Five things you need to know from No. 8 Kentucky’s 105-96 win over Georgia

Five things you need to know from No. 8 Kentucky’s 105-96 win over the Georgia Bulldogs in men’s SEC basketball at Rupp Arena at Central Bank Center:

1. “Big Z” debuts. Kentucky freshman Zvonimir Ivisic took to the social media platform X (formerly known as Twitter) Saturday afternoon to announce that the NCAA had finally cleared him to play.

The 7-foot-2, 234-pound product of Vitez, Croatia, had been on hold while the NCAA, presumably, determined whether he met the college sports governing body’s definition of “amateurism.”

To say the big man was worth the wait would be an understatement of gargantuan proportions.

When John Calipari sent Ivisic to the scorer’s table to check in as the clocked ticked downward toward 16:00 left in the first half, Rupp Arena erupted with an enormous ovation.

It became a standing ovation when Ivisic took the court for game action after a television timeout.

Ivisic then lit up Rupp with his play.

Only 42 seconds into his UK career, Ivisic blocked a driving layup by Georgia leading scorer Jabari Abdur-Rahim.

With 13:18 left in half one, Ivisic took a pass in the lane. While on the move, he whistled a behind-the-back pass to an open Antonio Reeves in the left corner. Reeves drained the ensuing 3-point attempt — and the resulting noise all but lifted the roof off of Rupp.

Just getting warmed up, Ivisic next displayed his outside shooting touch.

With 8:08 left in the first half, Ivisic made a 3-pointer from the left wing. Exactly one minute and three seconds later, he ripped the nets with an 18-footer from the left.

At 6:27, Ivisic drilled another trey from the left wing, then came back with a 3-pointer from the left corner.

By this point, the Rupp Arena crowd was near delirium.

Ivisic ended his first half as a Kentucky player with the following stat line: 4-of-4 field goals, 3-of-3 3-pointers, 3 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 blocked shots, 1 turnover and 11 points.

That stellar first half made Ivisic the first player Calipari called from the bench in half two.

The big man’s second half was not as spectacular as his first — but it was eventful.

Ivisic was called for a flagrant one foul, a Class B technical (for hanging on the rim), put Kentucky at the 100-point mark with a dunk and blocked a 3-point shot attempt.

For the game, he finished with 13 points, five rebounds, two assists, two turnovers and three blocked shots in 16 wildly entertaining minutes.

2. A milestone for Antonio Reeves. The UK super senior entered Saturday’s game with 1,993 career points and needed eight points to go over 2,000 in his college career. He took care of business quickly, scoring 14 in the first half.

The 6-foot-6, 195-pound Chicago product scored 1,195 points in his three seasons (2019-2022) at Illinois State. After scoring 21 points vs. Georgia, Reeves now has 819 points in his two seasons at Kentucky for a total of 2,014 points.

After Georgia, there are 14 games left in the Kentucky regular season. Reeves, who entered Saturday’s game averaging 19.4 points, needs 181 more points to become a 1,000-point scorer in the UK uniform.

3. Kentucky’s offensive juggernaut rolls on. UK entered the Georgia contest leading the nation in scoring at 90.8 points a game.

The 105 the Cats hung on Georgia were the second most scored by UK this season and the third time in triple figures for Kentucky. The Wildcats rang up 118 points in a win over Marshall and 101 in a victory against Stonehill.

On the season, UK has now gone above 80 points in 16 of 17 games and has now been above 90 points in 10 different games, including four straight.

The only team that has held the Wildcats below 80 was UNC Wilmington in the Seahawks’ stunning 80-73 upset of Kentucky on Dec. 2 at Rupp Arena.

At the most basic level, what makes Kentucky such a devastating offensive force was on full display vs Georgia: The Wildcats have a whole lot of skilled hoopers who can score.

UK had five players in double figures vs. Georgia, led by super-seniors Tre Mitchell, 23 points, and Antonio Reeves, 21. Freshman point guard D.J. Wagner had his first college double-double, 18 points and 10 assists, while Ivisic chipped in 13 points and Reed Sheppard 12 on 4-of-5 shooting.

Kentucky has so much offensive weaponry, that the Cats scored 105 points vs. Georgia even with Rob Dillingham, UK’s most explosive offensive scorer, limited to two points.

4. Dominating the Dawgs. With its victory, Kentucky now leads the all-time series with Georgia 132-28. In Lexington, the Wildcats are now 65-5 vs. the Bulldogs.

If you are curious, the football history between UK and Georgia is almost the mirror opposite. The Bulldogs lead the Wildcats all-time 63-12-2. In Athens, the Dawgs are 32-4-2 vs. the Cats.

5. Kentucky’s NCAA Tournament profile. Georgia entered Saturday’s game No. 79 in the NCAA NET rankings, making Saturday night’s game a Quad 3 contest for the Wildcats.

Though UK’s home loss to No. 121 UNC Wilmington, a Quad 3 defeat, is a bit of an anchor on the Wildcats’ NCAA tourney resume, UK has ample opportunity ahead to log some high-level wins.

Presently, Kentucky is 2-2 in Quad 1 games (those deemed the most difficult to win, and therefore the most valuable). UK’s neutral-court victory over North Carolina (No. 9) and a road win at Florida (No. 51) presently count as Quad 1 victories. The neutral-court defeat to Kansas (No. 11) and road loss at Texas A&M (No. 44) are Kentucky’s Quad 1 setbacks.

As the NET rankings stood entering play Saturday, Kentucky has six Quad 1 opportunities remaining on its schedule: At South Carolina (No. 71), vs. Tennessee (No. 6), at Auburn (No. 8), Alabama (No. 5), at Mississippi State (No. 33) and at Tennessee (No. 6).

If Gonzaga, currently No. 35 in the NET, could get its ranking up to No. 30 by the time the Bulldogs visit Rupp Arena for a Feb. 10 non-conference tilt, that could add a seventh Quad 1 chance for UK.

As a reminder, games are delineated by quad based on the NET ranking of the the opponent and the site of the game:

Quad 1: Home (foe ranked No. 1 through 30); neutral (1-50); road (1-75);

Quad 2: Home (31-75); neutral (51-100); road (76-135);

Quad 3: Home (76-160); neutral (101-200); road (136-240);

Quad 4: Home (161-plus); neutral (201-plus); road (241-plus).

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