UK, playing without Hagans and down 18, pulls off a comeback at Florida
Kentucky played without its lead guard, Ashton Hagans. Florida played for much of the game, especially the decisive second half, without its lead “big,” graduate transfer Kerry Blackshear.
Advantage Kentucky.
With Hagans not making the trip for “personal reasons,” Kentucky rallied from an 18-point deficit with barely 11 minutes left to defeat Florida 71-70 on Saturday.
Because of a wrist injury, Blackshear played only 12 minutes, and just two in the second half. It was the second-biggest comeback victory in John Calipari’s 11 seasons as UK coach.
UK scored 18 of its 28 points in the paint after the break. Fifteen of UK’s 21 second-chance points came in that time. And UK outrebounded Florida 19-7 in the second half.
Fittingly, EJ Montgomery’s tip-in with 11.6 seconds left put Kentucky ahead 71-70. It was UK’s first lead. It was Montgomery’s second basket and second rebound.
UK, 25-6 overall and 15-3 in the Southeastern Conference, won when Andrew Nembhard’s three-point shot in the final seconds twice bounced off the rim and then fell off.
UK Coach John Calipari said Blackshear’s absence was “a big part” of the game. “But Nick (Richards) played better.”
Richards, who led UK with 19 points, made only one of seven shots in the first half.
“At halftime, I said, ‘Nick, you’re so bad right now,’” Calipari said. “’If you play (better), they’re only going to remember the second half. And I’m coming at you. So, you can either be the player you’ve been all year or look like this.’”
Richards played like the player who inspired the “Pick Nick” campaign for SEC Player of the Year and All-American honors.
Keion Brooks cautioned against attributing too much of Richards’ big second half to Blackshear’s absence.
“It didn’t matter if he was in the game or not,” Brooks said. “If Nick was open, we were going to throw him the ball. … I’m going to ride with Nick 10 times out of 10. So, if I see his numbers and see his chest, I’m going to throw him the ball.”
Kentucky had its own handicap. Before the game, Calipari tweeted that Hagans did not make the trip.
The first half made it immediately clear that Kentucky was not the same team without Hagans, its lead guard and defensive disruptor. UK never led in the opening 20 minutes and trailed by as many as 11 points on four occasions.
The halftime deficit of 40-30 marked most points Kentucky had given up in a first half this season, eclipsing the 37 scored on three occasions — by Ohio State, Georgia in Athens and Auburn in Rupp Arena last weekend.
Florida, 19-12 overall and 11-7 in the SEC, got fewer drives to the rim in the second half
UK used a different defensive scheme in the second half, Richards said. “Instead of isolating the ball screen, we were just going to switch everything. And it worked in our favor.”
With UK coaches already on record as saying the team had a smaller than usual margin for error, Hagans’ absence would seem to put that in capital letters.
UK gave up two corner three-pointers, a no-no that Calipari frequently mentions.
It didn’t help any when Immanuel Quickley picked up his second foul with 7:22 left in the half.
Then there was Brooks picking up his second foul 25 feet from the basket, which put Florida shooting the one-and-one with 5:24 left.
Perhaps trying to reorient Kentucky with Hagans absent, Calipari called a timeout less than two minutes into the game. UK already trailed 7-0.
Kentucky got no closer than 11-9. Then, Florida took control from there.
If Kentucky was going to add to this SEC season of eye-catching comebacks, the first half of the second half gave no hint of it.
If anything, Kentucky’s situation grew more dire.
Florida twice expanded its game-long lead to 18 points. Inside the first eight minutes, Calipari received a warning for being out of the coaches’ box (18:13), then technicals apparently for the same reason at 14:46 and 12:36. All were called by head referee Doug Shows.
Kentucky kept competing. Brooks, who came into the game having made three of 17 three-point shots, made two. His second reduced the deficit to 61-51 with 8:36 left.
That came 28 seconds after Quickley fouled out.
Led by its “bigs,” Kentucky kept charging.
Calipari did not say exactly why Hagans stayed home. “He came up and said, ‘I’m in a bad way,’” the UK coach said.
When asked if Hagans would play in this coming week’s SEC Tournament, Calipari said, “I would fully expect him to. …
“Hopefully, what you’ll see is an inspired young man. If he doesn’t think he’s ready for that, then he’s not ready. We’re going to go with whomever we have.”
SEC Tournament
When: Wednesday-Sunday
Where: Bridgestone Arena in Nashville
Kentucky’s opener: 1 p.m. Friday in quarterfinals against opponent to be determined (ESPN)
