UK wins despite inconsistency: ‘Young team. We don’t really know each other yet.’
A sixth straight victory and a top-10 ranking might suggest a Kentucky team settling into a groove. But Saturday’s 67-53 victory over Georgia Tech was anything but a model of consistency.
EJ Montgomery, who had career highs for points in each of the last two games, was scoreless for the first time this season and the first time since the Elite Eight loss to Auburn last March. He missed all four of his shots against the Yellow Jackets.
Another mainstay, point guard Ashton Hagans, equaled the season-high six turnovers he had against Utah Valley. In eighth-ranked UK’s last two games, Hagans had 23 assists and four turnovers.
“Young team,” Immanuel Quickley said when asked about the inconsistency. “We don’t really know each other yet. As the season goes along, all Coach Cal teams get better toward March. And I think this team will do the same.”
UK Coach John Calipari linked Hagans’ turnovers to boredom, which leads to ill-advised decisions.
“I wouldn’t say I get bored,” Hagans said. “I just lose pieces of the game.”
Even with the turnovers, Hagans led the way to a victory with 21 points, seven assists and seven rebounds. UK fans with a good memory might recall that Hagans, a native of Cartersville, Ga., scored a then career-high 23 points at Georgia last season.
When asked if playing against a home state school inspired him, Hagans smiled and said, “Just give the hometown something to talk about. Going against the coach that recruited me, was recruiting me heavy.”
Georgia Tech Coach Josh Pastner noted how Hagans had improved, and how the UK point guard played like a first-round draft pick Saturday.
Kentucky, which had 16 turnovers (its second-highest total of the season), still led for much of the game. UK improved to 8-1 overall.
Georgia Tech fell to 4-4. Moses Wright led Tech with 13 points. Bubba Parham, who scored 35 points against UK last season while playing for VMI, chipped in 10.
Despite not getting a point from Montgomery, Kentucky led 36-30 at halftime. That matched UK’s largest lead of the opening 20 minutes. Montgomery picked up his second foul and went to the bench with 7:24 left in the half.
Keion Brooks picked up the slack. He finished with 10 points, his second straight double-digit scoring game.
Brooks credited a growing comfort level at the college game.
“Oh, it’s night and day,” he said. “When I first came here, I was a little confused, lost at times. But with practice and games and constant repetition, I’m really getting the hang of where I’m supposed to be on the floor.”
Kentucky led much of the first half despite not getting to the foul line nearly as much as usual. The Cats did not shoot a free throw until Tyrese Maxey went to the line with 4:48 left.
Thirty-seven seconds later, Maxey returned to the line after absorbing a hard foul from Wright. A review of the sideline monitor resulted in a flagrant-one technical on the Georgia Tech forward.
With Hagans on the defensive assignment, Kentucky kept Parham in check in the first half. He did not take a shot until the 13:45 mark. Parham made his first three shots, and did not miss until a long three-pointer to beat the shot clock bounced off the rim. As the ball went through the air, a mild buzz grew.
The opening minutes of the second half defined inconsistency.
In search of an improved start to second halves, Calipari changed UK’s warmup for the second 20 minutes.
Less casual shooting, more stretching and high-knee running to replicate the pregame routine, the players said.
Kentucky scored the first six points to extend the lead to 42-30. Georgia Tech got only one shot to the rim in the first two-plus minutes of the second half.
Then Maxey threw a pass that Hagans wasn’t looking for, resulting in a turnover. Tech scored the next six points to prevent Kentucky from breaking away.
Anxiety became palpable as UK went six straight possessions without scoring: Four turnovers and two missed shots.
After Georgia Tech closed within 44-41, Quickley hit a three-pointer from the right wing. It gave UK a 47-41 lead and interrupted a span of almost six minutes when Kentucky made one of five shots and committed five turnovers.
Kentucky stayed ahead because Georgia Tech made only two shots in eight-plus minutes. Pastner said this stretch, which included two three-point misses by shooters open in the corner, was the difference in the game.
Quickley said UK is a work in progress.
“We don’t know each other’s chemistry and each other’s games yet,” he said. “As the season goes along and playing with each other, we’ll get more comfortable with that.”
Next game
No. 8 Kentucky vs. Utah
11 p.m. ET Wednesday in Las Vegas (ESPN2)
This story was originally published December 14, 2019 at 9:18 PM.
