Notes From Kentucky's Win Over Georgia

Men’s Basketball Postgame Notes

Kentucky vs. Georgia – Southeastern Conference Tournament quarterfinals

March 10, 2017, Bridgestone Arena, Nashville, Tenn.
Attendance: TBA

Final Score: No. 8/8 Kentucky 71, Georgia 60

Team Records and Series Notes:

• Kentucky has won nine in a row – its longest winning streak of the season -- and is 27-5 overall. 
• Georgia is 19-14 overall.
• Kentucky leads the series 124-26 and has won nine in a row vs. the Bulldogs.  
• Earlier this season, UK defeated Georgia 90-81 (OT) in Lexington and 82-77 in Athens.
• UK leads Georgia 11-1 in SEC Tournament games.
• Next for the Wildcats: on Saturday at 1 p.m. EST (noon EST in Nashville), UK takes on the winner of the Alabama-South Carolina game.   
• This season vs. Alabama: on Feb. 11, UK won 67-58 in Tuscaloosa.
• This season vs. South Carolina: on Jan. 21, UK won 85-69 in Lexington.

In the First Half:

• Kentucky’s starting lineup featured De’Aaron Fox, Bam Adebayo, Malik Monk, Isaiah Briscoe and Derek Willis.
• Kentucky improved to 6-0 with this lineup.
• After coming off the bench the previous seven games, Willis has started three in a row.
• Adebayo is the only Wildcat to have started all 32 games of the season this year.
• Tied at 2, Kentucky grabbed the lead with an 8-0 run and led the rest of the game. 
• The spurt began with a 3-pointer by Willis, extending UK’s streak of 1,007 games with at least one successful long ball.
• UK eventually stretched the lead to 13 on two occasions. With the Wildcats ahead 27-14, but three starters on the bench because of foul trouble, Georgia closed the half on an 11-5 run to make it 32-25 at intermission.

In the Second Half:

• Kentucky got the first six points of the second half, matching its then-biggest lead at 38-25, and UK led by double digits the rest of the way.
• The Wildcats gradually pulled away thanks primarily to a strong defensive effort. In the first eight minutes of the second half, Georgia was only 1-7 from the field, had four turnovers and five total points. 
• With UK ahead 50-32 midway through the second half, Georgia’s shooting eye sharpened. The Bulldogs pulled within 10 points on multiple occasions in the last two minutes, but got no closer.

Team Notes:

• Kentucky held Georgia to 60 points.
• UK is 18-0 this season when limiting the opponent to 72 or fewer points.
• UK is 144-5 under Coach John Calipari when keeping the opponent to 63 or fewer points.
• Georgia shot 33.3 percent from the field. UK is 16-0 this season when limiting the opponent to less than 43 percent.
• The rebounding was tied today at 42 each. Kentucky won or tied the rebounding battle for the ninth straight game – coinciding with the nine-game win streak.  
• UK has outrebounded opponents by 8.4 boards per game during the current nine-game win streak.
• Kentucky had fewer turnovers than Georgia, 13-10, but UK capitalized 18-2 in points off turnovers. 
• UK had 20-20 vision on offense, as Briscoe and Fox each tallied 20 points. 
• The last time that happened was Feb. 7, when Briscoe and Wenyen Gabriel had 23 each vs. LSU.
• Calipari has a 689-192 (.782) on-court record, including a 244-52 (.824) mark at UK.
• UK is now 211-4 (.981) under Calipari in games leading by at least 10 points. 

In the SEC Tournament:

• UK is 128-25 (.837) all-time in the SEC Tournament, including 42-12 (.778) in the quarterfinals.
• UK is 11-1 vs. Georgia in the tourney.
• Looking ahead to Saturday, Kentucky is 40-2 (.952) in SEC Tournament semifinal games.

Player Notes:  

• Freshman Bam Adebayo had 13 points and 10 rebounds, his sixth double-double of the year.
• He is averaging 10.6 rebounds over the last seven games.
• Freshman De’Aaron Fox had 20 points, his eighth 20-point game of the season, but his first since Jan. 17 vs. Mississippi State. He also paced the Wildcats today with four assists.
• Sophomore Isaiah Briscoe had 20 points and once again stalked the backboards with six rebounds.  
• It is his sixth 20-point game of the season and his first since a 23-point effort vs. Georgia on Jan. 31.
• He has averaged 7.3 rebounds over the last 13 games.
• Senior Derek Willis didn’t have a big scoring night with seven points, but he led the Wildcats in rebounding with 11 and he also had a season-high four blocked shots.
• After not blocking a shot for eight straight games, Willis has totaled 10 rejections over the last three games. 
• Senior Dominique Hawkins had five points, all coming on free throws. He displayed a dogged defensive effort during his 23 minutes and came up with a pair of steals.