Kentucky Basketball flattened by Georgia Bulldogs: Final score, 3 takeaways and more

The Kentucky Wildcats were directed by Georgia Bulldogs Tuesday night in Athens by a score of 82-69.

The Cats got off to a terrible start. The officiating was poor. The offense was worse. And the defense was the worst. Kentucky just couldn’t get anything going on either side of the ball. It was an abysmal showing all around as the Dawgs led 47-34 going into the half.

After the break, the Cats battled back, but every time they cut into the lead, Georgia responded. To put it nicely, it was a flat-out embarrassing performance. Not only did Kentucky lose, but they were once again outplayed by a bad team.

First it was Clemson. So it was Ohio State. And now this?

Mark Pope’s staff is good, but they’re not great, and it’s going to be a long season if Kentucky can’t find a way to win on the road.

Next, the Cats travel to Starkville to take on a top-15 Mississippi State Bulldogs squad on Saturday night.

Here are three things to know from loss no. 3 for Cats.

The butler continues to serve it

Lamont Butler has been Kentucky’s best player to this point of the season. He has been consistent. He runs the offense. He can pass, defend and has learned to score it.

Butler is exactly what you look for in a veteran point guard. This game was no different as Butler was by far Kentucky’s best player. He did it all when no one else bothered to show up.

I’d say Otega Oweh is in the conversation for Kentucky’s best/most reliable player. It’s really debatable, but Oweh’s defense hasn’t been quite as locked down as Butler’s, and Butler runs the show. This game was ugly, but Butler remains a bright spot.

Defense is beyond a significant problem

The Cats are an excellent offensive team. We have learned so far in the season that they struggle with physical conditions. The defense has also been a big question mark and there were no answers in this.

It’s hard to be critical of this team because I think they’ve exceeded all of our expectations, but this is Kentucky and it doesn’t stop with a first-year head coach or 12 new players. Defense is a problem, and it’s a problem that has persisted throughout Mark Pope’s coaching career.

The offense is fun. The roster structure is tempting. But the defense is bad and there are no signs of it getting better. The problem with this team is that when the shots aren’t falling, the Cats have absolutely no chance. It happened against Clemson. It happened again with Ohio State.

And here we are again.

Garrison provides big minutes – Robinson does not

Brandon Garrison was probably Kentucky’s second best player in this game. He delivered so much, including offense, defense, rebounds and simply a will to win.

The other big man is not perfect. He makes some dumb plays and even dumber decisions, but there’s never a question about his hustle and fight. With Amari Williams struggling with foul trouble, Garrison provided a massive spark in a big role.

On the flip side, Jaxson Robinson was a no-show and it’s starting to become a habit. There’s no denying Robinson’s talent, but the frequency with which he just doesn’t perform is quite concerning.

At times, Robinson powers up shot after shot. Sometimes he makes them. Sometimes he doesn’t, but he’s aggressive and does a good job of creating space. At other times, Robinson just floats and does nothing.

In this one, Kentucky got Robinson, who was there physically but not mentally. Pope may see him as a leader, but he may be the only one at this point.