Why do the referees call so many fouls on Kentucky? A UK coach has the answer.
Takeaways from Kentucky’s interviews Monday previewing Tuesday’s game against Georgia:
▪ In last week’s two games, referees whistled UK for 52 fouls (or about one every 1.5 minutes on average). Assistant coach Tony Barbee, who substituted for John Calipari on Monday, had a simple explanation for the fouls: “We foul a lot.”
▪ Ashton Hagans, a native of Cartersville, Ga., acknowledged being excited about playing at Georgia earlier this month. He said his 10 shots in the first half at Georgia were a product of this excitement.
▪ Both games at South Carolina and Arkansas last week came down to a possession-by-possession struggle inside the final five minutes. Barbee said UK’s many games that have played out that way can be good preparation for the NCAA Tournament.
▪ It can be assumed that the highly rated recruits that come to Kentucky have relatively little experience playing in highly competitive games. That assumption would be false for Keion Brooks. He said he played in many such games before coming to UK.
▪ Georgia’s Anthony Edwards leads all freshmen nationwide in scoring (19.1 ppg). He scored 23 points in the first game against UK. Barbee said an ability to score at the rim, mid-range and three-point distance makes Edwards a challenge to contain.
Tuesday
Georgia at No. 15 Kentucky
When: 7 p.m.
TV: ESPN
Radio: WLAP-AM 630, WBUL-FM 98.1
Records: Georgia 11-6 (1-3 SEC), Kentucky 13-4 (4-1)
Series: Kentucky leads 128-26
Last meeting: Kentucky won 78-69 on Jan. 7, 2020, at Athens, Ga.
