The Georgia men’s basketball team will travel to Lexington to take on the 15th ranked Kentucky Wildcats on Sunday at 6:00 p.m. ET to open Southeastern Conference play. The game will be televised on ESPN.

 

Georgia Men’s Basketball Game Notes

Georgia (9-2) vs. No. 16/15 Kentucky (10-2)
Sunday, December 31 at 6:00 p.m. ET
Rupp Arena (23,500) in Lexington, Ky.

RADIO:

Georgia Bulldog Sports Network.
Station: WSB AM 750 Atlanta
(Scott Howard, play-by-play; Chuck Dowdle, analyst; Tony Schiavone, Producer)
CLICK HERE to listen to free audio stream at Georgiadogs.com.

TV & LIVE STREAM:

Televised on: ESPN
(Kevin Brown, play-by-play; Sean Farnham, analyst)
CLICK HERE to watch via livestream on Watch ESPN.

Live Stats:

CLICK HERE to follow live stats online.

 

The Georgia Bulldogs will end the 2017 portion of their schedule and begin their SEC slate with a New Year’s Eve matchup with No. 16 Kentucky at Rupp Arena on Sunday.

 

Georgia is 9-2 on the year, which equals the Bulldogs’ 2010-11 NCAA Tournament team for the best 11-game start during Mark Fox’s tenure. The Bulldogs’ win tally includes victories against a trio of 2017 NCAA Tournament teams – No. 21 Saint Mary’s on Nov. 26, Marquette on Dec. 2 and Winthrop on Dec. 4 – and a decisive decisions over Georgia Tech and Temple just prior to the holiday break.

 

Yante Maten, a National Player of the Year candidate, preseason SEC Player of the Year honoree and reigning SEC Player of the Week, leads Georgia with averages of 20.2 points and 9.3 rebounds per game. Those efforts ranks second and first, respectively, among league leaders.

 

Maten has been a picture of consistency for the Bulldogs since the beginning of his sophomore year. Over the 74 games during that span, Maten has produced 67 double-digit scoring performances, with 28 20-point and five 30-point outings and 20 double-doubles.

 

In Georgia’s three outings since an 11-day break for Final Exams, Maten is averaging 24.7 points.

 

Turtle Jackson provides a second a double-figure scoring average at 12.1 ppg. Jackson entered the season with two double-digit productions in 66 games but has scored 10-plus points in nine of Georgia’s first 11 outings. He also upped his career high four times in the first five games, from 10 points entering the season to 11 to 13 to 15 to 17 points against San Diego State.

 

Kentucky arrives at league play with a 10-2 record, most recently besting Louisville.

 

Hamidou Diallo tops a quintet of double-digit scoring averages for the Wildcats at 15.3 points per game. Nick Richards in collecting a team-high 6.5 rebounds per game, and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander leads UK in both assists (4.2 apg) and steals (2.3 spg).
 

Series History: UGA vs. Kentucky

 
Kentucky leads the all-time series with Georgia 124-26, including a 60-5 edge here in Lexington.

 

The last meeting came in the quarterfinals of the 2017 SEC Tournament when Kentucky topped the Bulldogs, 71-60.

 

J.J. Frazier and Yante Maten led the Bulldogs with 15 and 12 points, respectively. Derek Ogbeide matched his career-high rebounding mark with 15 boards.

 

The Wildcats started the game making three of their first four shots, including two 3-pointers, to build an early 10-2 advantage.

 

Kentucky led by as many as 13 points in the first half, but Georgia cut into the deficit with an 8-1 run. Isaiah Briscoe hit a jumper in the closing seconds of the half to send the Wildcats into the intermission up 32-25.

 

Kentucky opened the second half much like the first, with six straight points to extend its lead to 13. Georgia got as close as 10 with two minutes remaining, but the Wildcats continued to match the Bulldogs bucket for bucket.

 

In a second meeting last Jan. 31 at Rupp Arena, Georgia took No. 8 Kentucky to the wire but ultimately fell 90-81 in overtime.

 

Frazier and Maten led the Bulldogs’ attack with 23 and 22 points, respectively. Ogbeide notched his second career double-double with a career-high 18 points and 13 rebounds.

 

Malik Monk poured in 37 points for UK, 31 of them in the second half and overtime.

 

In the first half, Georgia jumped on the Wildcats quickly as the Bulldogs scored the game’s first 12 points and connected on their first six field goal attempts. However, Kentucky erased the gap to tie the game at 29-29 at halftime.

 

The Wildcats obtained their first lead early in the second half and built that to as high as eight on several occasions, but Georgia kept fighting back.

 

Frazier eventually tied game at 70-70 with a layup. With 1:46 left in regulation, Georgia grabbed a 73-71 advantage on a Jordan Harris 3-pointer.

 

A jumper by Monk with eight seconds remaining sent the game into overtime.

 

The Wildcats started extra time with a layup and a three, which paced them in outscoring the Bulldogs 14-5 in OT.
 

Full Game Notes for Georgia vs. Kentucky

 
CLICK HERE for the full Georgia vs. Kentucky men’s basketball game notes.