The No. 1 Kentucky Wildcats pounced on Georgia in a raucous Rupp Arena crowd Thursday as UK secured a 79-49 win over the Bulldogs, complete with 15 made three pointers by the Cats.
“We’ll beat you by a bunch when we shoot it like that,” head coach John Calipari said, “and that’s what happened today.”
Senior guard Darius Miller played his last home game in a UK uniform, recording 17 points, two rebounds and three assists in his old Kentucky home.
“I’ve experienced a lot in Rupp Arena,” Miller said, “a lot of great moments.”
Fellow senior Eloy Vargas recorded two points and five rebounds in his final home game.
After winning the tip for the first time in two games, freshman forward Anthony Davis scored the first five points, including his first three-pointer of the season, and the Cats took an early lead at 7-0 after two-and-a-half minutes of play.
“He gets a lot of shots up before and after practice,” freshman forward Kyle Wiltjer said. “To see the hard work he’s put in and see one go in is just a good feeling.”
UK was able to keep a substantial lead, pulling away by double-digits at 19-9 with 9:40 left in the first half. The Cats continued to lead by as many as 18 points with a halftime score at 37-19.
Freshman forward Michael Kidd-Gilchrist led the Cats in scoring at halftime with nine points and grabbed six rebounds. Sophomore forward Terrence Jones had seven points at the half and seven rebounds.
But Miller, on his senior night, quickly matched Kidd-Gilchrist’s nine points. He had six points at the half – both on threes – and opened the half with another to propel the Cats to 40-21 after just under 30 seconds of play.
“I think I came out kind of slow because I was a little too excited, too amped up and a little bit emotional,” Miller said. “Then just settling down and playing as if it was another game (was) when I started to play well.”
The Cats continued to pull away, keeping the Bulldogs with a point deficit as large as 41 points, leading 72-31 with 9:42 to play in the game.
In the second half, UK hit seven threes in a row with 10 minutes to play in 72-31 with less than 10 minutes to play in the game. UK didn’t miss a three until 7:20 left in the game with the Cats leading 72-39.
“I was surprised that we all made threes,” sophomore guard Doron Lamb said. “We were on fire at the same time, so that was a great stretch for us.”
Wiltjer hit three of UK’s 15 three pointers and finished the game with nine points, two rebounds and three assists.
While Florida is known for its stellar three-point shooting, UK’s performance could contest the Gators come Sunday.
“It’s gonna be tough for teams to beat us if we keep shooting the ball the way that we are right now,” Miller said. “Hopefully we continue that through the tournament and at Florida.”
But Calipari doesn’t discredit the effects of a road game and the last regular season game.
“It’s going to be a really hard game,” Calipari said. “It will be a sold-out arena. They are going to be going crazy down there.”