Kentucky rolls past UGA, advances to semifinals
ST. LOUIS -- PJ Washington scored 18 points to help send Kentucky to the semifinals of the SEC Tournament with a 62-49 victory over Georgia on Friday.
The fourth-seeded Wildcats (22-10), who have won the last three tournament championships and 30 titles overall, advanced to face No. 9 seed Alabama on Saturday.
The 6-foot-7 Washington scored 11 of his points in the second half and finished 8-of-12 from the field. Kevin Knox and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander each added 15 points in the victory, which was Kentucky's fifth in its last six games following a four-game losing streak.
Tyree Crump led the No. 12 seed Bulldogs (18-15) with 17 points, while Yante Maten was held to nine points on 2-of-10 shooting.
Despite playing their third game in as many days, compared with Kentucky, making its first outing of the tournament, the Bulldogs took a 23-22 lead late in the first half after a pair of free throws by Maten. The edge was short-lived, however, when the Wildcats responded with an 8-0 run to take a 30-23 halftime lead and surged ahead by as many as 17 points in the second half.
The Wildcats played without forward Jarred Vanderbilt, who was injured during practice earlier this week. The 6-foot-9 freshman has led Kentucky in rebounding with 7.9 boards per game since returning from a foot injury that kept him out for the first 17 games of the season. He's done so in only an average of 17 minutes per game.UP NEXT
Georgia waits to learn its postseason fate.
The Wildcats face ninth-seeded Alabama on Saturday at 1 p.m. ET on ESPN.