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Georgia Bulldogs (11-5) at Kentucky Wildcats (13-4)
- Game Time: 7:00 pm EST on Tuesday, January 21st.
- Location: Rupp Arena at Central Bank Center in Lexington, Kentucky.
- TV Channel: Tonight’s game can be viewed on ESPN.
- Announcers: Karl Ravech, Jimmy Dykes and Marty Smith will be on the call.
- Radio: Tom Leach and Mike Pratt will have the UK radio network call on 630 AM, 98.1 FM in Lexington, and on the UK Sports Network.
- Online radio: TuneIn broadcast or UKAthletics.com.
- Live Online Stream: Tonight’s action can be streamed online using WatchESPN.
- Odds: Kentucky is an 11.5-point favorite as of Tuesday afternoon. ESPN BPI gives Kentucky a 85.9% chance of victory. KenPom gives the home team an 81% chance of winning.
- Rosters: UK | UGA
- Tickets
- Live Stats
- Predictions: KenPom projects a 77-67 win for the Cats. numberFire projects a 79-67 win for the Wildcats, while TeamRankings is going with an 80-68 victory for Kentucky.
College basketball is nuts. Top teams are losing at a rate not seen since the AP Poll debuted. And the Kentucky Wildcats have certainly been caught up in that with their losses to Evansville and Utah, and most recently at South Carolina.
However, the Wildcats showed a lot of heart, and hopefully growth, in their big win at Arkansas on Saturday. Down by three with 8:18 remaining and John Calipari having been ejected, Kentucky went on a 17-2 run to seal the victory in Fayetteville.
Nick Richards continues to look like an NBA talent, Immanuel Quickley is playing like the veteran leader this team needs, and even Johnny Juzang and Keion Brooks showed up on Saturday. What the Wildcats really need is to put it all together and play to their potential instead of to their competition.
That would especially serve them well Tuesday against a Georgia Bulldogs team, while struggling, has the firepower to push the Cats in Rupp Arena.
After trailing by six at halftime against the Bulldogs a few weeks ago, Kentucky stormed back in Athens to get a nine-point victory. Since then, Kentucky has had two impressive wins and one horrible loss (South Carolina). Georgia has been the exact opposite, having been blown out by Auburn and Mississippi State with a blowout win at home against Tennessee.
Freshman phenom Anthony Edwards continues to be THE guy for Georgia. He put up 23 in their first matchup with Kentucky and continues to roll, averaging 19.1 points per game this season.
Senior guard Jordan Harris was the only other Bulldog in double digits in the last game with 10 points, and he’s averaging 5.4 for the season.
Junior forward Rayshaun Hammonds, who is nearly averaging a double-double at 13.8 points and 8.2 boards per contest, was held to nine points and four rebounds before fouling out in the first matchup.
Now past the midway point of the regular season, Georgia has been one of the worst shooting teams from deep this season, as their 30.5% three-point percentage currently ranks 286th in college basketball (the Cats aren’t much better at 32.3% but have hit 44.6% over their last four games). The Dawgs hit just 5/23 attempts from deep in Athens vs. the Cats, who hit 6/12 triples.
So it seems obvious that, if Kentucky can somewhat contain Edwards, they should be in good shape to win at home.
This is another great opportunity for Nick Richards to shine, as he scored 17 points in the first match-up on just 11 shots. Tyrese Maxey (17), Immanuel Quickley (15), and Ashton Hagans (13) also contributed in a major way.
Will the Wildcats be able to sweep the Bulldogs for the season? Tune in Tuesday evening on ESPN to find out.