Georgia's SEC Tournament run comes to a close against Kentucky

Here are five observations from Georgia's 62-49 loss to Kentucky in the SEC Tournament quarterfinals.

Is this the end?

Georgia needed to at least get to the SEC Tournament championship for an outside at-large chance at the NCAA Tournament. And obviously, winning the SEC Tournament would have given the Bulldogs an automatic berth. But with the Bulldogs' loss to Kentucky, Georgia's season may very well be over. Based on the overall record and RPI of the team, Georgia might not receive an NIT or CBI berth.

This matchup was never competitive. Kentucky took control of the game near the end of the first half and used a 7-0 run to go up 30-23 at the break.

Georgia, which went cold in the final 3:18 of the opening period, stayed frigid to start the second half. From there, Kentucky jumped out to a double-digit lead and never looked back.

Kentucky has been a thorn in Georgia's side over the years. For the third consecutive season, the Wildcats have been the team to knock the Bulldogs out of the SEC Tournament.

Now, a waiting game — however brief or long it may be — will now play out with Friday's game in the books. Georgia has a decision to make: either fire Fox or extend his contract. Given the way this season played out, an extension, with two years remaining on his current contract, is unlikely. Keeping a coach on the payroll with two years remaining on the contract is almost unheard of in college basketball. That leaves one option.

Georgia will now go a third consecutive season without a trip to the NCAA Tournament. And for all of the positive things Fox has brought to Georgia basketball, not being a postseason contender could ultimately be his downfall.

Kentucky slows Maten down

Maten battled through injuries once again. Not only was his jaw still sore, but he played through knee pain that was further aggravated in the first half of the Kentucky game.

But Kentucky's length on defense smothered Maten down low. He finished the game 2-of-10 shooting for nine points. He also brought down four rebounds against a tough Kentucky interior. For Maten's career to end like this seems unfair, really. He was the AP's conference player of the year and dominated teams at times when he was the focal point of an opposition;'s defense.

Maten will go down as one of the greatest to ever have played at Georgia.

Crump steps up

It has been a learning process for Tyree Crump over the past two seasons. He has had to learn what it takes to play defense at the collegiate level while limiting his mistakes on the offensive end.

But boy, can he light the stat sheet up when given the opportunity.

Slumping a bit before Friday's game, Crump caught fire and made four of his eight 3-point attempts, which helped go toward his 17 points. With Kentucky focusing on Maten, Crump was the one player who stepped up to keep this game from being an ugly rout. Crump has a bright future, seeing that he has two seasons remaining in college.

Poor day shooting

Credit Kentucky's defense as Georgia rarely found clean looks from the field.

The Bulldogs ended the game 28 percent from the field. The Wildcats' defense was stifling and contested a lot of the Bulldogs' looks. Meanwhile, the Wildcats did enough by landing 43 percent of its field goal attempts.

Turnovers return

In Georgia's first two tournament wins, it combined for eight turnovers. Against the Wildcats, the Bulldogs committed 11, with the Wildcats scoring 14 points off of them.

Turnovers have been a problem for Georgia all season long. Entering the SEC Tournament, the Bulldogs averaged 13.2 turnovers per game.

This story was originally published March 9, 2018 at 5:29 PM with the headline "Georgia's SEC Tournament run comes to a close against Kentucky."