As good as the Cats looked against top-ranked Purdue in its exhibition opener, the opposite was true against Georgetown Thursday in an 84-70 loss in Rupp Arena.
The Cats, hampered by injuries to their top point guards, looked out of sync and unorganized against the Hoyas, who opened up a seven-point halftime lead and choked off any second-half comeback attempts by Kentucky which missed all 13 of its 3-point attempts after intermission.
UK coach Mark Pope may understand the assignment – hanging the ninth championship banner – but he no doubt also understands there is work to be done. Georgetown’s quickness presented problems all night against the shorthanded Cats’ backcourt which looked discombobulated without its leaders.
Now Kentucky fans – giddy after defeating Purdue - can overreact the other way.
Kentucky felt the loss of injured guards Jaland Lowe and Denzel Aberdeen, who is battling a leg injury that Pope said on the pregame radio show was not significant. Aberdeen started at point guard in place of Lowe, who is still out with a shoulder injury, against Purdue. Both are expected to be back soon.
The Cats were never close after falling behind 64-47 with 10:36 remaining. The 3-point line was also not their friend in the second half. After going 7-for-17 in the first half, Kentucky missed all 13 attempts from behind the arc in the second half and finished 7-for-30.
But their first-half performance showed how much they missed the experienced guard play. The Cats were sloppy and took a lot of quick shots against Georgetown, which stretched the lead to double figures several times in the first half.
Kentucky could not find an offensive rhythm, taking one-on-one opportunities on most possessions. Otega Oweh scored the first five points and finished with nine in the half and led the Cats with 17. Mo Dioubate collected 13 points and seven rebounds and sophomore Colin Chandler added 11 points, seven rebounds and three assists.
Malik Mack scored 22 points to lead Georgetown.Sophomore Jayden Quaintance, another top pickup from the transfer portal, is still out as he recovers from a torn ACL suffered in February when he was playing for Arizona State.
Colin Chandler collected 11 points, seven rebounds and three assists and started at point guard with the top point guards sidelined with injuries. (Photo by Les Nicholson)
