Kentucky basketball is navigating some challenging waters under Coach Mark Pope. The Wildcats' recent 86-78 defeat to Georgia is one for the record books, tying their worst loss to Georgia outside Athens. The last time Kentucky faced such a setback was back in 2004, when they fell 65-57 at Rupp Arena.
Corey Price, Kentucky's go-to stats expert, had a slew of concerning figures to share following this unexpected loss to a Georgia team that had dropped five of its last six SEC matchups before Tuesday night.
Consider this: Kentucky has allowed Georgia to score at least 82 points in their last three encounters over as many seasons. Compare that to just three instances of allowing 82 points in the previous 29 seasons combined. That's a defensive trend that raises eyebrows.
Moreover, this game marked only the second occasion since the 2004-2005 season where Kentucky lost at Rupp Arena despite a player hitting at least six 3-pointers, as Collin Chandler did. The other instance? Rob Dillingham’s six 3-pointers against Tennessee in 2024.
Adding to the woes, Georgia handed Kentucky its 15th loss in the past three seasons when the Wildcats scored at least 78 points. For perspective, Kentucky experienced 14 such losses over the prior 15 seasons.
In the Mark Pope era, this is just the second time Kentucky lost after making at least 12 3-pointers, the first being against Louisville last November.
Georgia's victory at Rupp Arena is their first since March 4, 2009, a significant milestone considering it was just weeks before Kentucky parted ways with coach Billy Gillespie. Impressively, Georgia has now won three of their last four games against Kentucky, a feat last achieved a century ago.
Coach Pope's tenure at Rupp Arena has been rocky, with six losses and the potential for more as Vanderbilt and Florida are set to visit Lexington. Last season saw Alabama, Arkansas, and Auburn all claim victories at Rupp, and this season, North Carolina, Missouri, and now Georgia have followed suit.
Historically, former Kentucky coaches John Calipari, Tubby Smith, and Eddie Sutton also endured two-year spans with five or more SEC home losses, a dubious distinction that Gillespie avoided.
This defeat shifts Kentucky from a "lock" for the NCAA Tournament to a more precarious "should be in" status, as per Neil Paine's latest projections. Five SEC teams-Florida, Vanderbilt, Arkansas, Alabama, and Tennessee-are considered locks, and Kentucky faces two of them before the regular season concludes.
KenPom's projections aren't particularly rosy, forecasting Kentucky to win just one of its final five games, a Quad 2 matchup at South Carolina. If that prediction holds, the Wildcats would enter the SEC Tournament with an 18-13 overall record and a 9-9 conference tally, placing them squarely on the NCAA Tournament bubble after another tough home SEC loss.