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Instant Analysis: Florida falls at Kentucky in key SEC meeting

No. 13 Florida (23-6, 13-3 SEC) saw its nine-game winning streak snapped at No. 11 Kentucky (23-5, 13-2 SEC) Saturday afternoon in Rupp Arena, as the Gators fell 76-66 to the Wildcats – who were without guard De’Aaron Fox (knee contusion) - and settled for a regular-season split. Florida still has won just one game in Lexington during the John Calipari era and just three at Rupp Arena since 2000.

Instant Analysis now takes a closer look at Florida’s road loss.

IT WAS OVER WHEN: In a game that saw plenty of momentum swings throughout, Kentucky began pulling away later on in the second half. Kentucky lead by just one point with 7:31 left, but then forward Bam Adebayo scored on a jumper and guard Malik Monk knocked down a three-pointer. An Adebayo dunk and two made free throws each by Adebayo and Monk lifted the Wildcats to a 70-60 lead with 4:04 left - one they managed to hold onto. Down the stretch, Florida came up empty on too many possessions to keep it considerably close.

THEY STOLE THE SHOW: Sophomore guard KeVaughn Allen was sharp from the field Saturday for the Gators, finishing with 24 points on 9-of-17 shooting (5-of-11 from three). Justin Leon chipped in 13 points, while Devin Robinson logged nine points (although on just 3-of-13 shooting) to go along with a team-best 11 rebounds.

On Kentucky’s end, Monk and Adebayo were difficult to contain. Monk went off for 33 points on 9-of-18 shooting, with 30 coming in the second half, while Adebayo finished with a double-double of 18 points and 15 rebounds.

THESE STATS DON'T LIE: Florida committed just six turnovers to Kentucky’s 16, but the Wildcats held a considerable edge at the free throw line Saturday. The Wildcats shot 27 attempts at the charity stripe and made 22 of them (81.5%), while Florida went just 4-of-6 (66.7%) on free throws.

After Florida outrebounded Kentucky 54-29 in last teams’ meeting in the O’Dome on Feb. 4, the Gators were outrebounded 48-30 on Saturday (including 36-19 on the defensive glass. Not having center John Egbunu (torn ACL) available this time around certainly made a difference, as Edebayo was responsible for 15 of those Kentucky rebounds while Derek Willis (nine boards) and Isaiah Briscoe (eight boards) also were big on the glass. No Gator besides Robinson had more than five rebounds.

WHAT A PLAY: Florida sophomore center Kevarrius Hayes made it onto the highlight reel with an aggressive block on Dominique Hawkins’ shot that he swatted out of bounds during the first half.


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The Chris Chiozza-Devin Robinson connection was on display in the second half, when Chiozza lofted the ball to Robinson for an alley-oop slam (what has almost become a regularity in these “What a Play” segments). Robinson’s dunk lifted Florida to a 45-37 lead with 15:46 left.

THE BOTTOM LINE: Florida (13-3 SEC) now drops one game behind Kentucky (14-2 SEC) in the SEC standings. The Gators can clinch the SEC regular-season crown with two wins and two Kentucky losses, or at least a share of it with two wins and a Kentucky loss. Two Wildcats wins, and Florida finishes No. 2. However, with at least one win next week, Florida will earn a top-two seed in the SEC Tournament.

This was a game where Kentucky dominated the rebounding and free throw margins, and where the Gators' shot selection was questionable. Florida missed too many uncontested shots down the stretch, despite a hot start to the game. It's still impressive that Florida held a lead - and then hung around for as long as it did - in a hostile environment like Rupp Arena, but Saturday saw an uneven performance from Mike White's group.

NEXT UP: Florida will host Arkansas on its Senior Day on Wednesday night at 7 p.m. ET (ESPN2) before traveling to Nashville to square off against Vanderbilt on Saturday at 2 p.m. in a matchup that’ll air on ESPN.

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