Georgia @ Kentucky preview

Last Meeting ( Jan 7, 2020 ) Kentucky 78, Georgia 69

No. 14 Kentucky survived a rough test at Arkansas on Saturday and the ejection of coach John Calipari, earning a hard-fought victory to give the Wildcats a boost heading into Tuesday’s home contest against Georgia. Kentucky already had lost Wednesday at South Carolina and were down three with 8:19 left after Calipari was tossed for arguing with officials, but the Wildcats responded with a 17-2 run sparked by freshman guard Tyrese Maxey and junior forward Nick Richards.

Maxey scored five points during the run – including a three-point play – and Richards, who led Kentucky with 17 points, hit four consecutive free throws to send the Wildcats to a 73-66 victory. “You may get a bad whistle, you may not,” Kentucky assistant coach Kenny Payne told the media postgame. “The team may play hot, they may play out of their minds. You've got to find a way to get a win.” The Bulldogs were unable to build off an impressive victory over Tennessee on Wednesday, falling for the third time in four SEC games with an ugly 91-59 loss at Mississippi State in which Georgia allowed 61.7 percent shooting from the field. “This comes down to a competitive thing,” Georgia coach Tom Crean told reporters afterward. “I’ve said this before, players play to play, tough people compete to win and win championships.”

TIME: 7 p.m. ET. TV: ESPN

ABOUT GEORGIA (11-6, 1-3 SEC): Freshman guard Anthony Edwards is second in the SEC in scoring at 19.1 points and is tops in the nation among all freshmen, scoring a team-best 19 points despite shooting 1-for-8 from 3-point range Saturday. Junior forward/center Rayshaun Hammonds is second on the team in scoring at 13.8 points and leads Georgia in rebounding at 8.2, and has posted four double-doubles and four games of 20-plus points. Freshman guard Sahvir Wheeler averages 4.7 assists but recorded only one assist in 21 minutes Saturday.

ABOUT KENTUCKY (13-4, 4-1 SEC): Richards registered nine rebounds Saturday and narrowly missed his fourth double-double in his past six games, and in that span is averaging 16 points and 9.3 rebounds on 67.3 percent shooting in that span. Maxey and sophomore guard Immanuel Quickley share the team lead in scoring at 13.7 points, Maxey finishing with 11 points Saturday and Quickley added 13 points and 10 rebounds. Sophomore guard Ashton Hagans leads the SEC in assists per game and ranks ninth nationally at 7.2.

BUZZER BEATERS

1. Georgia has been held to less than 40 percent shooting from the field four times in the past nine games after shooting 39.3 percent from the field Saturday.

2. The Wildcats outrebounded Arkansas 47-29 and outscored the Razorbacks 32-22 in the paint.

3. Hagans scored 13 points with five assists and four steals as Kentucky rallied from a six-point halftime deficit to beat the Bulldogs 78-69 in Athens on Jan. 7, as Edwards led Georgia with 23 points.

PREDICTION: Kentucky 83, Georgia 67