The Georgia men’s basketball team lost its second straight game on Tuesday when it traveled to Lexington, Kentucky, for its second matchup with Kentucky in two weeks. The Bulldogs stuck around with the Wildcats for the majority of the game, but ultimately lost 89-79. 

Georgia crept its way back into the game in the first half despite a slow start and a lackluster first half performance from Anthony Edwards. The Bulldogs went into halftime down six points. In the second half, Edwards settled into the game and Georgia subsequently followed his lead. The Bulldogs remained in contention, but they were unable to find a large enough run to close the gap late in the game.

The loss brings Georgia’s record to 11-7 overall and 1-4 in the SEC ahead of its matchup with Ole Miss on Saturday in Stegeman Coliseum.

Here are some observations from The Red & Black:

Faulty shot selection

Georgia shot 15 3-pointers in the first half against Kentucky, about seven attempts off its game average through 17 games. They only made three of the 15 attempts, and the missed 3-pointers led to long rebounds for Kentucky that initiated easy fast breaks.

Georgia’s transition defense after missed shots continued to be a problem in the second half, leading to plays that got the Kentucky crowd involved. Kentucky finished with 22 fast break points. Defense on the fast break has been a crucial talking point for head coach Tom Crean and his players through the first few months of the season.

The shot selection continued to be unconvincing in the second half, and Georgia finished 27-for-62 from the field and 6-for-25 from behind the arc, good for 43.5% and 24%.

Edwards settling in

Edwards had questionable shot selections in the first half and forced the issue, leading to turnovers and offensive fouls. He went 0-for-5 from the field in the first 20 minutes.

He started to get to his preferred spots in the second half, scoring and creating chances for his teammates. He scored his first basket about two minutes into the second half on a banked mid-range jump shot from just inside the 3-point line. 

With Kentucky double-teaming and defending him in different ways, it was tough for Edwards to get fully involved in the game until a late push gave him a few more buckets. He went on to score 16 points on 7-for-13 shooting from the field.

Kentucky asserting dominance

Kentucky guard Ashton Hagans and center Nick Richards took the game over to start the second half. Hagans relished in a few uncontested attempts that helped him push his point total up to 15 points with about 17 minutes to go. He finished with 23 points, nine assists, five rebounds and four steals.

Richards was a true challenge for Georgia’s forwards. His ability to run the floor, grab offensive boards and affect shots at the rim is something the Bulldogs haven’t faced much this season. Georgia threw double teams at Richards in the second half, but Richards managed to find an open man on multiple occasions. Richards recorded 20 points, eight rebounds and three blocks on Tuesday.

Kentucky’s ancillary players chipped in the paint and on the free-throw line in the second half. The Wildcats finished 26-for-32 from the free-throw line and with a 38-31 rebound advantage. 

Finding silver linings

Despite a second straight loss for Georgia, there were still positive takeaways from Crean’s young team. The Bulldogs were able to get fouled and shoot free throws on Tuesday, hitting 19-for-23. 82.6% from the free-throw line is significantly better than Georgia’s 66.1% average.

Georgia also had solid minutes off the bench from Tye Fagan. The sophomore from Logtown, Georgia, recorded 14 points on a perfect 6-for-6 from the field. His contributions with the second unit will be key if foul trouble continues to hinder Georgia throughout SEC play.

Printed with permission from The Red & Black independent student media organization based in Athens, Georgia; redandblack.com/sports