Big Blue Preview: Kentucky vs. Georgia
On Saturday, Kentucky found itself on the short end of the score against Florida. Part of the reason was because the Gators outrebounded the Cats 45-37, including a 25-17 advantage in the second half.
As UK prepares for Tuesday’s game against Georgia at Rupp Arena (9 p.m. ET, ESPN), there are a couple of points of emphasis for the Cats. According to junior forward Mo Dioubate, rebounding is at the top of the list.
“That’s been a big emphasis,” Dioubate said. “(Georgia) is a good rebounding team, one of the top (in the conference). We’ve got to be more aggressive with that.”
The other point of emphasis leading up to Tuesday’s game against the Bulldogs is transition defense. Georgia is third in the league in scoring, averaging 90.3 points per game. The Bulldogs have scored at least 100 points seven times this season and have scored at least 120 twice. Dioubate knows the Cats will need to get back on defense.
“Transition defense, that’s a big emphasis as well,” he said.
Dioubate has embraced his role on this team, coming off the bench and energizing his team.
“I’m just trying to do what my team expects from me,” Dioubate said. “Just bringing the energy, be the energy guy. I’ve been in this position before, so I know what it feels like to come off the benchd and try to change the game. So that’s just what I try to do when I get in the game. Just try to help my teammates out as much as I can.”
With the regular season winding down, Dioubate knows that the Cats must continue to get better and continue to show the desire that it takes to win in March.
“You’ve got to stay hungry,” he said. “We lost our first two SEC games and that feeling we had that we’ve got to turn it around, we’ve just got to stay with that mentality.”
Kentucky will have a chance to show that passion, and to make some adjustments, against Georgia on Tuesday night.
Know Your Opponent: Georgia
Kentucky hosts Georgia for a late tip on Tuesday.
• Kentucky leads the all-time series, 132-29, and is 31-4 in Lexington
• The Bulldogs earned an 82-69 victory in Athens in the teams’ lone meeting a season ago. Lamont Butler had 20 points and four steals in the loss
• Melvin Turpin owns the UK single-game scoring record in the series with 42 points on March 8, 1984, while Oscar Tshiebwe’s 24 rebounds on Jan. 17, 2023 is the most in the series’ history
• The Bulldogs are 17-8 overall and 5-7 in league play
• Jeremiah Wilkinson leads one of the nation’s best offenses at 17.1 points per game. As a team, Georgia averages 90.3 points per game and is shooting 46.6% from the floor, 31.7% from distance and 74.7% from the line
• Georgia has four players who have drained 34 or more 3s on the season, paced by 52 from Wilkinson
Last Time Out
Kentucky never stopped fighting, but first half turnovers and another double-digit deficit was too much to overcome on the road at No. 14 Florida in a 92-83 setback:
• Kentucky made 45 percent of their 3-pointers today, 9 of 20. UK was 8-0 in games in which the Wildcats made at least 40 percent from long range
• Kentucky is 5-7 this season when trailing at halftime
• Making his return to Gainesville, Denzel Aberdeen led the Wildcats with 19 points and four assists. It was his 17th double-figure game of the season and eighth in the last 10 games
• Otega Oweh scored 13 points. He has scored in double figures in all 25 games this season. He has a total streak of 28 games dating back to last season, the longest such streak of his career. At the 6:05 mark of the first half, Oweh’s layup gave him 1,001 points at Kentucky. He is the 63rd player in school history to reach 1,000 points but only the fifth transfer player to do so. He now has 1,008 points as a Wildcat
• Despite playing only 21 minutes because of foul trouble, Malachi Moreno collected 11 points and a career-high-tying 11 rebounds. It is his third double-double of the season, first against an SEC opponent. He is the first Wildcat freshman with a double-double in a true road game vs. an Associated Press top-15 opponent since Julius Randle at No. 1 Florida on March 8, 2014
• Collin Chandler had a career day in three categories today.
• For the third time this season, he had a career-best 18 points, all coming in the last seven games. He made a career-best five 3-pointers It was his 15th game this season – including eight of the last nine – with multiple made 3s, going 5 of 7 from distance today. He tied his career high for steals with three thefts
