Otega Oweh tied his career high with 28 points, but Kentucky lost to Georgia 86-78 on Tuesday night at Rupp Arena.

Kentucky (17-9, 8-5 Southeastern Conference) got 18 points from Collin Chandler and 14 from Denzel Aberdeen.

The Bulldogs scored 22 points off of 13 UK turnovers, while the Cats scored just nine points off of nine UGA miscues.

Georgia started the scoring with two free throws before Malachi Moreno dunked to tie the game. An Oweh three and a Aberdeen floater gave UK a 7-2 lead early. The Bulldogs would score to get within three, but Chandler hit a three-pointer to give Kentucky a 10-4 lead. Georgia answered with a three of its own to get back within three.

Brandon Garrison made two free throws to extend the lead to 12-7, but UGA hit a three to get within two. Oweh scored underneath to give the Cats a 14-10 lead, but the Bulldogs scored on a putback to cut the UK lead in half.

Oweh scored again extend the lead to four and a Jasper Johnson bucket made it 18-12. Georgia scored the next five before Andrija Jelavic scored on a dunk and Chandler hit a three to give the Cats a 23-17 lead. Two Moreno free throws stretched the lead to eight before the Bulldogs scored to cut the UK lead to 25-19.

An Oweh basket extended the UK lead to eight, but Georgia scored the next three to cut the deficit to 27-22. Oweh scored at the rim to extend the lead to seven, but the Bulldogs scored seven in a row to tie the game at 29-29.

Aberdeen scored in the lane to stop the run, but Georgia scored the next five to complete a 12-2 run that gave the Bulldogs a 34-31 lead. Jelavic scored at the rim to get UK within one, but UGA answered with a bucket of their own. Oweh made one free throw, but the Bulldogs hit a three just before the halftime buzzer and Georgia took a 39-34 lead into the break.

Georgia hit a three to start the second-half scoring, but Oweh answered with a three of his own to cut the deficit back to five. A Chandler three got the Cats within two, but the Bulldogs hit a three on their end and extended their lead to 45-40.

Oweh hit another three to get UK within two, but the Bulldogs scored to lead 47-43. Oweh then converted a three-point play to get the Cats within one but Georgia hit a three to lead 50-46. Oweh scored another bucket to cut the deficit to two but the Bulldogs hit two free throws to again lead by four.

Johnson hit a three to get UK within one, but Georgia responded with a three to lead 55-51. After the Bulldogs went one-of-two at the line, Mo Dioubate made one-of-two to cut the deficit to 56-52. A Chandler three got the Cats within one but the Bulldogs scored the next 10 points, taking a 66-55 lead in the process.

Oweh scored on the baseline to end the run, but Georgia responded with a three to lead by 12. A Chandler three cut the deficit to 69-60 and an Aberdeen free throw got UK within eight. After a Georgia basket, Aberdeen hit a three and Moreno scored in the lane to get the Cats within five, 71-66. Georgia scored but Chandler his sixth three of the night to cut the deficit to 73-69.

Georgia scored the next five to lead by nine, but Oweh scored on a three-point play to get the Cats within six, 78-72. The Bulldogs hit a three to lead by nine, but Aberdeen scored six in a row to get UK within three, 81-78. Georgia responded by scoring the next five to seal the win.

Kentucky returns to action on Saturday, visiting Auburn for an 8:30 p.m. tip. The game can be seen on ESPN.

While John Calipari was in no way, shape, or form a perfect coach when it came to the X’s and O’s there was no denying how elite a recruiter he was in Lexington. There is a reason Kentucky has the most active players in the NBA of any college, and that thanks is owed to Calipari.

During the long tenure Calipari was in Lexington, fans got used to landing multiple five-star recruits every season, but early into the Mark Pope era, there have been some struggles. Coach Pope has whiffed on multiple big-time players so far during his time in Lexington in the high school ranks.

Coach Pope has knocked the transfer portal out of the ballpark, but concerns with his high school recruiting are fair. We are in the month of February, and the Wildcats don’t have a single member of the 2026 class. Coach Pope has already missed on multiple players in this class, and Big Blue Nation is worried.

I put a post out on social media this morning asking Kentucky fans to rank on a scale from 1-10 how concerned they are about the future outlook of Kentucky basketball recruiting. Over 60% of Kentucky fans responded that they are in full panic, ten out of ten, concerned about recruiting.

Others said they aren’t all that panicked, listing their reason being the transfer portal has made it where a star freshman isn’t necessary.

At the end of the day Coach Pope is going to have to start landing some elite players in high school recruiting. It seems most fans have written this year off but Coach Pope recently said that he believes this is going to be a good recruiting class. He does seem confident so hopefully this staff will be able to pull off a miracle and land Tyran Stokes. This would change opinions on Pope in a matter of seconds.

Let’s take a look at what Big Blue Nation had to say about the state of Kentucky basketball recruiting.

Kentucky fans share thoughts on Mark Pope and his high school recruiting

FRANKFORT, Ky. (WKYT) -A new bill in the Kentucky legislature would fundamentally change how school boards are structured across the state, tying the number of board members directly to student enrollment numbers.

Senate Bill 202, proposed by Sen. Lindsey Tichenor, (R) of Smithfield would require the Kentucky Board of Education to determine the necessary number of members for each school board based on average daily enrollment over the previous three years. The changes would take effect beginning in 2033.

Board sizes would vary by enrollment

Under the proposed legislation, districts would have different numbers of board members based on their size:

• Districts with 15,000 students or fewer would have five board members
• Districts with 15,001 to 30,000 students would have seven members
• Districts with 30,001 to 45,000 students would have nine members
• Districts with 45,001 to 60,000 students would have 11 members
• Districts with 60,001 to 75,000 students would have 13 members
• Districts with more than 75,001 students would have 15 members

The Kentucky Board of Education would make these determinations in the first four months of 2033 and every 10 years thereafter.

According to the Ky. Department of Education, Fayette County Public Schools had 40,792 students in the 2024-25 school year, so under this bill, the Fayette County Board of Education would increase from five to nine members.

Implementation timeline and process

The bill includes provisions for how the changes would be implemented. If a regular election occurs in the same year the determination is made, additional members would be selected during that election. If no regular election occurs, the additional positions would be considered vacancies and filled at the next regularly scheduled election.

For districts that need to reduce their board size, the reduction would happen by decreasing the number of members up for election at the next scheduled election.

Division requirements remain

County school districts would still need to divide into divisions for election purposes, with members elected from specific geographic areas. Independent school districts would continue electing members at-large.

The legislation requires county school boards to redraw their divisions within 30 days of receiving notice from the state board. The divisions must contain integral voting precincts and be as equal in population as practicable.

Immediate implementation provision

While the regular timeline calls for changes beginning in 2033, the bill includes a provision requiring the Kentucky Board of Education to make initial determinations by December 31, 2026. Districts required to add members would need to make division changes within 30 days, with new positions filled as appointed vacancies until the next regular election.

The bill also removes specific references to Jefferson County’s seven-member board structure that was established after the merger of Louisville city and county school systems.

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