Three reasons the #9 Kentucky Wildcats will beat Georgetown on Thursday

Mark Pope and the Kentucky Wildcats are coming off a massive win over the #1 Purdue Boilermakers in an exhibition game, and now the Wildcats will get ready for Ed Cooley's Georgetown Hoyas.

The Wildcats are playing a Georgetown team that isn't ranked all that high in the KenPom rankings, and they aren't projected to be an NCAA Tournament team, so the Hoyas are going to come into this game with nothing to lose.

The Hoyas have some players with some good upside, so Kentucky can't come into this game with a hangover from the big exhibition win over #1 Purdue.

If Kentucky comes out and plays their game behind a great Rupp Arena crowd, they should take care of the Hoyas by a wide margin.

Let's take a look at three reasons the Kentucky Wildcats will beat the Georgetown Hoyas.

Three reasons #9 Kentucky will beat Georgetown

Kentucky shoots the three-ball well

Oct 24, 2025; Lexington, KY, USA; Kentucky Wildcats guard Kam Williams (3) claps from the sideline during the second half against the Purdue Boilermakers at Rupp Arena at Central Bank Center. Mandatory Credit: Jordan Prather-Imagn Images | Jordan Prather-Imagn Images

While the Wildcats got a big win over Purdue, they didn't have their best game shooting the ball from deep, as the Wildcats shot 31% (9-29). It's scary to think that the Wildcats played at such a high level vs. #1 Purdue and didn't even shoot the ball well. If Kentucky shoots the three ball closer to 40% against the Hoyas and their porous defense, Kentucky will win this game by 20+ points.

The defense will have another big game

Mo Dioubate — Oct 24, 2025; Lexington, KY, USA; Kentucky Wildcats forward Mouhamed Dioubate (23) celebrates after dunking the ball during the second half against the Purdue Boilermakers at Rupp Arena at Central Bank Center. Mandatory Credit: Jordan Prather-Imagn Images | Jordan Prather-Imagn Images

Kentucky's defense is ranked #4 in the KenPom rankings, and it looked every bit of this in the win over Purdue and their #1 KenPom offense. Now the Wildcats will go against a Georgetown offense that isn't all that good, according to the analytics. Kentucky needs to come out with the same level of intensity they played with on Friday vs. Purdue. If the Wildcats do this against the Hoyas, they will win this basketball game.

Otega Oweh has a big game

This offseason, Otega Oweh dealt with an injury and wasn't on the floor much, but he was cleared ahead of the Purdue game. In this basketball game, Oweh only played 17 minutes, and while he scored 10 points, he missed a lot of shots that he wouldn't generally miss. If Oweh is on the floor more in this basketball game and scores a lot of points effectively, the Wildcats will win this game by a wide margin. Kentucky needs Oweh to have a big game to prove he is 100% before the season begins on November 4th.