Blossoms are coming a few months early for the Kentucky Wildcats. SEC Freshman of the Week Ashton Hagans led his team to a 69-49 victory over the Georgia Bulldogs on Tuesday night, good enough for their third straight win in SEC play. With the win, Kentucky improves to 13-3 on the year while Georgia falls to 9-7 following the loss.
Hagans has impressed the Big Blue Nation over the last month but hasn’t had near the performance he turned in on Tuesday night. The freshman sensation scored a career high 23 points while also snatching five rebounds and assisting on four baskets. That wasn’t all, though, as Hagans became the first player in program history with three or more steals in six consecutive games.
Aside from Hagans, no particular player posted a notable performance. However, the team’s performance on defense was rather spectacular.
The Wildcats’ weakest link over the first half of the season was by far their defense of the three-point arc. Kentucky had dipped lower than 300th nationally in the said category.
The tides were turned on Tuesday, though, when Kentucky held Georgia to just 4-27 shooting from behind the arc. The team’s group effort answered the challenge, further preparing them for what lies ahead.
On deck are the Auburn Tigers, a team that will host these Wildcats on Saturday afternoon. It will be Kentucky’s second straight game in a road atmosphere, a scenario they haven’t faced yet this season.
The Tigers present arguably the conference’s best backcourt duo between Bryce Brown and Jared Harper. Hagans’ heroics will be called upon once again, along with the defense of Tyler Herro to challenge the Tigers’ strong suit.
Tip-off is set for 4 P.M. EDT with on-air coverage presented by 106.5 WKDZ radio.