chance points. They also had 22 points off 13 Kentucky turnovers and made only seven turnovers against UK’s often passive defense.
“We were all really disappointed with that part of the game,” Kentucky coach Mark Pope said about Georgia’s physicality. “Georgia on the first possession jumped right into us and was physical and we turned it over and got on our heels.”
Kentucky got back within striking range with five minutes to play but missed six of its final seven shots and had a 2 minute, 13 second scoring drought. Even Otega Oweh, who had 28 p points on 11-for-18 shooting along with four rebounds and four assists, turned the ball over late in the game in crucial situations.
“There are times in the game if the referees are going to let a little bit of physicality go that you have to clear space. You have to be ruthless and even a little violent. Georgia really got into our guys and got aggressive,” Pope said. “We did a poor job attacking the press and establishing ourselves once we got to half court. It kept us off balance.”
It also put Kentucky, which dropped out of the national rankings again this week, needing to once again try to regroup and prove it could overcome a poor performance.
“I am frustrated. We were in such a good position,” Givens said. “If you win this one, you are up there. We are rolling and played hard at Florida and made them win it. This was a huge game for Kentucky and a huge loss.”
Yes it was and one that has Kentucky fans just as frustrated as Givens was and probably even more disappointed than Pope was.
2 Responses
When the other team starts leaning on us we whimp out.
Oweh had a great game until it came down to every possession. Dribbling off his foot, then throwing a bad pass for a turnover. Then not catching the offensive rebound that hit him right in the hands. Moreno needs to work on his hands. He has the worst hands I've ever seen. The ball constantly hits him in the hands for rebounds he just can't grab the ball. He would average a double double if his hands were even average. Because he would get more offensive rebound for put backs. Our guards played great until the end of the game. Our bigs had a terrible game. They were way more physical than we were. Also Brandon Garrison is trash im sorry. I know you have to play him because of injuries but I just dont understand it. He's a terrible at rebounding and how does he always play great against Oklahoma but sucks in every other game. He had a couple of crucial turnovers and he couldn't rebound the ball at the end of the game. He also got blocked by a 6'1" guard where if he would have just dunked the ball he would have scored but he went up with a fadeaway from 3' from the basket. This team just doesn't have any Basketball IQ whatsoever. It's like they don't understand the game of basketball. Jasper Johnson needs to gain about 15-20 pounds of muscle or he will never make it. He's to skinny and gets pushed around like he's a little kid. Instead of playing winning basketball it's like this team is it's own worst enemy. We play better when we run. When we slow it down to run a play we never score. Never. Unless it's a broken play. I think we end up finishing 4th or 5th in the SEC. I think we win one tournament game and lose the next. I think we win the first game in the tournament then we lose the next. I see this team making a sweet 16 run at the very best. If we make it to the sweet 16 it will be a miracle. No way we even make it to the elite 8. There is 25 teams better than us this year. I don't think we are a top 25 team. No way should Georgia who had lost 7 out of the last 8 games should have came into Rupp Arena and beat us. That's only the 5th time in Georgias history that they won at Rupp Arena. Even Calapari in his worst years beat Georgia. It's like every time I think we are turning a corner this happens. I said halfway through the first half that we would lose that game. I could just tell how Georgia was dominating pretty much every aspect of the game. Another thing why do other teams always light us up from 3? I thought we was supposed to have one of the best defensive teams in the country this year. I don't see it all. Even Oweh and Aberdeen who are supposed to be elite at guarding the 3 always rotate to slowly to get a hand in the face. The main thing that hurts this team and I don't think we will do anything in the tournament is when the opposing team has a decent point guard, the game is over. We have no point guard and it seems like every team we play with a good point guard they pretty much do whatever they want to against Kentucky. Vanderbilt starting point guard destroyed us. Floridas guards destroyed us. The guys who usually don't do much on Florida destroyed us. The same thing last night. There guards could get anywhere they wanted to. If we play teams with great guard play. It's over. A physical team is also our kryptonite. A good point guard or good bigs and it's going to be a long night. When we went on the winning streak if you think about it we had one of the easiest SEC schedules the first 12 games. The last few games if we don't beat the teams we should beat it will be a long summer.