There’s no getting it twisted: Kentucky’s 82-69 loss to Georgia was terrible. The no. 6 Cats, coming off one of their best wins of the season, performed poorly and failed disappointingly in their first SEC road test.

As in the losses to Clemson and Ohio State, Kentucky struggled with Georgia’s physical play, allowing the Bulldogs to win the rebounding battle 41-34 and get to the finish line twice as often. Georgia had a 29-38 charity advantage tonight and Kentucky had a 15-19 advantage. Despite all those foul troubles and stoppages, the Cats struggled to get going, shooting just 37.5% from the floor and 24.0% from three, their second-worst results of the season behind the loss to Ohio State. Mark Pope seemed as bothered by today’s defeat as he was by the Cats’ defeat in New York a few weeks ago.

“This one hurts,” he told Tom Leach. “It’s incredibly disappointing.”

Pope mentioned rebounding early and often when discussing what his team did wrong in Athens, again pointing to the offensive prowess that has eluded the Cats at times this season. Georgia had 13 offensive rebounds compared to Kentucky’s 12, which led to 17 second-chance points for the Bulldogs.

“The glass was a huge thing. One thing about the glass is that it allows you to play slowly and extend possession and force tough shots at the end by kind of holding the ball and giving up an offensive rebound. So it’s really, really problematic to start with the glass.”

“This is the second game in a row where we’ve given up 15 offensive rebounds, and that’s a huge problem.”

What always happens to the Cats in games like this? Pope said his team has to learn to tune out distractions, especially in the road environment.

“Our guys know what we’re supposed to do; They know what their job is. We’re physically capable of doing what we’re supposed to do to a certain extent, but with everything that’s going on on the field, you end up distracted by what just happened and can’t focus on this moment, and that’s just such a real thing. It is exactly what it is.

“Some people call it toughness. Some people call it fighting. Some people call it emotion, but what’s really hard is being able to do your job second to second. This is actually toughness. And we didn’t showcase that very well today.”

Kentucky goes back on the road Saturday and faces No. 14 Mississippi State, a much better and more physical team than Georgia. Until then, what can they do to avoid a second defeat in a row?

“It’s drilling. It’s about making as many habits as possible. It’s about understanding what lies ahead. You know, especially when you’re traveling, everything gets tied together. It’s all ingredients that we have. But man, we’re going to have challenges all season long. Every single game will expose us in one way or another, and overcoming those challenges is key. That’s what this is all about.”