Big Blue Preview: Kentucky at Georgia
Kentucky opened Southeastern Conference play with a thrilling 106-100 win over Florida at Rupp Arena on Saturday. Koby Brea made seven three-pointers on his was to a career-high 23 points in the win.
Now, the sixth-ranked Wildcats will hit the road in conference play for the first time, visiting Georgia at Stegeman Coliseum on Tuesday.
Kentucky is 12-2 this season after Saturday’s victory over No. 6 Florida. The Cats have now beaten three top 10 teams this season, having topped Duke and Gonzaga earlier this year.
Otega Oweh leads UK in scoring, averaging 15.9 points per game. Lamont Butler averages 13.8 points and 3.8 assists per game. Brea averages 12.7 points per outing, while Jaxson Robinson scores 12.1 points per contest. Andrew Carr (11.5 ppg) and Amari Williams (10.4 ppg) also average double figures in scoring. Williams leads the Cats in rebounding, averaging 8.4 boards per game.
Georgia is also 12-2 this season under head coach Mike White. The Bulldogs lost their conference opener at Ole Miss on Saturday, 63-51. Georgia does have impressive wins this season over Georgia Tech, Notre Dame and St. John’s.
The Bulldogs have five players averaging in double digits on the season, led by Asa Newell, who scores 15.4 points per game. De’Shayne Montgomery scores 13.5 points per outing, while Dakota Leffew scores 12.3 per contest. Silas DeMary Jr. (11.9 ppg) and Tyrin Lawrence (10.5 ppg) are also double figure scorers.
Kentucky leads the all-time series with Georgia 132-28. However, the Cats have lost their last two trips to Athens, falling 75-68 in 2023 and 63-62 in 2021. UK has won 44 times in Athens against 19 losses.
Tuesday’s game is set to tip off at 7 p.m. ET and it can be seen on the SEC Network.
No. 10 Cats Outlast No. 6 Gators on Saturday
No. 10 Kentucky won its third game over an AP Top 10 opponent this season, taking its SEC opener, 106-100, over No. 6 Florida on Saturday at Rupp Arena. Six Wildcats scored in double figures, led by a career-high 23 points from Koby Brea who connected on seven 3-pointers in the contest.
Lamont Butler scored 19 points and set a new career benchmark with eight assists, while Otega Oweh had 16 points and Amari Williams posted 15 points and eight rebounds.
UK was powered by three separate runs of at least 10 points, including a 16-0 spurt in the first half that took the Cats from down by 11 points, to up by five. Another 10-0 run just prior to halftime gave Kentucky a 52-42 edge at the break.
When Florida pulled within one at 70-69 with 12:08 to play, UK made its third push, embarking on a 10-0 spurt to bring the lead back to 11. The Gators got back within two at 89-87, but Lamont Butler scored the next five points to help hold off the rally.
Andrew Carr scored seven of his 14 points over the last 2:15 of game time to help close out the win.
Some additional notes from the game:
• The game was the first time UK has opened SEC play with a matchup between two teams ranked in the AP Top 10
• Kentucky’s three wins over top 10 opponents are the most in college basketball this season
• Kentucky is 3-0 against AP top 10 opponents this season. It is the quickest (14 games) into a season that the Cats have three victories over AP top 10 opponents since 2014-15 (13 games)
• Kentucky posted a 4.2:1 assist to turnover ratio in the win, its best against an SEC opponent since 2012 vs. South Carolina (5.7:1)
• UK improves to 5-0 against the Gators when both teams are ranked in the top 10
• The 106 points were the second most for Kentucky ever against Florida (110 in 1970), it’s third most ever against an AP Top 10 opponent, and UK’s fourth most in an SEC opener
• The win snapped Florida’s 13-0 start to the season. Only two teams had entered Rupp Arena with better records – Auburn (17-0, 1998-99) and Vanderbilt (16-0, 2007-08). Kentucky won all three of those games
• Six Wildcats scored at least 14 points for just the second time in program history (Dec. 28, 1974 vs. Notre Dame)
• Jaxson Robinson reached 1,000 points for his career. Three Wildcats have crossed the mark this season and seven players on the roster are now 1,000-point scorers
• The 14 made 3-pointers were the fourth most in program history against an AP Top 10 opponent
• Koby Brea’s seven made 3s were tied for the second most in program history against an AP Top 10 opponent, trailing only Malik Monk’s eight against UNC in 2016
When There’s a Will, There’s an Oweh
Kentucky’s junior guard Otega Oweh is off to a hot start in his first season with the Cats. Oweh is the only player to score in double figures in each of the first 14 games. He is UK’s leading scorer at 15.9 points per game, and leads the team with 22 steals.
• In the home win against No. 6 Florida, Oweh scored 16 points, including 10 during a key 16-0 run in the first half that took Kentuckty from 11 points down to a five-point advantage
• Oweh was stellar down the stretch in Kentucky’s upset of Duke. In the final minute of action, he was 4 of 4 from the line, while generating a game-changing steal and an offensive rebound
• Against Louisville, he scored nine of his 17 points over the final two minutes of action
• He is logging career bests in points per game (15.9), field-goal percentage (.513), free throw percentage (.815) and assists per game (1.6)
• He’s at his best after the break. In first halves of games this season, Oweh is averaging 6.7 points per game on 49.3% shooting, while after halftime he is totaling a team-high 9.0 points per game and shooting at a 53.0% rate. He’s also made 10 of 22 (45.5%) of his 3-point shots in the second frame
• Oweh has multiple steals in seven games
• He has made four or more field goals in every game, and has made at least one 3 pointer in 10 of 14 outings
• In games against opponents either ranked or receiving votes, Oweh is logging 15.3 points, 5.8 rebounds, and 1.25 steals per game
• In a loss to Ohio State, Oweh was a perfect 13 of 13 from the free-throw line. That tied for the fifth-best single-game performance in program history. Four players have gone 14 of 14 from the charity stripe
