LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) — How tough will life be on the road in the Southeastern Conference? Look no further than the early window games on Tuesday evenings.

After giving Georgia an early lead, Kentucky lost control of its game late in the first half in Athens, trailed by 13 points at halftime, and after fighting back to within five points early in the second half, fell short five shots in a row and was soon behind by 14.

Kentucky battled foul trouble, a charged atmosphere, a tough shooting night and struggled against Georgia itself, which was tangled up under the basket with about six minutes left. In the end, none of this made much of a difference. Kentucky lost 82-69 while the Bulldogs improved to 10-0 at home.

And when you looked at the league, you wondered if the Wildcats got off well. Florida absolutely defeated No. 1 Tennessee 73-43. One game after Kentucky scored 106 points against the Gators, the top-ranked team in the country was lucky to finish in the top 40.

That’s not much consolation for Kentucky. Or anyone else in the league. It was a winnable away game for the Wildcats. At least compared to many of his road games. Sure, Georgia entered the game with a 12-2 record, but the Bulldogs ranked 50th in Ken Pomeroy’s efficiency ratings — 13th in the 16-team SEC.

So there is that.

If this loss is a bigger problem, this is it. When you look at Kentucky’s overall performance, it’s clear that if you can hold them to 70 points or less, you can beat the Wildcats. Kentucky’s improvement against better-performing teams may not be as great as one would have hoped.

Foul trouble hampered Kentucky. Amari Williams picked up his fourth foul with more than nine minutes left. A little later, Andrew Carr ended up in 4th place. Brandon Garrison played well and held the fort. But that wasn’t enough.

Kentucky didn’t help itself. Georgia was at the free throw line 39 times and was outscored 29-13 by the charity team. Kentucky turned it over 14 times, leading to 13 Georgia points.

Georgia’s physical, active defense held Kentucky to 6 of 21 from three-point range, and the Bulldogs outscored Kentucky 36-26 in the game and outrebounded the Wildcats 41-34.

Kentucky got 20 points from Lamont Butler, 13 from Garrison and 12 from Otega Oweh. Georgia was led by Asa Newell with 17 points, Blue Cain with 15 points and Silas Demary with 14 points.

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