Five things you need to know from No. 6 Kentucky’s gutty 87-85 win over Florida
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Game day: No. 6 Kentucky 87, Florida 85
Click below for more of the Herald-Leader’s and Kentucky.com’s coverage of Saturday’s men’s basketball game between Kentucky and Florida at Gainesville, Florida.
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Five things you need to know from No. 6 Kentucky’s 87-85 win over the Florida Gators in men’s SEC basketball at Exactech Arena at the Stephen C. O’Connell Center:
1. UK big men grow up. In a hostile road environment against a veteran opponent, Kentucky’s youthful big men stepped up in a meaningful way.
Coming off an ineffective prior two games and a first-half slog, Aaron Bradshaw came up huge for the Wildcats down the stretch.
After trailing by as many as 11 points in the first half and being down eight, 45-37 at halftime, UK was within 70-67 when Bradshaw’s impact on the game became large.
From behind, the 7-foot-1, 226-pound freshman blocked a shot at the rim by Florida’s 6-11 Alex Condon with 5:44 left.
On the ensuing UK offensive possession, Bradshaw buried a 17-foot jumper from the left side to pull UK within one.
The game was tied at 76 when Bradshaw hit the shot of the game — a 3-point jumper from the top — that pushed UK ahead to stay 79-76.
For the game, Bradshaw finished with 10 points, seven rebounds, the very crucial blocked shot and two steals.
Meanwhile, Kentucky’s other eligible post player, Ugonna Onyenso, also made a significant contribution for the Wildcats.
The 7-foot, 247-pound sophomore had six points — including a 10-foot hook shot that would have done Cliff Hagan proud — and five rebounds.
It’s hard to overstate how important it is to the long-term development of the 2023-24 Wildcats for the 7-footers to become viable contributors.
Saturday in Gainesville was a big step toward that.
2. Veteran moxie comes through. When a team has a freshman-heavy roster facing its first SEC road game and its initial truly hostile away environment, it needs its two experienced players to lead the way.
Kentucky got that from its two super-seniors, Antonio Reeves and Tre Mitchell.
Continuing his “road warrior” ways of playing well on opponents’ home floors, Reeves went for 19 points. The 6-6, 195-pound Chicago product did not shoot especially well from behind the 3-point arc, going 2-of-7.
However, continuing to show off the diversification of his offensive game, Reeves put the ball on the floor and repeatedly scored off runners en route to hitting 8 of 16 shots overall.
In Kentucky’s past 10 true road games going back to last season, Reeves has averaged 21.7 points and made 54.1% of his shots and 51.6% of his 3-point attempts.
Reeves is truly UK’s “king of the road.”
Meanwhile, West Virginia transfer Tre Mitchell produced a double-double, 12 points and 10 rebounds, while battling against a big Florida front line.
The 6-9, 231-pound Mitchell fought so hard, he twice had to leave the game down the stretch due to what appeared to be cramping.
3. Kentucky on the glass. After Illinois State outrebounded UK 45-40, and pounded the Wildcats for 24 offensive boards, John Calipari vowed there would be improvement from the Cats on the glass.
A Florida team that entered Saturday’s game 11th in the country in rebound margin (plus-11) figured to be a more-than-worthy test of UK’s rebounding chops.
Kentucky might not have aced the rebounding exam against the Gators, but the Cats earned at least a solid “B.”
Florida won the battle of the boards by only three, 43-40. UF also claimed the offensive-rebounding edge, but only by 11-8. As a result, Florida’s second-chance points edge was plus-three — 16-13.
Staying reasonably close to Florida on the glass gave UK’s advantages in other areas a chance to prevail.
4. Calipari groovin’ in Gainesville. With UK’s victory, the Wildcats have now won their past six games at Florida.
The Gators’ most recent win over the Wildcats on their home floor remains a 66-64 victory on Jan. 20, 2018.
5. Calipari in SEC openers. In the John Calipari coaching era, Kentucky is now 12-3 in its SEC openers. When opening league play on the road, UK improved to 4-3 under Calipari.
This story was originally published January 6, 2024 at 3:08 PM.
