Five things you need to know from Kentucky’s 76-58 win over Florida
Five things you need to know from Kentucky’s 76-58 win over Florida on Saturday at Exactech Arena at the Stephen C. O’Connell Center in Gainesville, Fla.:
1. The triumphant return of Keion Brooks. After missing Kentucky’s first nine games with a calf injury, the sophomore forward made his season debut Saturday vs. the Gators.
Brooks was nothing less than terrific.
He checked in the game for the first time with 14:34 to go in the first half. The 6-foot-7, 205-pound sophomore from Fort Wayne, Ind., scored on an alley-opp dunk not even a minute after entering the game. With 6:30 left in the first half, Brooks drove the lane for a layup.
He ended his first half of the season 2-of-2 on field-goal tries with four points, two rebounds and two assists.
Brooks played so well, he started the second half — and continued to play at a high level.
The UK forward added four more field goals on six shots attempts. His high basketball IQ and passing skill helped Kentucky turn in its sharpest offensive performance of the season.
Brooks finished the game with 12 points, six rebounds, four assists, a steal and a block.
Suffice to say, had Brooks been healthy, Kentucky’s 1-6 December disaster would have looked very different.
2. Dontaie Allen factor. The former Pendleton County star came off the bench in half one and buried two quick treys, the first with 15:37 left in the first half, the second at 14:20.
From that point, Florida’s Scottie Lewis all but lived in Allen’s No. 11 jersey.
Kentucky’s 2019 Mr. Basketball did not make another field goal and finished the game 2-of-5 from the field and had six points, two rebounds and a blocked shot.
Yet the defensive attention Florida had to pay Allen opened things up for other Wildcats.
It is not a coincidence that a UK team that was shooting 41.4 percent on field goals and 25 percent on three-point tries before Allen was inserted into the playing rotation at Mississippi State has shot 45.6 percent on field goals and 46.8 on treys since then.
3. Better to give. The Kentucky team that was producing more turnovers than Magee’s Bakery in the first month of the season had 18 assists on 29 made baskets in Gainesville.
The Cats turned the ball over 14 times.
Along with the “spacing of the floor” created by Allen’s presence, a big difference for Kentucky is the rapid development of true freshman point guard Devin Askew.
Askew had three assists and three turnovers vs. Florida. Over the past six games, Askew now has 20 assists vs. nine turnovers.
That’s a huge change from the first four games when the Californian had eight assists vs. 17 miscues.
4. Progress for Boston. Struggling freshman wing Brandon Boston had an encouraging showing. The 6-7, 185-pound product of Norcross, Ga., had 13 points, six rebounds, four assists and four steals.
Boston did not turn the ball over once.
On a night of encouraging signs for Kentucky, Boston’s effort was near the top of that list.
5. An early-season SEC showdown. Would you believe it, after its 1-6 start, Kentucky (4-6, 3-0 SEC) is about to play in a game that has huge implications for the Southeastern Conference championship race.
On Tuesday night in Rupp Arena, the Wildcats will face Alabama (9-3, 4-0 SEC) in a contest that will determine the SEC lead.
Two weeks ago, who would have thought that?
This story was originally published January 9, 2021 at 7:39 PM.
