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Reeling Kentucky Wildcats beaten by Georgia, 72-62

Willie Cauley-Stein - photo by AJ Reynolds | The Athens Banner-Herald

– photo by AJ Reynolds | The Athens Banner-Herald

Kentavious Caldwell-Pope scored 24 points and grabbed 10 rebounds, leading to a 72-62 victory Thursday night that dealt another big blow to 's NCAA hopes.  The Wildcats (20-10, 11-6 Southeastern Conference) took a second straight road loss and head into the regular-season finale against No. 11 Florida in desperate need of a quality win to bolster their resume.

After Georgia (15-15, 9-8) pushed out to a double-digit lead, Kentucky ripped off a quick 7-0 spurt capped by 's 3-pointer. That turned out to be the Wildcats' last hurrah.

Nemanja Djurisic got inside for a run-stopping basket, Caldwell-Pope knocked down four straight free throws, and another Kentucky miss sparked a Georgia fast break that was capped by Caldwell-Pope's rim-hanging dunk.

Just like that, the Bulldogs restored a 58-47 lead.

scored 20 points to lead Kentucky, but it was a miserable shooting night for the defending national champions.

On This Day In UK Basketball History

On March 28, 1992, in what many called the “best NCAA Tournament game ever,” Kentucky takes defending NCAA champion Duke into overtime before losing 104-103 in the East Regional finals in Philadelphia. A last-second shot by Christian Laettner sends Duke to the Final Four, and breaks the hearts of Wildcat fans everywhere. It is Cawood Ledford’s last game as the “Voice of the Wildcats.”

 

On March 28, 1998, against Stanford, Kentucky rallied from a 10-point second-half deficit, then grabbed a 5-point overtime lead, before fending off the Cardinals to advance to the title game for the third straight season. Jeff Sheppard canned three long-range three-pointers - two in the final three minutes and one in overtime - en route to a career-high 27 points.

 

On March 28, 2014, unranked Kentucky beat No. 5 Louisville 74-69, in the 2014 NCAA Tournament Sweet 16.  Aaron Harrison buried a three-pointer from the left corner with 39 seconds left that put UK ahead to stay before 41,072 in Lucas Oil Stadium.

 

On March 28, 2015, No. 1 Kentucky defeated No. 8 Notre Dame, 68-66, in the 2015 NCAA Tournament Elite Eight.  With its 37-0 record on the line, Kentucky trailed Notre Dame 59-53 with 6:14 left. UK rallied in front of 19,464 fans in Cleveland’s Quicken Loans Arena and preserved its perfect season thanks to a crucial blocked shot by Willie Cauley-Stein and two game-deciding free throws from Andrew Harrison in the final seconds.

 

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