default-cbs-image

There’s no way John Calipari could’ve predicted this kind of win -- at any point in the season -- for his team.

No. 13 Kentucky managed to escape Georgia with an 82-77 victory on Saturday night. The win’s big for UK because it keeps the SEC regular-season title in sight, and it means UK (22-5, 12-2) is riding a four-game winning streak with two of those dubs having come on the road.

But Saturday was weird. First off, Georgia lost Yante Maten less than two minutes into the game, due to a knee injury. Maten’s been a top-30 player in college hoops this season. How could Georgia possibly win this game without him?

Enter J.J. Frazier. The senior Bulldogs point guard was tremendous, putting up one of the strongest performances anyone will have against UK this season. Frazier, all 5 feet and 10 inches of him, was incredible from start to finish, closing with 36 points, one shy of his career best. He also had three rebounds, three assists and two steals. 

But Kentucky still wins. How? Made foul shots, of all things. UK entered the day ranked 211th in the country in free throw percentage. Yet the Wildcats closed this game out because of 17 straight made free throws, went 18-of-24 from the line, and De’Aaron Fox was the catalyst. 

Fox (16 points, five rebounds, five assists) scored nine straight in the closing stretch for UK, helping give the Wildcats the lead and then some point insurance. What’s so important for UK: Fox had a bad day, mostly, then was ultra reliable in the final three minutes. To have a lightning-quick point guard be that good at the foul line, to get to the rim and force the other team to commit fouls, it’s massive, particularly when he proves he can do it in crunch time in a game where he’d been off most of the night. Close wins are currency for coaches at this point in the season. They know winning small, on the road, has true impact on team morale and confidence. 

Malik Monk (16 points on 3-of-11 shooting) wasn’t a stud either. In fact, this win seems aberrational, because quality opponents (read: teams who will be in the NCAA Tournament) will beat Kentucky if Fox and Monk play like this again. So if you’re a UK fan, you can look at this as a win-any-game-on-the-road-in-any-way kind of victory. That’s fair. Mostly, Kentucky getting this despite having abnormal play from Fox for the first 35 minutes and a so-so showing from Monk is the biggest takeaway. 

There’s little doubt to me, though: If Kentucky shoots to its average (69 percent) from the foul line, Georgia probably takes the game. Even in spite of this, I consider Kentucky a top-10 team, though the ranking currently doesn’t reflect that.  

UGA’s now 0-6 vs. Top 25 team this season. Their last whimper of a hope to become a bubble team died with this loss. It’s NIT or bust for the Dawgs at this point, barring winning the SEC tournament. Frazier was everything for Georgia on Saturday night. It’s been an underwhelming year for the program, but Frazier can always say he gave Kentucky a Devan Downey-type performance.

With March less than two weeks away, we’ve pretty much arrived at the point in the season -- more than 25 games in -- where teams are what they are. Minor tweaks can happen, but there will be no major overhauls to personnel or identity, unless a major injury rears its head. The free throw shooting could be an exception, but if it’s not, then Kentucky’s back in the picture among the very best teams in the country. You need to be able to make more than 70 percent of your foul shots in order to have a chance against the nation’s best, when the games will be close in the final three minutes. 

Kentucky’s next game is an automatic win, a road tilt at lowly Missouri on Tuesday. Then, in one week, the only SEC game left that matters: No. 15 Florida comes to town.