Kentucky basketball drops another game. Georgia loss hurts Wildcats' NCAA Tournament hopes

ATHENS, Ga. — Kentucky might want to start familiarizing itself with the NIT schedule.

Blame Georgia. The Bulldogs — 12th among the SEC’s 14 teams in the NET rankings entering Saturday — dealt a potentially fatal blow to the Wildcats’ hopes for an NCAA Tournament berth. Aided by a short-handed Kentucky roster — with senior guards Sahvir Wheeler (ankle) and CJ Fredrick (ribs) out with injuries — Georgia (15-10, 5-7 SEC) held serve at home, earning a 75-68 victory at Stegeman Coliseum.

"Would they have made a difference? Maybe," Kentucky coach John Calipari said. "But give Georgia all the credit. They deserve it."

The Wildcats (16-9, 7-5) have now lost two in a row. UK’s six-game conference win streak, ended in decisive fashion by Arkansas in Lexington on Tuesday, feels so far away.

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Saturday's loss marked UK’s second setback this season against a squad with a sub-100 NET ranking; South Carolina (No. 271, entering Saturday's slate, the worst in the SEC by a considerable margin) upset Kentucky last month, snapping a 28-game win streak for the Wildcats at Rupp Arena.

'A will to win'

Kentucky did itself no favors in the first half against Georgia, especially offensively.

Through eight-plus minutes, Kentucky had made just one of its 14 shots (7.1%). It settled into a rhythm in the next minute and a half, sinking four of five field goals in that stretch. The last make — a jumper from Antonio Reeves — gave the Wildcats a 16-15 lead.

The Bulldogs took charge until the halftime buzzer, though, jogging into the locker room with a 42-32 lead.

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But the Wildcats clawed their way back, taking leads multiple times in the second half. Georgia, which entered the game at No. 129 in the NET rankings, simply made more plays down the stretch.

Calipari specifically noted a pair of "critical" breakdowns that led to six points for the Bulldogs.

"I thought we got great looks. We miss. They make," he said. "I call it, 'A will to win.' You can’t lose a ball in a three-point game. (You say), 'I am not losing it.' And we lose it."

UK's loss Saturday also snapped a streak for Georgia. The Bulldogs had lost six of seven, and three in a row. The most recent: a 78-74 setback at Stegeman on Tuesday to Ole Miss, a team that, prior to that point, had been 1-9 in conference games.

The Wildcats had won 17 of their 18 previous matchups against Georgia, and 131 of the 158 games in the series before Saturday.

'They just had a different game plan'

Those looking to make sense of Saturday’s loss need look no further than the box score. Reeves and Oscar Tshiebwe are UK’s two leading scorers this season. That also was the case Saturday, as the pair combined for 40 points, 20 apiece. But they didn’t get much help. Forward Jacob Toppin (12 points) was the only other Wildcat to finish in double figures.

Despite his team-best total, just five of Reeves' points came in the second half. And he played every minute of Saturday's game.

"I felt like my legs were kind of getting tired at the end," said Reeves, who was 6 of 11 from the field, nailing three of his four 3-point attempts. "… Playing 40 minutes is tough for anybody, to be honest. I think me being out there too much (took) a toll on my legs."

Tshiebwe's outing was an inverse of Reeves; the big man took control in the second half, scoring 14 points on 5-of-7 shooting from the field and knocking down all four of his free throws. Yet his final numbers — which included a game-high 14 rebounds — are a far cry from his previous showing against the Bulldogs. Last month, he authored a game for the ages, scoring 37 points and grabbing 24 rebounds, in an 85-71, come-from-behind victory over Georgia at Rupp Arena.

"They just had a different game plan. I think they doubled all the time," Tshiebwe said. "The plan was, when they doubled, just back it down and kick. We tried that and made a couple shots, and sometimes one on one, I attacked the rim and finished. ... They were coming at us very differently."

As it tries to pick up the pieces from Saturday’s defeat, Kentucky remains on the road for its next game, heading to Starkville, Mississippi, to take on Mississippi State Wednesday night.

"Hard game down there, and they’re gonna smell blood in the water," Calipari said. "Are we going to be healthy? I have no idea, but we’ll see."

Similarly up in the air is Kentucky's postseason destination. The damaging losses to South Carolina and Georgia aside, there's another issue: UK doesn't have enough signature wins. The Wildcats are just 1-7 in the all-important Quad 1 games this season. The Mississippi State contest is Kentucky's next opportunity for a Quad 1 win. After that, three of Kentucky's five remaining regular-season games represent chances at Quad 1 triumphs: home against Tennessee, at Florida and the finale at Arkansas. If Auburn jumps back into the top 30 of the NET rankings, Kentucky's home tilt with the Tigers later this month also would qualify as a Quad 1 game. (Auburn was No. 32 before Saturday's home loss to arch-rival Alabama.)

With a month until Selection Sunday, the Wildcats believe they have what it takes to secure some key wins down the stretch.

"We have a good team," Tshiebwe said. "... We're just going to keep working. We've got this. I believe we've got this."

Reach Kentucky men’s basketball and football reporter Ryan Black at rblack@gannett.com and follow him on Twitter at @RyanABlack.

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Kentucky vs Georgia SEC college basketball game: Wildcats fall on road