Five things you need to know from Kentucky’s 71-67 loss to Florida
Five things you need to know from the Kentucky Wildcats’ 71-67 loss to the Florida Gators in an SEC college basketball game at Rupp Arena in downtown Lexington:
1. Inability to execute in a late-game situation bites the Cats again. Down 62-59 after a Tyree Appleby layup with 5:06 left, Kentucky got the lead back when Davion Mintz and Jacob Toppin each scored on dunks that followed Devin Askew steals.
Up 63-62 with 3:46 left, UK was back in what has been its Bermuda Triangle: In a close contest requiring execution under game-deciding pressure.
As has so often been the case in this struggling Kentucky season, the Cats failed to close the game out.
An Appleby three pointer with 3:29 left off a feed from post player Colin Castleton put Florida ahead to stay, 65-63.
Kentucky had two chances to regain the lead or tie. Toppin missed a contested shot in the lane at 3:06, then UK’s Mr. Clutch this season, Mintz, missed an open three-pointer at 2:16.
A Tre Mann bucket at 1:49 gave Florida a 67-63 advantage.
Isaiah Jackson pulled UK within 67-65 with a driving dunk at 1:29.
The Cats then got the ball back with a chance to take the lead, but Mintz missed another open trey at 1:02.
“That’s on me,” Mintz told Mike Pratt of the UK Sports Network following the game. “I just missed.”
Kentucky had another shot to regain the advantage, but Olivier Sarr was forced to take a deep three from the corner to try to beat the shot clock.
It missed everything with 31 seconds left, and Florida (13-6, 9-5 SEC) closed out the game by making four straight foul shots in the final 23 seconds.
As a result, Kentucky (8-14, 7-8 SEC) is now 4-7 this season in games decided by five points or less.
2. UK shooting droughts continue to haunt. Last week, in a 70-55 victory at Tennessee, Kentucky won in spite of shooting a horrid 6-for-29 from the field in the second half.
On Saturday against Florida, UK opened hot, making seven of its first 11 field-goal tries.
From there, however, the Wildcats descended into another shooting funk.
Mostly working against a 3-2 Gators zone, UK shot 12 of 37 for the remainder of the game.
In a contest when Kentucky’s defense was not as effective as normal (Florida shot 25 of 48 for the game, 52.1 percent), UK’s errant shooting was too much to overcome.
3. Kentucky adds another dubious distinction. With its defeat, UK is 4-6 this season in games played in Rupp Arena.
With only the rescheduled contest with South Carolina on March 6 remaining on the home schedule, the 2020-21 Cats will be the first UK team in the 45-year history of Rupp Arena to have a losing record in home games.
That is, unless Kentucky schedules another home game in a bid to avoid that.
If you are wondering, the last UK team that did not win more home games than it lost came in 1926-27, when Coach Basil Hayden’s Cats went 2-8 in Alumni Gym en route to a 3-13 season mark.
4. Cats make negative Senior Day history. By losing to Florida in the game in which Kentucky honored its 2020-21 senior class of Davion Mintz, Olivier Sarr and walk-on Riley Welch, UK suffered another dispiriting first:
Kentucky has now lost on back-to-back Senior Days for the first time in the 45-year history of Rupp Arena.
Last season, Tennessee spoiled Nate Sestina’s Senior Night by rallying from 17 down in the second half to beat Kentucky 81-73.
In 45 Senior Day games since Rupp opened in 1976-77, UK is now 40-5.
Besides UT last season and UF this year, the other losses came to South Carolina in 1996-97; Florida in 2005-06; and Georgia in 2008-09.
As John Calipari promised in the pregame, walk-on Welch got his first career start on Senior Day. The 6-foot senior, who had played exactly one minute all this season, was credited with three official minutes of action.
He did not score, fouled once and had a rebound and a turnover.
Sarr had six points and three rebounds in 35 minutes.
Mintz had a UK career-high 21 points in 39 minutes of action. The graduate transfer from Creighton became the first senior to lead Kentucky in scoring on Senior Day since Darius Miller had 17 points vs. Georgia in a 79-49 UK win in 2011-12.
Because the NCAA has granted all athletes an extra year of eligibility due to the coronavirus, Mintz, Sarr and/or Welch could return for another Senior Day in 2021-22 if they chose (and UK signed off on their choices).
5. Gators throw off Cats’ dominance. Florida’s win ended a five-game Kentucky win streak in the head-to-head series.
Among UK’s seven preeminent hoops rivals, Kentucky has won its most recent game against one such foe: Tennessee (70-55 last Saturday in Knoxville).
UK has now lost its most recent contests against Duke, Florida, Kansas, Indiana, Louisville and North Carolina.
As Florida coach, Mike White is now 4-8 vs. the Wildcats; as UK head man, John Calipari is 19-9 vs. the Gators.
This story was originally published February 27, 2021 at 6:52 PM.
