Kentucky can’t close out Florida in regulation. Short-handed Cats fall to Gators in OT.
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Game day: Florida 94, No. 10 Kentucky 91 (OT)
Click below for more of the Herald-Leader and Kentucky.com’s coverage of Wednesday’s men’s basketball game between Kentucky and Florida at Rupp Arena in Lexington.
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Kentucky was short-handed once again Wednesday night, and the Wildcats couldn’t find enough to beat Florida down the stretch.
The Gators defeated UK 94-91 in Rupp Arena in a game that went to overtime and featured 15 ties and 29 lead changes throughout the 45 minutes.
The No. 10-ranked Cats looked like they would end it in regulation, with Rupp erupting on sophomore center Ugonna Onyenso’s offensive rebound and putback with 39.8 seconds left to put Kentucky ahead 83-79. But the Cats couldn’t close the game out, and Walter Clayton Jr. hit a 3-pointer with 3.0 seconds left to send it to overtime tied at 84.
Clayton, who was 7-for-13 from deep and scored 23 points, hit another 3-pointer with 1:42 left to give Florida an 89-87 lead, and Zyon Pullin hit two free throws with 44 seconds left to put the Gators ahead 91-87.
Reed Sheppard, who played all 45 minutes, led Kentucky with 24 points, adding eight rebounds and six assists. Rob Dillingham, who missed UK’s last game with a stomach illness, scored 20 points. Antonio Reeves tallied 19 points.
Onyenso had another impressive game, recording 13 points, 16 rebounds and eight blocked shots.
The Cats led by 10 points in the final minute of the first half — with Florida missing nine consecutive shots to fuel that UK run — but the Gators closed the gap to five by halftime and used a 6-0 run in the first 92 seconds out of the break to pull ahead, setting off a back-and-forth affair over the remainder of the second half.
Kentucky (15-5, 5-3 SEC) was playing without starting point guard D.J. Wagner and fellow five-star recruit Justin Edwards, who started the first 18 games of the season before coming off the bench in Saturday’s win over Arkansas.
Wagner was out with an ankle injury, and Edwards missed the game with a leg injury. John Calipari said that Edwards’ injury happened before the Arkansas game. Their absences meant that Kentucky — now 20 games into the regular season — has still not played at full strength.
With those players out, UK started Sheppard, Reeves, Adou Thiero, Tre Mitchell and Onyenso, who made the first start of his college basketball career after earning Calipari’s praise in the victory over the Razorbacks on Saturday. It was the second start of the season for Sheppard.
Florida (15-6, 5-3 SEC) came into the day at No. 36 in the KenPom ratings, and the Gators were No. 14 nationally in offensive efficiency. Florida was eighth nationally and third in the SEC in points per game (85.4) going into Wednesday night. Only national leader Alabama (89.7 points per game) and Kentucky (88.5) were ahead of the Gators in the league.
The Wildcats were tops in the country in scoring until struggling offensively last week with a 79-62 loss at South Carolina and a 63-57 win at Arkansas. They scored just 25 and 24 points, respectively, in the first halves of those games — the first time in Calipari’s 15 seasons as head coach that one of his teams had failed to score more than 25 in the first half in consecutive games. UK led 41-36 at halftime Wednesday night.
Kentucky’s next game
The Wildcats will stay in Lexington for their next matchup: a top-10 battle with the Tennessee Volunteers on Saturday night. The game is scheduled for 8:30 p.m. on ESPN.
Tennessee (15-5, 5-2) is the top-ranked team in the SEC at No. 5 in the latest Associated Press poll. UK is No. 10 in those rankings, making the Cats the second-rated team in the conference. The Vols had won four straight games and 11 of their last 12 before a 63-59 home loss to South Carolina on Tuesday night. The Gamecocks beat Kentucky 79-62 last week in Columbia.
Tennessee junior guard Dalton Knecht — a transfer from Northern Colorado — was leading the SEC with 20.1 points per game going into Wednesday night. He’s also shooting 40.0% from 3-point range.
Kentucky won both games in the regular-season series between these two teams last season, the first time in five years either side had accomplished that feat.
This story was originally published January 31, 2024 at 10:23 PM.
