If Georgia is going to become the first team to beat No. 1 Kentucky this season, it will have to do it without its leading scorer and rebounder.
Marcus Thornton will miss his second consecutive game because of a concussion sustained in the Vanderbilt game a week ago. The senior power forward was unable to gain clearance from the Bulldogs’ concussion protocol program Monday afternoon as they prepared to depart for Lexington, Ky., and Tuesday’s night’s date with the Wildcats in Rupp Arena.
“Injuries are part of the game,” Georgia coach Mark Fox said. “We’ve probably got more than our share right now, but you’ve still got to deal with it.”
Thornton is the second starter and third player overall currently sidelined with an injury. Starting small forward Juwan Parker is also out with an Achilles tendon injury and his backup Kenny Paul Geno is out with a broken wrist.
The Bulldogs (14-6, 5-3 SEC) won five in a row while Parker and Geno were sidelined, but they are 0-1 since Thornton left the scene. The 6-foot-8, 240-pound forward averages team highs in points (13.5 ppg) and rebounds (7.3). But he’s also the team’s undisputed leader in the locker room.
The absence of all those qualities were evident this past Saturday as Georgia dropped a 67-50 decision at South Carolina. Against the Gamecocks, who entered the game 1-6 in SEC play, the Bulldogs shot 22 percent from the field.
“You can actually argue that Marcus Thornton is the most productive big guy in the conference as far as stats and numbers or whatever it may be,” South Carolina coach Frank Martin said Monday. “He gives them a presence at the basket from 15 feet in — offensive rebounds, post-ups, dribble-drives, toughness, protecting the rim. Without him they’re asking a freshman to do the job. I think he makes a huge difference on their basketball team.”
Georgia started freshman Yante Maten in Thornton’s spot against the Gamecocks and he managed only 18 minutes of play before fouling out with three points and six rebounds. Sophomore Houston Kessler (2 points, 4 rebounds) and Cameron Forte (1 point, 1 rebound) were equally ineffective.
Fox was asked Monday if the Bulldogs might consider employing some radically different strategy against Kentucky, since so much of what they normally do runs through Thornton.
“It’s hard to really change with two games a week and really limited practice days,” he said. “And obviously we’ve got a Tuesday game this week. We’ll make some adjustments if he cannot play, but it’s more than just Marcus. We’ve got a number of guys down and the cumulative effect of that took its toll last weekend.”
Kentucky is empathetic to the Bulldogs’ plight. The Wildcats are expected to be without forward Trey Lyles for Tuesday’s game. The 6-10, 235-pound forward, who was averaging 7.5 points and 5.3 rebounds in 21 minutes a game of play, missed this past Saturday’s game with an undisclosed illness and Kentucky coach John Calipari was pessimistic Monday about having him back for Georgia.
Of course, the Wildcats (21-0, 8-0) missing a key player is different than most any other team in the country. Kentucky has one of the deepest squads in history in terms of elite-level talent. Many believe the Wildcats have the ability to become the first team since Indiana in 1976 to go undefeated.
“Kentucky has a special team and you’ve got to do a lot of things really, really well to give yourself a chance to win in their building,” Fox said. “John has done a phenomenal job. I think he’s always been underappreciated as a coach.”
Calipari said the same of Fox, and he’s still wary of the Bulldogs without Thornton. He said if Georgia’s guards — J.J. Frazier, Kenny Gaines and Charles Mann — play like they’re capable, they’re capable of pulling off the upset.
“Thornton being out hurts them … but their guard play is probably their strength anyway,” Calipari said. “They have Mann taking it to the rim and other guards who can get their own shot and take 3s. Those guards are shooting like 40 percent from the 3-point line. So they’re going to come in and play rough because that’s how they play.”
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