FINAL: Georgia 82, No. 6 Kentucky 69

01/07/2025 08:33:52 PM

Kentucky picks up its third loss of the season, an 82-69 clunker at Georgia. There are no off nights in the SEC, but the Cats were certainly off tonight, unable to achieve any sort of flow and allowing Georgia to get way too many easy buckets. The officiating certainly didn’t help matters, with the Bulldogs going 29-38 from the free-throw line to Kentucky’s 15-19.

The Cats cut the lead to five with 12 minutes remaining but just couldn’t get closer, whether it be due to foul trouble, all the foul calls, or simply bad play. Kentucky finished the game on a 4:05 scoring drought from the field, hitting just one of its last eight buckets. The Cats shot 37.5% (24-64) from the floor and 24% (6-25) from three. Only three Kentucky players finished in double figures: Lamont Butler with 20, Brandon Garrison with 13, and Otega Oweh with 12.

You’d love to just burn this tape but it continues to feel like the blueprint is out on how to beat Kentucky, and man, is it ugly.

Read Otega Oweh’s lips

01/07/2025 08:22:09 PM

Security is lining the court to prevent a court storm as we approach the final minute of this very ugly basketball game. Fans are chanting “overrated” again. I think Otega Oweh put it best when he was at the free throw line: this is their Super Bowl.

1:03 2H – Georgia 79, Kentucky 66

Text Machine is already worried about this weekend

01/07/2025 08:18:38 PM

Saturday’s game at No. 14 Mississippi State is looming large in the minds of BBN as this game dwindles down. You can text your observations to 859-587-3828 (standard messaging rates apply).

Score Update: 2:39 2H – Georgia 75, Kentucky 64

01/07/2025 08:15:06 PM

Somto Cyril just fouled out with six points and eight rebounds, heading to the bench to a chorus of barks. Otega Oweh made both free throws to cut the lead to 11 with 2:39 to go. Georgia fans are also chanting “overrated,” so that’s fun.

No. 1 Tennessee goes down

01/07/2025 08:08:52 PM

Final in Gainesville: No. 8 Florida 73, No. 1 Tennessee 43. The Vols were the last remaining undefeated team in the country.

What a win for Florida, which makes Kentucky’s win over the Gators on Saturday even more valuable; however, it’s hard to feel very good about that right now as the Cats still trail Georgia by double digits.

Score Update: 4:21 2H – Georgia 72, Kentucky 59

01/07/2025 08:06:07 PM

This feels like a loss, folks. After a foul on Lamont Butler (his fourth), Asa Newell just hit two free throws to put the Bulldogs up 13 with 4:21 to go. Georgia has made 23-31 free throws to Kentucky’s 8-9 mark from the charity stripe. And, guess what, they’re going to the monitor again!

We sure could use a lot more of these:

No foul after a review

01/07/2025 08:02:14 PM

We just had another review after Asa Newell and Andrew Carr got tangled up under the basket. Even though Carr did nothing wrong, I thought for sure they would find a way to call a foul on him when they headed to the monitors, which would have been his fifth. Thankfully, they decided not to call any fouls at all.

Jaxson Robinson finally scores

01/07/2025 07:57:18 PM

Maybe that Jaxson Robinson three will spark a run? Robinson’s first bucket of the night cuts Georgia’s lead to nine, 57-66, with 7:04 to go.

Score Update: 7:33 2H – Georgia 66, Kentucky 54

01/07/2025 07:52:42 PM

Georgia’s lead is back to 12 and it could be 14 soon. The Bulldogs are headed to the line again after a foul on Ansley Almonor, who now has four. If you’re keeping track at home, that makes it 33 fouls called tonight. It seems like there’s one called on every trip down the floor.

Kentucky isn’t doing much in between the whistles. After cutting the lead to five, the Cats have gone 4:34 without a field goal. They better get one soon or this one will go in the loss column.

So many fouls (so many questionable calls)

01/07/2025 07:43:34 PM

Andrew Carr just picked up his fourth foul with 11:22 remaining. Amari Williams, the other starter in Kentucky’s frontcourt, has also been on the bench with four fouls since the 17-minute mark. The officiating is leaving a ton to be desired tonight. There have been 31 fouls called in 30 minutes of play.

One call we will agree with: the foul on Silas Demary Jr., which sent Lamont Butler to the free-throw line, where he hit both shots to cut Georgia’s lead to seven, 59-52, with 10:17 remaining.

When there’s a will, there’s Oweh!

01/07/2025 07:33:35 PM

Don’t look now, but it’s a five-point game! Otega Oweh slammed the ball home to spark a 4-0 run. Brandon Garrison followed it up by getting a steal, taking the ball down the court on his own, and showing off a Eurostep to cut Georgia’s lead to five, 55-50, with 12:02 remaining.

(I’m really glad Garrison scored, but I could do without him handling the ball so much)

The officiating tonight…

01/07/2025 07:30:24 PM

Presented without comment.

