Georgia vs. Kentucky: Score and Reaction from 2017 Regular Season

No. 8 Kentucky avoided its third loss in a row with a 90-81 overtime victory over Georgia Tuesday night. 

The Wildcats had to survive without freshman guard De'Aaron Fox, who was out due to an illness. Still, the rest of the team stepped up to survive a tough battle at Rupp Arena.

Malik Monk was as good as ever with 37 points to go with three rebounds, three steals and three blocks. Perhaps most impressive, he was 7-of-11 from three-point range.

Sam Vecenie of Sporting News described the player's ability:

Isaiah Briscoe also stepped up in a big way in Fox's absence, finishing with 23 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists. Bam Adebayo (12 points) was the only other player in double figures.

Yante Maten scored 22 points for Georgia, his third game in a row with at least 20 points.

J.J. Frazier was especially impressive down the stretch and finished with 23 points, five assists and three steals. Derek Ogbeide also came through with 18 points and 13 rebounds, his third double-double of the season. 

The Bulldogs were on the brink of victory until Monk sent the game to overtime with this impressive jumper with eight seconds remaining in regulation, via ESPN College Basketball:

"

Malik Monk tonight =  pic.twitter.com/uDZnz7Ku6L

— ESPN College BBall (@ESPNCBB) February 1, 2017"

From there, Kentucky seemed to have all the momentum. The favorites scored the first five points in the extra session, and every time Georgia tried to keep things close, Monk seemed to come through with a big play.

The lead extended to 90-81, which stood until the final buzzer. 

Seth Davis of CBS Sports summed up the disappointment for the Bulldogs:

You could have been fooled which was the Top 10 team at the start of the game, as Georgia scored the first 12 points to put the Wildcats in an early hole.

Justin Rowland of Rivals described the mentality making a difference:

A Wenyen Gabriel layup finally ended the shutout almost four minutes into the game, but the Bulldogs held control while going up 19-7 through the first eight minutes.

Kyle Tucker of the Courier-Journal joked about how much Fox was missed:

The game changed from there, however, as Kentucky decided to switch defenses into a 2-3 zone. This prevented the easy baskets in the paint that Georgia had earned at the start, and the result was only 10 more points the rest of the half.

Meanwhile, the Wildcats woke up a bit on offense to go into halftime tied at 29-29.

Chris Fisher of 247Sports explained the mindset for Georgia:

Despite the momentum clearly with the home team, the Bulldogs hung around. Both sides were outstanding offensively with tough shots falling, at least until the Kentucky coaching staff put the zone back into place.

Myron Medcalf of ESPN described the rarity of this defense:

The Wildcats went up 66-58 and appeared ready to pull away, but Frazier went on a run with seven straight points for Georgia to help tie the game at 70-70.

After some quality free-throw shooting gave the Bulldogs the advantage late, it was Monk who made the game-tying jumper with just eight seconds remaining to send the game to overtime.

Bleacher Report's C.J. Moore credited the guard in making the tough shot:

It was all about the Wildcats in overtime, and they found a way to survive a game they were close to losing.

Kentucky avoided its third loss in a row, although things will not get much easier with a road game at No. 24 Florida on Saturday. While the squad remains a top contender in the SEC, there are now a lot more question marks than there was last week.

Georgia will hope this narrow loss will build some momentum with another tough trip to No. 19 South Carolina. The Bulldogs obviously have talent, but they will need more wins to build a reasonable resume.

Postgame Reaction

Nothing sums up the game more than the opening remarks from Kentucky coach John Calipari.

"I don't know how we won, to be honest," the coach said after the game, per Tucker.

In reality, the Wildcats won because of Monk and his 37 points. Calipari later recognized the difference he made.

"I give my hat's off to [Georgia coach] Mark [Fox]," the coach said, per the team's official Twitter account. "They did a heck of a job, and then our kid goes off for 30 in the second half."

"He just got rolling," Fox said of Monk, per Fletcher Page of the Courier-Journal. "We did try some different things. You have to give a great player credit."

Sometimes both coaches just need to tip their cap to the player and move on to the next game.