The University of Georgia welcomed in the defending NCAA men’s basketball champion Kentucky Wildcats last night as the Bulldogs celebrated senior night. Georgia’s trio of seniors combined for 16 points, but it was sensational sophomore Kentavious Caldwell-Pope that stole the night with 24 points, 10 rebounds and a pair of monstrous dunks to seal a 72-62 Georgia victory. Kentucky entered Stegeman Coliseum needing a win to feel better about its spot on the NCAA tournament bubble, but the Dawgs used a late first-half push to seize control of the game and keep the Wildcats at arm’s length the rest of the contest.
Georgia saw its lead grow to as many as 15 in the second half, though John Calipari’s team did trim the advantage to just three with less than eight minutes to play. Georgia would answer a 7-0 run by Kentucky with a 12-0 run thanks to free throws and easy dunks.
Nemi Djurisic would add 12 points in 32 minutes off the bench while Donte’ Williams was a perfect 8-for-8 from the free throw line with three blocks and eight rebounds to complement his 10 points. In total, nine different Bulldogs scored in the victory.
For Kentucky, Archie Goodwin led the team with 20 points while former Walton Raider Ryan Harrow scored just 11 points and went 4-for-12 from the field. He was one of three Wildcat starters to foul out.
Georgia improved its SEC record to 9-8 and reached .500 on the season at 15-15. The Dawgs will wrap up the regular season at Alabama’s Coleman Coliseum this Saturday. The victory over Kentucky also moved Georgia into a tie for seventh place in the SEC standings with the SEC tournament set to begin next week in Nashville. Even if Georgia falls to Alabama Saturday, the Dawgs would enter the tournament no worse than the No. 9 seed. As it stands right now, Georgia will have a bye on Wednesday.
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