Andrew Carr cuts it to single-digits

01/07/2025 07:23:59 PM

Kentucky finally got to the free-throw line and Andrew Carr made sure they got some points out of it. Carr hit both free throws to cut Georgia’s lead to seven, 51-44. Unfortunately, Carr fouled Somto Cyril on the other end, which was upgraded to a flagrant 1 foul. Cyril made the bucket, but missed both free throws.

14:21 2H – Georgia 53, Kentucky 44

Score Update: 15:35 2H – Georgia 51, Kentucky 40

01/07/2025 07:18:20 PM

Still a double-digit lead at the Under-16 timeout. Imagine what it might be without Lamont Butler, who remains Kentucky’s only double-digit scorer with 15 points.

Score Update: 17:01 2H – Georgia 49, Kentucky 38

01/07/2025 07:16:15 PM

Uh oh. Amari Williams just picked up his fourth foul with 17 minutes to play. Kentucky trails by 11, with Lamont Butler and Otega Oweh scoring the Cats’ only points this half.

Text Machine weighing in

01/07/2025 07:12:34 PM

You can text your observations to 859-587-3828 (standard messaging rates apply).

Does it make you feel better that Tennessee is losing?

01/07/2025 07:03:31 PM

Kentucky’s struggling on the road and so is Tennessee. The No. 1 Vols trail No. 8 Florida 34-15 at halftime in Gainesville, a stunning score. Tennessee is 4-29 from the floor and 0-14 from three.

The Vols are the only undefeated team remaining in the country. Maybe not for long. That would make Kentucky’s win over Florida look even better — but maybe not if the Cats also take an L in Athens.

HALF: Georgia 47, Kentucky 34

01/07/2025 06:55:04 PM

Asa Newell’s three-pointer at the buzzer just added insult to injury for an abysmal first half for Kentucky. Georgia leads by 13, 47-34. It’s the Cats’ second-largest halftime deficit behind the 16-point halftime deficit vs. Gonzaga. Hopefully, this game has the same result.

This is what we were worried about. Due to foul trouble and poor shooting, Kentucky has yet to find its groove. The Cats closed the half 1-7 from the floor to bring their total for the game to 14-35, and just 4-13 from three. Even worse, they can’t get a stop on the other end, allowing Georgia, a team that scored just 51 points vs. Ole Miss on Saturday, to score 47 in the first half on 48% shooting.

Lamont Butler leads Kentucky with 13 points, the lone Cat in double figures. Otega Oweh played just 10 minutes due to foul trouble, while Amari Williams has three fouls already. Jaxson Robinson has zero points on 0-4 shooting, and Andrew Carr has four points on 2-6 from the floor. Just a bad half of basketball.

Amari Williams picks up his third foul

01/07/2025 06:50:47 PM

Things are going from bad to worse. Amari Williams just picked up an offensive foul (which looked to be a flop/fall to me), his third foul of the game. Georgia leads by 12.

1:02 1H – Georgia 44, Kentucky 32

Kentucky finally gets to the free throw line (and misses)

01/07/2025 06:47:05 PM

Otega Oweh is the first Wildcat to head to the free-throw line after a foul on Tyrin Lawrence. He had a chance for a three-point play but missed the free throw. On the other end, Dakota Leffew did not miss, hitting a three to put the Bulldogs up by ten, 42-32 with 1:45 to go.

Score Update: 3:38 1H – Georgia 37, Kentucky 30

01/07/2025 06:41:51 PM

Georgia’s lead is up to seven. It would have been five if Brandon Garrison’s bucket wasn’t waived off due to an offensive foul. Speaking of fouls, the Bulldogs are getting a very kind whistle thus far. Ten of Georgia’s 37 points are from the free throw line, while the Cats haven’t been to the charity stripe once.

This Ansley Almonor three was cool, though. He’s back on the bench, as Otega Oweh checked in with two fouls.

Score Update 5:36 1H – Georgia 30, Kentucky 25

01/07/2025 06:36:58 PM

Welp, just like that, Georgia is up five. Jaxson Robinson seems very off, airballing his latest attempt. He’s now 0-4 from the floor and looks completely out of sorts. Kentucky really misses Otega Oweh, who is on the bench with two fouls.

Asa Newell caught Andrew Carr sleeping

01/07/2025 06:34:02 PM

I bet Andrew Carr wants that play back. Carr must have thought the ball was going out of bounds because he didn’t chase after it. Georgia freshman Asa Newell, projected to be a first-round pick, did and got a big slam to put the Bulldogs back on top. Thankfully, Lamont Butler responded with a bucket of his own to tie the game at 25. Butler is up to 11 points now.

6:17 1H – Kentucky 25, Georgia 25

Travis Perry with authority!

01/07/2025 06:28:01 PM

Travis Perry’s confidence is growing by the second. With Kentucky trailing by one, Perry drove it to the basket to score to put the Cats back on top. Koby Brea followed that up with a three to make it 23-19 Cats. Georgia’s RJ Godfrey narrowed that to 23-21 and now, we’ve got a timeout for an injury. Silas DeMary Jr. ran into Brandon Garrison, which the refs ruled incidental contact.

8:02 1H: Kentucky 23, Georgia 21

Pope sighting in Athens

01/07/2025 06:26:17 PM

There was never any doubt, but Blue definitely got in, in some creative ways.

