When Kentucky went on the road against Georgia there was a lot of anticipation about that matchup with Tom Crean, Anthony Edwards, and an exciting Bulldog team.
UGA's return trip to Lexington feels a little different with the Bulldogs 1-3 in SEC play taking on a UK team that only has one blemish on its conference mark.
Jeff Drummond: I really don't know what to make of Georgia right now. The Bulldogs played fairly well when UK visited Athens two weeks ago, but since that nine-point game they have lost conference games by 22 (Auburn) and 32 (Mississippi State). MSU shot 62% against Tom Crean's club, which doesn't seem too interested in participating on the defensive end of the floor. That bodes well for UK in this rematch, although Anthony Edwards could have another big scoring performance against the Cats. I think they'll treat this a little bit like Rupp used to do with Pistol Pete: let him get his and focus on shutting down the rest of the Dawgs. Give me Kentucky 84, Georgia 69.
David Sisk: I’m interested to see if there is any hangover from an emotional win in Fayetteville on Saturday. Kentucky fans should hope it could it be a kick start for a late January run. In Georgia’s last two road games they lost 82-60 to Auburn and 91-59 to Mississippi State. In those games they shot just 38.7% and 21.6% from deep. Defensively they gave up 53% shooting and have been out-rebounded 81-55. This is a Georgia team that has to play defense, but they appear to have given up on that side of the ball in road games. They just don’t have the guns around Anthony Edwards and Rayshaun Hammonds to give up a lot of points. If Kentucky is focused I think they win comfortably. Kentucky 80, Georgia 66.
Justin Rowland: Georgia has not been a good team in SEC play. The offense has taken a big step back and defensively they are giving up too many points. For the season they are 1-3 in road games, losing by 20 points at Arizona State, 22 points at Auburn, and 32 points at Mississippi State. Its only road win came at Memphis, 65-62, and that appears to be the outlier. Anthony Edwards is getting his numbers but he's not getting a lot of help. UGA is simply not good enough to win in Rupp Arena. Based on most of UGA's track record in road games, this could very well be a blowout in UK's favor. Kentucky 83, UGA 58.
Travis Graf: I find it hard to believe that Georgia puts themselves in the same or better position to win than they did during the first half of their previous matchup with the ‘Cats. I feel like the Dawgs gave their absolute best shot down in Athens. I think Kentucky will have numerous opportunities to get out and run in transition, and if that’s the case, things could get ugly. Kentucky is just the better basketball team, despite Georgia having the best player on the court. The only way I can see this game going sideways for Kentucky is if they treat it like an AAU setting whenever they see Edwards consistently attacking in iso looks. This is the first game where Kentucky doesn’t play to their competition, and dominates for a full game. Kentucky 80, Georgia 62.
