ATLANTA — If the University of Kentucky men’s basketball team was on the NCAA tournament bubble, Saturday afternoon won’t help the Wildcats.
Bizarre circumstances were followed with an ugly-but-thrilling game at Georgia Tech’s Alexander Memorial Coliseum, as Georgia upset Kentucky 60-56 in overtime of a tornado-delayed Southeastern Conference tournament quarterfinal.
The game was originally scheduled for last night, but the Georgia Dome was considered unfit for play after sustaining storm damage.
Georgia (15-16) will play Mississippi State around 8:30 tonight in a semifinal, while the Wildcats (18-12) will nervously await their fate as one of the NCAA selection committee’s most intriguing bubble teams.
Georgia freshman point guard Zack Swansey scored five points in the overtime period, including a turn-around, fall-away, 3-pointer with 1.2 seconds left that gave the Bulldogs a 57-56 lead.
Georgia added three free throws from that point, the last coming via technical foul after UK’s Perry Stevenson swatted away a free toss.
Swansey’s runner with less than two minutes left in the extra period gave the Bulldogs a 54-52 lead, but UK’s senior guards made two big plays to put the Wildcats in front. Joe Crawford tipped in his own miss to tie the game with 1:06 left, and Ramel Bradley rattled in a jumper with 8.8 seconds remaining to give Kentucky a 56-54 advantage.
Crawford scored a game-high 24 points, and Bradley added 12. Junior wing Terrance Woodbury led the Bulldogs with 17 points, and senior point guard Sundiata Gaines — who fouled out late in the second half, forcing Swansey into the lineup — chipped in 16.
Nonscholarship player Corey Butler put back a missed free throw to give Georgia a 43-36 lead with 6:14 left in the second half, but Kentucky rallied quickly. Bradley made a 3-pointer from the left wing to give the Wildcats a 47-46 advantage with 2:58 left.
Senior center Dave Bliss put Georgia back in front with a layup, but Bradley went right back to the other rim for a driving shot to give Kentucky a 49-48 lead. The Bulldogs failed to score on their next possession before Gaines fouled out with 1:33 left.
A Ramon Harris free throw gave Kentucky a 50-48 lead with 1:33 left, but two Bliss free tosses tied it in the final minute. Bradley then missed two jump shots — one in the final seconds — to keep the game locked at 50 and force an overtime that would further lengthen the winner’s silly Saturday scenario.
Tennessee and Arkansas will play today at 6 p.m. in the first semifinal.
Read www.timesfreepress.com throughout the day and Sunday’s print edition for more information.
