LEXINGTON, Ky. -- After scuffling through a disappointing first-half performance against heavy underdog Georgia, No. 16 Kentucky eventually found its rhythm and posted some memorable performances in a 92-77 win on Saturday at Rupp Arena.
Junior center/forward Oscar Tshiebwe scored a career-high 29 points and pulled down 17 rebounds to record his 11th double-double of the season, while freshman guard TyTy Washington -- filling in for an injured Sahvir Wheeler at the point -- broke the Wildcats' single game assist record previously held by John Wall as part of a 17-point, 17-assist night.
“It excites me," Washington said of breaking a record held by a UK legend. "I mean, it’s John Wall. I watched him play. I watched a bunch of his highlights at Kentucky. I watched him in the NBA a lot. Just for me to go out there and break the record is exciting because a lot of other great point guards came here as well."
"TyTy played really well," UK head coach John Calipari said. "We can do just like we've done with Jamal (Murray), just like we've done with Brandon Knight, and just like we did with Tyrese Maxey.
"... He is a play-making guard. Whether he is bringing it up or whether he is away from the ball, he is still a play-making guard who can shoot. Was that a quiet 17 he had? How many shots did he take to get 17? Thirteen shots, and he gets 17 points. Come on."
Washington was 8-of-13 from the field and had just two turnovers in 36 wildly efficient minutes of action.
Grad senior guard Davion Mintz also had a big game for Kentucky (12-3, 2-1 SEC), breaking out of a season-long shooting slump to knock down five of seven from beyond the arc en route to a season-high 19 points.
"Man. Finally, right?" Mintz said. "It felt amazing. It had to pay off, I have been working my tail off every day, every night, getting extra shots. Just working tirelessly. It can’t rain forever - the sun has to come out eventually, so I was happy to see that.”
"Davion was outstanding," Calipari said. "And I know you're saying, well, he made shots. No, he defended. He came up with balls. He tried to take charges. He flew... I told him he was outstanding."
Georgia (5-10, 0-2 SEC) hung within 40-37 at the half thanks to 52% shooting from the field but Tom Crean's squad gradually wore down over the final 20 minutes of play.
“The first five to eight minutes of the second half is just as important as any part of the game," Crean said. "When we look at when our results have been bad, it’s always this three or four-minute stretch in the game that gets us and we’ve got to be able to overcome it."
The Cats, who shot 62.9% in the second half, led by as many as 22 points down the stretch.
Kario Oquendo led the Bulldogs with 22 points, while Aaron Cook added 17.
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In this "Rapid Recap" feature, we touch on some quick-hitters from the UK victory...
KEY MOMENT:
Kentucky closed the first half with four straight points and opened the second half with the first four points to grab its first significant lead of the game. A 12-3 run, ending with a Mintz 3-pointer from the right corner, gave the Cats their first double-figure lead of the day at 57-45 with 15:28 remaining.
GAME BALL:
TyTy Washington, Kentucky -- This one could have gone to either Oscar Tshiebwe or Washington today, but when you break a UK record previously held by John Wall, that is the tiebreaker. It's the seventh-most assists ever by a player in an SEC game. The Arizona native joined elite company that includes Wall, Travis Ford, Dirk Minniefield, Dicky Beal, Tyler Ulis, and Sahvir Wheeler as the only Cats to ever record 14 or more assists in a game.
BY THE NUMBERS:
1st - Kentucky player, Oscar Tshiebwe, with at least 29 points and at least 17 rebounds in a game since Jamal Mashburn totaled 38 points and 19 boards vs. Eastern Kentucky on Dec. 8, 1992.
4th - 90-plus scoring game of the season for Kentucky. It's the first time the Cats have had four 90-plus games in a season since 2017-18.
10 - Game win streak by UK over UGA at Rupp Arena.
12 - Each victory for the Cats this season has been by double-figures.
+20 - Kentucky's Davion Mintz led the way in the +/- column.
57.1% - Field goal percentage by UK, the seventh time this season the Cats have been over the 50 mark.
QUOTABLE:
"I would say that that’s the best their team has looked because the ball really moved and you’ve got to guard all three guys. You’ve got to guard (Davion) Mintz, you’ve got to guard TyTy Washington and certainly we put a lot of tension on (Kellan) Grady. So, there’s no one in there that you can really back off of. They got down the court and they made some buckets and we just couldn’t get enough stops to overcome it.” -- UGA coach Tom Crean on the Wildcats.
UP NEXT:
Kentucky goes back on the road Tuesday to play Vanderbilt. The game will tip at 7 p.m. ET on the SEC Network. The Commodores (9-5, 1-1 SEC) lost 72-70 on Saturday in Nashville against South Carolina.
