UK basketball has been good in transition this season. That changed this week
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Florida outscored Kentucky 24-4 in fast break points in Saturday’s win at Rupp Arena.
- Earlier this week, Texas A&M had a 14-4 fast break points advantage in its win over UK.
- Kentucky finishes the regular season 19-12 overall and 10-8 in SEC play.
Throughout what’s been an unpredictable Kentucky basketball season, there’s been at least one regular occurrence for Mark Pope’s Cats.
Most of the time, UK has outperformed its high-major opponents when it comes to transition scoring.
Entering Saturday’s Senior Day showdown against No. 5 Florida, Kentucky claimed an advantage in fast break points in 17 of its 23 games against high-major foes.
This success in transition opportunities was evident even during some of the worst moments of the UK season. In nonconference play, Kentucky scored more fast break points than the likes of Louisville, Michigan State and Gonzaga. In SEC play, the Cats had more points in transition than Missouri, Georgia and Auburn.
Those are six of the most notable defeats from a Kentucky season that now has 12 of them.
The latest of those losses — an 84-77 setback to Florida to close the regular season Saturday at Rupp Arena — continued a discouraging new trend: Kentucky getting pummeled in transition.
Todd Golden’s Gators enjoyed a robust 24-4 advantage in fast break points during Saturday’s win. It’s the second-straight disappointing fast break performance by UK. Texas A&M enjoyed a 14-4 advantage in fast break points during Tuesday’s win over the Cats in the Lone Star State.
After the game, Golden described the simple formula behind Florida’s fast break success.
It began with a strong start. The Gators raced out to an 11-0 lead, knocking down their first four shots from the field. Two of those were fast break 3s.
This forced UK to get more aggressive when crashing the offensive glass for potential rebounds and second-chance points. As Florida held firm in the rebounding department — the Gators grabbed 41 rebounds for the game to UK’s 40 — the visitors benefitted from a numerical advantage as they sprinted down the floor.
“(This) allowed us to get run-outs on clean rebounds,” Golden said. “I thought our bigs did a really good job finding their crashes and getting the ball out to the guards quick. And they weren’t able to get back and organized in transition.”
UK junior center Brandon Garrison — who fouled out after logging six points and four rebounds in 14 minutes off the bench — said Florida’s defense played a major role in the final fast break margin.
“We took some selfish shots,” Garrison said. “They’re a great transition team. As soon as they got the shot they wanted us to take, they were already leaking down the floor, and we’re out of position and stuff.”
Garrison said that on the pregame scouting report, he and his teammates studied Florida’s run-outs after the Gators forced Kentucky to miss shots.
“They always do that to teams. I feel like that’s why they’re one of the best transition teams out there,” Garrison added. “We try to send everybody to the glass, and then they just leak everybody out and hope that they get the ball and can throw it out.”
UK sophomore forward Andrija Jealvic agreed that the Gators’ fast break dominance stemmed from how their defense operates.
“We never really had one guy from Kentucky (and) one guy from Florida running at the same time and (the Florida player) just was faster,” Jelavic said. “All their transition points were basically one-on-zero layups and dunks, because we’re either turning the ball over or just think that we can make a shot, their bigs make a block and their guards are already onto the second half (of the court).”
The transition battle isn’t the be-all and end-all of UK’s chances to win. The Cats have actually won three of the seven games this season in which a high-major opponent has outscored them in transition points.
But for a team with a multitude of limiting factors as the postseason arrives, consistent showings in transition were something this UK team could hang its hat on. That’s now trending in the wrong direction as March Madness arrives, with Mark Pope’s team set to begin the SEC Tournament on Wednesday.
“It’s not something you can learn. It’s not just something that’s tactics,” Jelavic said. “You need to make a decision: Do you think you can make the shot or not? And if not, you turn it down and find a better shot.”
