Malik Monk hit seven three-pointers in the second half and overtime to spoil Georgia’s upset bid. (Getty) John Calipari’s wildly successful and ongoing eight-year tenure at Kentucky has been defined by exceptional point guard play. From John Wall to Brandon Knight and all the way on down the line, his teams have been led by great young floor generals.
In part because of guys like Wall, Knight, Marquise Teage and Tyler Ulis, Calipari’s teams have also almost always been good, and usually really good. In fact, so good that they’ve never lost three games in a row since Cal arrived in Lexington in 2009.
For much of Tuesday night’s matchup with Georgia at Rupp Arena, that streak looked to be in jeopardy. And it looked to be in jeopardy because the latest in the long line of superstar point guards, De’Aaron Fox, wasn’t playing. He stayed home with an illness, and Kentucky struggled in his absence. The Wildcats trailed 12-0 and 19-5 early. They trailed 76-74 with 10 seconds to play.
But Calipari’s streak of losing streak avoidance still stands because of his other outstanding freshman guard.*Malik Monk scored 37 points — 31 of them in the second half and overtime — to see off Georgia’s upset bid and lead Kentucky to a 90-81 victory.
And of course, Monk did it in typical Malik Monk fashion. The most clutch of his high-arcing jumpers was a 20-foot fadeaway from the left baseline to send the game to OT:
Malik Monk tonight = ???????? pic.twitter.com/uDZnz7Ku6L
— ESPN College BBall (@ESPNCBB) February 1, 2017
But it was only one of many highlights. Monk hit five of his seven second-half three-point attempts. He drilled two more in the five-minute overtime period:
Malik Monk with his SIXTH 3 pointer to give him 32 points. pic.twitter.com/RWhzwhEFeG
— Scott Charlton (@Scott_Charlton) February 1, 2017
Malik Monk with his SEVENTH 3 pointer to give him 35 points. pic.twitter.com/dudbQU6MYa
— Scott Charlton (@Scott_Charlton) February 1, 2017
Monk’s skill set — one that gives him sumptuous potential in the eyes of NBA scouts — was on full display throughout the second half. He hit shots off the catch and the dribble, with a clear line of sight and with a hand in his face, and from all distances. Monk actually makes*a higher*percentage of his catch-and-shoot looks from beyond the arc when they’re*contested than when they aren’t, and he exhibited that ability time and time again Tuesday.
He also took advantage of defenders flying out to him, and flew right by them to the rim:
Malik Monk is too smooth. pic.twitter.com/Qk1DRSDWrB

— Scott Charlton (@Scott_Charlton) February 1, 2017
In addition, he was 10 for 12 from the free throw line.
Kentucky needed every one of his 37 points to hold off a Georgia team that came to play. The Bulldogs*opened up a 14-point lead in the opening stages. Kentucky eased back into the game with defense and offensive rebounds, and went into halftime tied, but scored just 0.85 points per possession over the opening 20 minutes. It was clear Calipari and his team missed Fox.
The Wildcats, behind Monk’s offense and a strong multi-faceted performance from Isaiah Briscoe, eventually led by as many as eight with under eight minutes to play, but made just two*field goals over the final seven minutes and nearly let the game slip away.
The second of those two, however, was Monk’s baseline jumper. Down two with under 20 seconds to play, Briscoe drove right down the middle of*the lane and lost the ball, but it*skimmed off the leg of Georgia’s E’Torrion Wilridge on its way out of bounds. That gave Calipari one last chance to draw up a play to either send the game into overtime or win it. He drew up a good one for a good player. Monk came hurtling towards the left corner off a screen, caught the inbound pass, and rose over his defender from just inside the arc to tie the game.
Monk (8) outscored Georgia (5) on his own*in overtime, and the Wildcats pulled away in the final minute with free throws to avoid their first three-game skid under Calipari. They had lost at*Tennessee last Tuesday and to Kansas over the weekend. With this win, though, they remain atop the SEC, and will be favored to stay there as long as Fox returns to full health sooner rather than later.