Zvonimir Ivisic has a Kentucky basketball debut to remember in runaway win over Georgia

Zvonimir Ivisic made his Kentucky basketball debut Saturday night. It won’t soon be forgotten.

Ivisic — the 7-foot-2 recruit from Croatia known to UK fans as “Big Z” before he even arrived in the United States — announced earlier in the day that he had been cleared to play for the Wildcats this season following a months-long inquiry into his amateur status by the NCAA.

Once he finally made it onto the court — checking in for the first time with 16:00 left in the first half — Ivisic was a basketball revelation.

No. 8-ranked Kentucky beat Georgia 105-96, but the story of the game was Big Z.

Ivisic blocked a shot on his first defensive possession as a college player. Later in his first shift, he caught a pass from Reed Sheppard and whipped a quick, behind-the-back pass to Antonio Reeves, who nailed a 3-pointer to give Kentucky a 19-10 lead and force a Georgia timeout.

UK’s players mobbed Ivisic on the court as the Rupp Arena crowd erupted at the sight of his highlight-reel pass, sustaining the noise well into the stoppage of play. The 20-year-old freshman played 2 minutes and 43 seconds in that first shift, and Kentucky outscored Georgia 11-0 with him on the court.

His next stint on the court might have been even better.

Ivisic took a pass from D.J. Wagner and hit a 3-pointer, the UK fans popping again at his first points as a Kentucky player. A minute later, he hit a jumper with his foot on the 3-point line. And then he made two more 3-pointers on UK’s next two possessions.

By the time he headed back to the bench, Kentucky was up 41-24.

Over Ivisic’s first two shifts Saturday, the Wildcats outscored the Bulldogs 24-2 in a span of 5:28. They were trailing Georgia 10-8 when he entered the game for the first time.

Ivisic finished with 13 points, five rebounds, three blocked shots, two assists and two steals in 16 minutes. He was 5-for-7 from the field and 3-for-4 on 3-pointers.

Tre Mitchell led UK in scoring with 23 points, adding five rebounds and four assists. Fellow fifth-year player Reeves scored 21 points to go with five rebounds and four assists. Wagner had 18 points and 10 assists with two turnovers, and Sheppard joined them in double figures with 12 points, going 4-for-5 on 3-pointers and adding five assists and two steals.

Kentucky was 39 of 63 from the floor (61.9%) and 14 of 25 on 3-pointers (56.0%). UK had 27 assists and outrebounded the Bulldogs 31-29.

The Wildcats led 54-35 at halftime, made 10 of 11 shots during one stretch early in the second half and hit the 100-point mark on a two-handed dunk by Ivisic with 4:46 left to give the Cats a 100-81 lead. Ivisic did a full chin-up on the rim after the dunk, resulting in a technical foul.

UK led by as many as 28 points, and its lead was at least 17 for nearly all of the second half until a late Georgia run closed the gap in the final minutes. The Bulldogs’ point total was the highest by a UK opponent so far this season.

Kentucky improved to 14-3 overall and 4-1 in the SEC with Saturday’s win, beating a Georgia team that entered the day at No. 69 nationally in the KenPom ratings. The Bulldogs (13-5, 3-2 SEC) have been one of the surprises of the conference so far this season. They were picked to finish 12th in the preseason SEC poll and have already notched early victories over Arkansas, Missouri and South Carolina — the latter two wins coming on the road — and had won 10 straight games before an 85-79 loss to SEC favorite Tennessee last weekend. Georgia led that game for most of the second half, and Saturday’s visit to Rupp marked its first road loss of the season.

Even with the debut of Ivisic, the Wildcats weren’t at full strength Saturday.

Sophomore guard Adou Thiero missed his sixth consecutive game with a back issue. He hasn’t played since Kentucky’s win over Louisville on Dec. 21, but John Calipari said before the game that Thiero has returned to practice and is “on the path where he needs to be” to return to the court soon. Thiero was averaging 7.6 points and 5.6 rebounds per game prior to his injury.

Kentucky forward Zvonimir Ivisic (44) celebrates scoring his first points, a 3-pointer, with the Wildcats during Saturday night’s game against Georgia.

Kentucky’s next game

The Wildcats head back on the road next week, starting with a matchup at South Carolina on Tuesday night. (UK will also play at Arkansas next Saturday). The Gamecocks (15-3) were picked to finish last in the SEC this season but are off to a 3-2 start in league play, including a 77-64 victory over the Razorbacks in Bud Walton Arena earlier Saturday.