Kentucky trails Georgia by 13 at halftime and it feels worse

A guy Kentucky had signed in the spring is trying to pull the rim off the backboard. Another who entered the matchup 4-23 from three in his last six games is 2-2 in the first half with 10 points and five boards overall. Hell, the team that scored 51 points in regulation at Ole Miss three days ago has 47 in the first 20 minutes while the one that scored 106 on the same day has put up just 34.

Oh, and the free-throw difference is 12 attempts to three, for those curious.

It’s that kind of start for the Wildcats, who are shooting 40.0 percent from the field and 30.8 percent from three while the Bulldogs are 48.4 percent overall and 41.7 percent from deep — plus 12-12 at the line.

Lamont Butler is the only one stepping up for Kentucky, starting with 13 points on 6-8 shooting while adding four rebounds, two steals and one assist with zero turnovers in 15 minutes. Brandon Garrison has five, Andrew Carr has four, Ansley Almonor and Koby Brea have three and Otega Oweh, Amari Williams and Travis Perry have two. Jaxson Robinson has not scored a point on four missed attempts in 14 minutes.

For Georgia, Silas Demary Jr. leads the way with 11 points on 8-8 at the line — almost triple Kentucky’s team total at the line — followed by Blue Cain with 10, De’Shayne Montgomery with eight, Asa Newell with five and Somto Cyril with four with six rebounds in 10 minutes.

I’m sure the Cats will show life after the break and may even win, but these no-show first halves are exhausting. Playing with fire, again.

20 minutes to figure it out (again).