Kentucky basketball will experience something new at Georgia — a true road game
Through Sunday’s action, out of the 353 teams playing Division I college basketball, only three had not yet played a single game on its opponents’ home court, otherwise known as a “true” road game.
One is Duquense out of the Atlantic 10. Another is TCU from the Big 12. The third is — drum roll, please — Kentucky out of the SEC. The Wildcats finally visit an opponent Tuesday night when they play the Georgia Bulldogs in Athens.
It wasn’t always this way. During the 2010-11 season, John Calipari’s second as the Kentucky coach, UK played Portland in Portland (on the way to Maui), North Carolina in Chapel Hill and Louisville in Louisville before conference play began. The Cats played at Indiana in 2010 and 2012 before that series was discontinued. UK played at Notre Dame in 2012 and at UCLA in 2015.
That game in Los Angeles was the last time Kentucky played a non-conference opponent not named Louisville on its home floor before starting SEC action. In fact, UK did not play a true pre-conference road game in 2017-18, though it did play at West Virginia in the SEC/Big 12 Challenge in January. It’s the same scenario this year. UK’s lone true non-conference road game is Jan. 25 at Texas Tech in the SEC/Big 12 Challenge.
You can debate whether the lack of road tests has hurt. That 2017-18 team finished 10-8 in the SEC, though it reached the NCAA Sweet 16 before losing to Kansas State. On the flip side, that 2010-11 team was 2-6 in SEC road action before it caught fire and reached the Final Four.
Plus, it’s not as if Kentucky has avoided scheduling good teams. As is Calipari’s preference, however, those games have been played on neutral floors — the 69-62 win over Michigan State at the Champions Classic in New York and the 71-65 loss to Ohio State in the CBS Sports Classic in Las Vegas, or what Ohio State Coach Chris Holtmann called a “somewhat neutral” site.
It should also be noted that before losing to Ohio State, the Cats were stunned by Utah 69-66 in Las Vegas. That same Utah team has gone 1-2 since, losing to No. 20 San Diego State (80-52) and No. 4 Oregon (69-64).
Still, there’s something different about a true road game, about facing a rabid opposing crowd, about playing an opponent in its venue where it is more comfortable and confident and presumably play its best basketball.
And Georgia is coming off its best win of the season, or many seasons, a 65-62 victory at No. 9 Memphis on Saturday. It was Georgia’s first win over an AP top-10 team since 2010-11 (77-70 over visiting No. 10 Kentucky) and its first road win over an AP top-10 team since 2003-04 (65-57 at No. 5 Kentucky).
“Like I said, going to Georgia, our hands are full,” Calipari said after his team’s 71-59 win over Missouri on Saturday. “I haven’t seen much, but I know their coach (Tom Crean). I know how good he is. I know how hard their team will play.”
Anthony Edwards, the Bulldogs’ star freshman forward, made four of 17 shots at Memphis but got plenty of help from his teammates. Rayshaun Hammonds scored 15 points and grabbed 12 rebounds. Donnell Gresham, a grad transfer from Northeastern, came off the bench to score 12 points. Sahvir Wheeler, a 5-foot-10 freshman from Houston, scored 10 points with seven assists. Georgia was credited with 18 assists on its 24 field goals.
In fact, at No. 36, Crean’s club is ranked higher in the NCAA’s NET rankings than Calipari’s club at 38. That might stem from the Bulldogs’ big Saturday road win and that its three losses were to Dayton and Michigan State in the Maui Classic and at Arizona State in Tempe.
One more thing: Georgia is 8-0 at home.
And Kentucky is 0-0 on the road.
Next game
No. 17 Kentucky at Georgia
9 p.m. Tuesday (ESPN)
