If you’re wondering how long a root canal takes, it’s two hours and 33 minutes. Apparently you can easily get them in Athens at the Stegeman Coliseum – we didn’t even have to wait until the trip to Starkville to face off against Chris “The Dentist” Jans and experience one. Mike White opened Kentucky wide and let it rip, along with the help of a 38-to-19 free throw differential, with Georgia plus 14 points at the line in a 13-point win. A total of 45 fouls in 40 minutes of a regulation basketball game with seven visits to the replay monitor was unnecessary and excessive and embarrassing and torturous – just go down the list. It was one of the least enjoyable viewing experiences of my life, and that’s no exaggeration. The officiating crew of Don Daily, Steven Anderson and Olandis Poole, led the attack there and we thank them for that. Really.

They did their best, but unfortunately the three blind mice were not the cause of Kentucky’s downfall. These idiots made a loud noise, and the SEC Network crew tricked us all into thinking it was an acceptable performance by the strip, which only made things worse. For the third time, the Wildcats’ problems were self-inflicted. My goodness, it’s like we’re living in the Twilight Zone, watching the same loss over and over again, as Clemson turns into Ohio State and Ohio State turns into Georgia. Are they learning lessons from this or are error-revealing warning sirens screaming in our faces?

The plan to beat Kentucky: Set the tone with physicality and watch the Cats squirm. That’s all the Tigers, Buckeyes and Bulldogs did. No one has a talent advantage, but taking the first shot and diving for loose balls, boxing out and rebounding hard and, most importantly, transforming a cohesive team that prides itself on selfless play into individuals reliant on hero balls it pretty simple. They’re comfortable being cornered, jumping out to a double-digit lead and expecting to mount a comeback in the second half. There’s almost a sense of entitlement, that adjustments fall into players’ laps to correct the initial mistakes, or that opponents don’t have answers of their own. There is a naivety among coaches that the bad habits will magically be broken, or that the cold parts will always become hot, or, perhaps worst of all, the bad body language and sulking will inevitably lead to a mental breakthrough.

It’s all great when it works, but it’s annoying when it doesn’t. So you get the contrasts of Duke, Gonzaga and Florida vs. Clemson, Ohio State and Georgia. If the Wildcats weren’t capable, they wouldn’t have a 3-0 record against top-10 competition, a mark not reached for a first-year coach in Lexington since Adolph Rupp went crazy. They are, however, and that’s what makes mistakes against inferior competition so frustrating – and why it’s difficult to classify this group as one that’s sure to achieve legitimate success in March, let alone compete for a national championship becomes. Is this approach sustainable? Will they ever learn anything from digging those early holes and expecting there to be a ladder at the bottom of the sand every time? It worked against the Blue Devils, Zags and Gators, but failed miserably against the Tigers, Buckeyes and Dawgs. Coin tosses aren’t good enough right now as there are still 12 more Quad 1 opportunities ahead of us before we even get to postseason play.

Georgia won confidently with a shooting rate of 41.8 percent from the field and 29.2 percent from three throws. What happens if Kentucky not Go on the nuclear offensive And Opponents take shots? The Bulldogs finished the game with more turnovers (15) than the Cats (14) and only assisted on nine of 23 baskets scored. Aside from free throws, UGA left the door wide open, waiting for UK to break through like the Kool-Aid Man in the second half, but Pope’s group couldn’t get out of the way. Eight assists on 24 shots made, 34 rebounds on 41 with 13 offensive boards allowed and no field goals in the final 4:05 minutes, among other notable scoring losses – including the one immediately after the deficit was cut to just five with 12:07 left to play at the 7:04 mark.

Yikes.

The sky is not falling for Kentucky. There are still three days until a win against a top-10 Florida team that just got past No. 1 Tennessee when the Wildcats got their asses kicked in Athens. That’s the SEC for you – strange things are going to happen all season long and you’re just going to have to ride the wave with some of them. You could embarrass yourself in Georgia on Tuesday and then go to Starkville and put Mississippi State in its place on Saturday and no one would think anything of it. It’s an all-time league that will almost certainly break the NCAA Tournament record of 11 invitations, with possibly as many as 15 teams participating (sorry, South Carolina).

But it’s also another chance for embarrassment if they’re not careful, followed by another, then another, and another throughout March. Everything is fine at the moment, but as Mike Tyson once said, everyone has a plan until they get punched in the face. How will this group react to their second goal in four games and third overall? The red flags are flying and it’s up to the Cats to bring them down as the road only gets tougher from here.