Kentucky made a lot of 'uncharacteristic' plays in loss at Georgia

The Wildcats looked out of sorts in their upset loss.

Jan 7, 2025; Athens, Georgia, USA; Kentucky Wildcats guard Lamont Butler (1) dribbles against the Georgia Bulldogs during the second half at Stegeman Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-Imagn Images / Dale Zanine-Imagn Images

The Kentucky Wildcats had an ugly showing after defeating then-No. 6 Florida in Rupp Arena last Saturday, as they went to Georgia on Tuesday and were upset in a game they did not have control for most of. Aside from the first few minutes, Georgia was able to control the pace of play, slow down Kentucky's offense, and make it a physical battle.

Georgia got to the rim at will, as Kentucky had no answer for them getting to the free throw line. Not only that, but the Bulldogs threw different looks at Kentucky's offense to get them out of sorts, slowing them down and running them off the three-point line. There were many issues for the Wildcats from the game, and one of them was rebounding. This Kentucky team seems to struggle with physicality, and the SEC is going to have a lot of it, so they need to be ready. They were not on Tuesday, and Mark Pope talked about their struggles rebounding.

"It's back-to-back game where we gave up 15 offensive rebounds. ...That's a bell we gotta ring. It's unacceptable for us, and it's a sign of, ...it's a sign of distraction. There were so many uncharacteristic plays on the court tonight. For us as a deciding team, as a decision-making team, those are manifestation of some distraction. Us rooting that out, and getting better at focusing on the moment and exactly what's happening is a space where -- part of it is building habits, so we're working on that really hard. Sometimes when you start on a project, you take ten steps backwards before you make progress, and it feels like that's what we've done. It's almost like the more we talk about it, the more we drill it, the more of a challenge it is. That's a nuance conversation among the staff that we have to figure out, but clearly that's a major, major issue for us, is the glass."

- Pope on rebounding struggles.

It has been noted before, but the difference in rebounding between the offensive and defensive side of the ball for Krntucky is mind-boggling, with just how much better they are on the defensive end. The Wildcats are going to work on this aa they get deeper into conference play, because it doesn't get any easier. They're going to have to embrace the physicality, especially with No. 14 Mississippi State awaiting in Starkville on Saturday.