Florida’s 3-point shooting and rebounding proved just a little bit too much for Kentucky Basketball to overcome Saturday afternoon, holding off multiple comeback attempts by the Wildcats in the second half and winning 92-83.
The Gators made 10 3-pointers and out-rebounded Kentucky 44-37.
Missed lay-ups, missed free throws. They’re still preventing this team from going from good to really good or great. We knew Florida was good, but Kentucky had plenty of chances to win this game. They just couldn’t
convert when it mattered.
I’m planting my flag. Kentucky will beat Florida at home on March 7th. In fact, they may not lose another game in the regular season. They went toe-to-toe with the beast that is the Gators. They were right there. This is a good team. They’re right there. Just win the games you’re supposed to win and get another shot at Florida on March 7th.
First Half
Naturally, the Wildcats tied the Gators in rebounding 20-20. Yet, Kentucky trailed 43-34 after the first half.
Florida, who entered this game shooting below 30 percent from 3-point range, shot 5-14 from 3-point range in the first 20 minutes. The Gators were 50 percent from the field overall. On the other side, Kentucky was 3-8 from 3-point range and 12-32 overall. The Wildcats also had nine turnovers against just four assists. Florida had eight assists to six turnovers.
Xaivian Lee led Florida with 13 points with Thomas Haugh adding 12 in the first half. Lee was also 3-3 from beyond the arc in the first 20 minutes.
Denzel Aberdeen, who was booed heavily in the first half by Gators fans after transferring from there last offseason, led the Wildcats with nine points. Otega Oweh, who reached 1,000 points inh is Wildcats’ career in the first half, had eight points in the first 20 minutes.
Second Half
Sure enough, the Wildcats quickly cut the deficit to just two points 1:30 into the second half. It looked like they just might pull off another incredible comeback.
Foul trouble, though, plagued the Wildcats in the second half. Malachi Moreno, Brandon Garrison, and Mouhamed Dioubate all struggled with staying out of foul trouble. Against Florida’s front court, your big men cannot be in foul trouble, especially with thin depth.
Florida also had one of their best performances shooting the ball from beyond the arc Saturday. The Gators were 10-28 from 3-point range overall and 5-14 in the second half. Urban Klavzar had five 3-pointers, and Xaivian Lee had four 3-pointers.
Kentucky held up from 3-point range, going 8-16 from 3-point range and 5-8 in the second half.
Box Score
Game MVP: Collin Chandler
While Chandler’s big plays couldn’t get Kentucky past the finish line this time, it’s still great to see the sophomore continue to build off his improved play recently. His 18 points were tied for a career-high, and he did it on a very efficient 6/10 shooting to go with three steals, three rebounds, and two assists.
Kentucky vs. Florida Twitter Reactions
Big Blue Nation was locked into this game. Here are the best Twitter reactions from Big Blue Nation during Saturday’s game.
