Georgia out -Foxed Kentucky 77-70

 

Kentucky's lack of a true presence in the middle showed it's ugly head today, as Georgia pounded the ball inside to come away with a victory against our Wildcats. Trey Tompkins came up with 25 points and 7 rebounds to lead the Georgia Bulldogs attack against our beloved Wildcats.  His performance reminded me of Tyler Zellar's performance earlier in the season, another loss by Kentucky.

Josh Harrellson came into this game with much hype surrounding him. While he did manage to pull down 11 rebounds, Josh Harrellson only scraped in 4 points. On the other end of the court is where the concern was spotted out big time.  Harrellson just does not have the ability at this point to stop an aggressive and talented big man.

 

Where was Brandon Knight? Knight pulled down 5 rebounds and added 10 points.  The stat for him that jumps out to me is on the free throw line.  Brandon Knight only made it to the charity stripe 1 time, going 0-1 during the game.  That means he was not being as aggressive going to the basket as he normally is.

Terrance Jones got in foul trouble early.  His performance was very reminiscent of the UNC game.  He seemed very frustrated to me.  Terrance Jones did end up with a double double, with 24 points and 10 rebounds.  I would like to have seen his stats if he didn't get into that foul trouble.

John Calipari has some work to do, if Kentucky wants to be the leader of the SEC this season.  The problem is in the middle.  If we can find a way to defend and slow down teams with big time inside presence, then you will see a Kentucky team who will legitimately make a run for the final four. If I was a betting man, I would put money on it that John Calipari will find away.  I have complete faith in this coaching staff and these players to make a turnaround.  This is only 1 loss, and a very useful learning experience.