Instant Analysis: No. 24 Florida earns signature win against No. 8 Kentucky
The Gators have finally gotten over the hump over Kentucky – and in the process Saturday night, they earned arguably their biggest victory of the Mike White era.
No. 24 Florida (18-5, 8-2 SEC) pulled away in the second half against No. 8 Kentucky (18-5, 8-2 SEC) to clinch an 88-66 victory and make a national statement in front of a roaring, sellout crowd in the O’Connell Center. Florida has now won its past four games by at least 20 points.
The victory snaps a five-game losing streak to Kentucky over the past two seasons, one where Florida lost those games by an average margin of 13.4 points. The last time the Gators had defeated the Wildcats was in the 2014 SEC Tournament.
The only Gator on the current roster who was on that 2013-14 team? Point guard Kasey Hill.
Instant Analysis now takes a closer look at Florida’s exciting victory.
IT WAS OVER WHEN: Although Florida led for the entirety of Saturday night’s contest, Kentucky continued to hang around for a good stretch. However, the Gators managed to respond to each of Kentucky’s runs and never let their lead slip.
After the Wildcats cut their deficit to four coming out of halftime, Florida responded with five quick points by Canyon Barry. That lead soon worked its way into double-digits – and then with Kentucky trailing 62-52 with 10:10 to go, Florida used a 7-0 run to really take control of the game. A Devin Robinson three-pointer, John Egbunu slam and Kasey Hill layup in transition gave the Gators a 69-52 advantage as the lead soon reached the 20s and the O’Dome crowd let their cheers be heard. Florida was in control the rest of the way through.
THEY STOLE THE SHOW: Hill was feeling it for the Gators on Saturday night, finishing with a team-high 21 points (tying a career high as well) on 8-of-16 shooting to go along with five rebounds and six assists against three turnovers despite sitting out a chunk of the first half due to foul trouble. Devin Robinson was also quite effective for Florida, adding 16 points and nine rebounds.
On Kentucky’s end, freshman guard De’Aaron Fox (illness), who came off the bench Saturday as a game-time decision, finished with 19 points on 5-of-11 shooting (and 9-of-10 free throw shooting).
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* Florida-Kentucky game discussion
* Mike White, John Calipari postgame updates
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THESE STATS DON'T LIE: Kentucky, which was second in the NCAA with 91.3 points per game heading into tonight, finished with just 66 points (its lowest total of the season) on 37.7% shooting (6-of-18 on threes) and a 60.9% clip from the charity stripe. Florida kept Kentucky in the game at halftime thanks to 12 turnovers, but in the second half the Gators pulled away after coughing up the ball just five times.
Kentucky outrebounded nine consecutive opponents heading into Saturday’s matchup, but the Gators owned the Wildcats on the glass 54-29, including 17-6 on offensive rebounds. Florida won the second-chance points battle 17-7 and outscored Kentucky, one of the most up-tempo teams in the country, in the fastbreak 18-8.
Malik Monk, Kentucky’s leading scorer with 22.4 points per game who was fresh off of a 37-point performance against Georgia, finished with just 11 points on 4-of-14 shooting – missing his first seven field-goal attempts.
WHAT A PLAY: Hill rose high for a one-handed slam in transition midway through the second half to give the Gators an 11-point advantage. After Florida stole the ball from Kentucky guard Isaiah Briscoe, Devin Robinson heaved it to Hill, who threw down the slam and capitalized on the turnover to give Florida a 47-36 lead with 14:46 remaining.
A few possessions later, Chris Chiozza and Robinson made their way into the highlight reel. Working in transition, Chiozza drew two defenders and then dished a no-look, behind-the-back pass over to an open Robinson for a two-handed slam and the 49-38 advantage.
THE BOTTOM LINE: This was a marquee win for the Gators, who defended well at the rim against the up-tempo Wildcats in transition and effectively limited one of the most effective offensive squads in the country. Give White a ton of credit for putting together a successful game plan with less than 48 hours in between Thursday and Saturday’s game.
For NCAA Tournament purposes, Saturday’s win was huge. It gives Florida, which was just 1-4 against teams in the top 25 nationally in RPI this season, a quality win against Kentucky (No. 6 in RPI entering tonight). That’ll look nice on the resume come March. Tonight, the Gators certainly looked like a team to be reckoned with in the Big Dance.
NEXT UP: Florida will travel to Athens on Tuesday to square off against Georgia at 7 p.m. ET (ESPN2). Then, the Gators will return back to the O’Dome next Saturday to host Texas A&M at noon ET in a matchup that will also air on ESPN2.
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