Meanwhile in Gainesville…

01/07/2025 06:24:28 PM

No. 1 Tennessee trails No. 8 Florida 12-4 at the 11:40 mark. The Vols are the only unbeaten team left in the country. Sure would be a shame if they lost to the team Kentucky just beat.

Score Update: 10:48 1H – Kentucky 16, Georgia 15

01/07/2025 06:22:38 PM

Kentucky is showing some life! Back-to-back threes by Brandon Garrison and Lamont Butler have Kentucky back on top 16-15 at the under-12 timeout. Butler has scored nine of Kentucky’s 16 points.

In bad news, foul trouble is already becoming an issue. Amari Williams and Otega Oweh both have two fouls, although that call on Williams is questionable.

Kentucky’s gone cold

01/07/2025 06:16:12 PM

Here comes one of the scoring droughts we were worried about. Kentucky hasn’t scored in 2:26, during which Georgia has seized the lead. The Bulldogs are now up 11-8 after a dunk by Somto Cyril.

Jaxson Robinson is particularly cold, 0-3 from the floor so far, all three-point attempts. Koby Brea is in and also just missed a three to bring Kentucky’s total from the outside to 0-5. The Cats are just 4-15 from the field overall.

13:22 1H: Georgia 11, Kentucky 8

Andrew Carr dunks on Somto Cyril!

01/07/2025 06:09:59 PM

Former Kentucky signee Somto Cyril is getting some early playing time and just got dunked on by Andrew Carr. The Cats caught the Dawgs sleeping on a big defensive breakdown.

15:48 1H: Kentucky 8, Georgia 7

Decent start by Kentucky so far

01/07/2025 06:05:55 PM

We knew Kentucky could not afford a bad start tonight. So far, so good. At the 16:18 mark, Kentucky leads 6-3. Lamont Butler scored the Cats’ first four points, with Amari Williams getting the last two. Georgia is 1-5 so far from the field, the lone bucket being a three by Blue Cain.

Travis Perry and Brandon Garrison just checked in. Otega Oweh already has two blocks.

Blue got into Athens

01/07/2025 06:01:36 PM

As expected, Georgia students are there and rowdy. Shoutout to this UK fan in the sea of red, who got some camera time at the start of the SEC Network’s broadcast.

Final Odds

01/07/2025 05:56:30 PM

Vegas thinks this will be a tight game. Kentucky will close as a 1.5-point favorite, with the total set at 153.5 points. The Cats’ team total is 78.5 points.

This is just one of many great games on tonight. At the same time as Kentucky vs. Georgia, No. 1 Tennessee will be playing at No. 8 Florida, No. 4 Duke hosts Pitt, Louisville takes on Clemson, and Arizona goes to No. 21 West Virginia. At 9 p.m. ET, No. 2 Auburn plays Texas in Austin and Vanderbilt hosts No. 14 Mississippi State. Lots of good basketball tonight.

Same starting five

01/07/2025 05:47:50 PM

If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. Kentucky is rolling with the usual starting five vs. Georgia.

01 Lamont Butler
00 Otega Oweh
02 Jaxson Robinson
07 Andrew Carr
22 Amari Williams

Georgia students are ready (and barking)

01/07/2025 05:44:21 PM

Georgia students get into tonight’s game for free, with the first 750 in line receiving free t-shirts. Based on this video of the line outside Stegeman Coliseum, they look ready.

Mark Pope confirms Koby Brea WILL play

01/07/2025 05:36:58 PM

During his pregame radio segment with Tom Leach, Mark Pope says that Koby Brea is “pretty much up to speed” and will play tonight against Georgia. Brea didn’t practice yesterday but went through shootaround earlier today. “He’s feeling a little bit better. We’re gonna roll him out there tonight,” Pope said. Brea is coming off a career game against Florida where he dropped 23 points on seven three-pointers. Kentucky sure could use his shooting against a sold Georgia defense.

New SEC Network announcing team

01/07/2025 05:14:42 PM

Tonight’s game airs on SEC Network and features a relatively new announcing team. Former Chicago White Sox play-by-play announcer John Schriffen and former Alabama forward Richard Hendrix will call the game. If you watched Kentucky WBB vs. Vanderbilt on Saturday, you saw the duo call the Cats’ victory. Let’s hope tonight makes it two in a row.

Time: 7 p.m. ET
Television: SEC Network (John Schriffen, Richard Hendrix)
Home Radio: UK Sports Network – 630 WLAP, iHeart Radio (Tom Leach, Goose Givens)
Online Radio: iHeart
Satellite Radio: Sirius 106 or 190
Live Stats: StatBroadcast

Koby Brea is on the court for warm-ups

01/07/2025 05:08:04 PM

Koby Brea is available to play tonight, but it remains to be seen if he actually will. KSR’s road crew of Jack Pilgrim and Steven Peake was snowed in so we don’t have boots on the ground, but those who did make the trip are reporting that Brea is on the court for warm-ups but not going through the full motions just yet. According to Aaron Gershon, Brea is putting up shots now.

We’ll probably hear more on Brea from Mark Pope on the official UK pregame show in about 20 minutes.