#1 Kentucky Wildcats at Georgia Bulldogs
Stegeman Coliseum – Athens, Georgia
Tuesday, January 24, 2012, 9:00 pm Eastern, TV: ESPN
Opening Line: Kentucky -12 1/2
Current Line: Kentucky -12 1/2
Opening Total: 132
Current Total: 131
Opening Money Line: Kentucky -850 / Georgia +650
Current Money Line: Kentucky -850 / Georgia +650
After Syracuse lost for the first time Saturday, Kentucky rose to #1 in both polls. The Wildcats are 19-1 overall, and 5-0 in the SEC. Kentucky takes on the 10-9 Georgia Bulldogs who are 1-4 in conference, Tuesday night in Athens. The Wildcats lead Vanderbilt by a game in the conference race, and Georgia is a half game ahead of South Carolina for last place in the SEC. Kentucky has won 11 straight games including a 77-71 victory at home Saturday versus Alabama. Georgia lost at home to Ole Miss Saturday 66-63. Kentucky leads the series 113-25 against Georgia including 39-16 in Athens. Kentucky has won 12 of the last 16 against the Bulldogs, but 13 of the last 18 games in the series have been decided by 10 points or less. The teams split the season series last year with each winning on their own home court.
Kentucky is coached by John Calipari. The only loss for the Wildcats came at Indiana. Kentucky has wins over Kansas, Penn St, Old Dominion, St. John’s, North Carolina, Louisville, South Carolina, Auburn, Tennessee, and Arkansas in addition to the Alabama win.
Georgia is coached by Mark Fox. The Bulldogs have losses to Cal, Xavier, Colorado, Cincinnati, Georgia Tech, Alabama, Florida, and Vanderbilt in addition to the Ole Miss loss. Georgia has wins over Wofford, Bowling Green, South Dakota St, Notre Dame, USC, Winthrop, and Tennessee.
Kentucky is outscoring opponents 80-60 this season. The Wildcats are shooting 48.5% from the field and 36.6% from 3 point range. Kentucky is in the top 20 nationally in scoring and field goal percentage. The Wildcats make 71.5% from the free throw line. Kentucky is 11th nationally in rebounding with 40.1 boards a game, with a rebounding margin of +7.3. The Wildcats average 13.4 assists, 13 turnovers, 7 steals, and 9.3 blocks a game. Kentucky opponents are shooting 36.3% from the field and 31.1% from 3 point range. The Wildcats are second nationally in opponents’ field goal percentage. Kentucky forces 14 turnovers a game.
Kentucky has 5 players averaging double digits in scoring. Guard Doron Lamb averages 14 points, 3.5 rebounds, and 2.2 assists a game. He is shooting 46.8% from 3 point range. Freshman forward sensation Anthony Davis averages 13.7 points, 10.3 rebounds, 1.6 steals, and 4.7 blocks a game. He leads the Wildcats in rebounds, steals, and blocks. Michael Kidd-Gilchrist averages 13.2 points, 7.5 rebounds, 2.1 assists, 1.3 steals, and 1.2 blocks a game. Terrence Jones averages 11.9 points, 6.3 rebounds, 1.2 assists, 1.2 steals, and 1.9 blocks a game. Marquis Teague averages 10.5 points, 2.5 rebounds, 4.3 assists to lead the team, and 1.2 steals a game. Darius Miller averages 9.9 points, 3.3 rebounds, and 2.4 assists a game. Guards Jon Hood and Sam Malone are both out indefinitely with knee injuries.
Georgia is being outscored 63-62 this season. The Bulldogs are shooting 39.9% from the field including 31.9% from 3 point range. Georgia makes 69.1% of their free throws. The Bulldogs average 33 rebounds a game with a rebounding margin of -2.4. Georgia averages 11.3 assists, 11.1 turnovers, 6.3 steals, and 3.8 blocks a game. Bulldog opponents are shooting 42.5% from the field, and 32.1% from 3 point range. Georgia forces 12.1 turnovers a game.
Georgia guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope averages 14.7 points, 5.1 rebounds, 1.1 assists, and 1.8 steals a game. He leads the Bulldogs in scoring and steals. Gerald Robinson averages 13.8 points, 3.5 rebounds, 3.6 assists a game to lead the team, and 1.2 steals a game. Dustin Ware averages 7.7 points, 2.2 rebounds, and 2.1 assists a game. Donte Williams averages 7.7 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 1.4 blocks a game to lead the team. Marcus Thornton averages 5.2 rebounds a game but is out indefinitely with a knee injury.
Georgia is 7-8 against the spread and the total is 6-9 this season. Kentucky is an unimpressive 4-14-1 ATS and the total is 7-11-1 this season. The road team is 8-1 ATS in this series recently, and 4 of the last 5 have gone over the total. The Wildcats are 3-7 ATS in Tuesday games, 5-15-1 as a favorite and overall, 1-4 in SEC games, 2-13-1 after a straight up win, 1-9-1 against teams with winning records, 1-10-1 after failing to cover, 0-4 in road games, as a road favorite, and in road games versus teams with winning home records, and 0-7-1 as a road favorite of 7-12.5 points. The Bulldogs are 9-2 ATS after failing to cover, 24-8 after a straight up loss, and 1-4 in Tuesday games.
Kentucky is without question the better team here. You might think Kentucky is an easy play here, and you should be right. However, in 19 lined games, Kentucky has only covered 4 times. The Wildcats have been frustrating to backers as they have a tendency to let inferior teams hang around. Georgia and Kentucky games have been close recently, so I would take the Bulldogs at +12.5. However, Kentucky could easily win this game by 20 or 30 points if they wanted to.
