Opportunity Lost: Gators Fall to No. 6 Kentucky, 87-85

The look on Todd Golden’s face made the words that followed almost redundant Saturday afternoon at the O-Dome.  

Riley Kugel Dunk - Photo Chris Spears

“Honestly, this was a game that I expected to win, to be honest,” Golden said after the Florida Gators (10-4, 0-1 SEC) dropped an 87-85 decision to 6th-ranked Kentucky (11-2, 1-0 SEC) in the Southeastern Conference opener for both teams. “You know, I thought going into this that we would have a great opportunity to win the game.”

So did John Calipari.

Only minutes before, seated in the same seat in the media room, Calipari knew his Kentucky Wildcats had somehow managed to win a game they should have lost.

“I’ll just say it again, Florida’s really good,” Calipari said. “We got lucky. I’m happy we won the game. I’m happy for our team, but I imagine they’re looking forward to coming to Lexington.”

The Gators should have won the game Saturday. This should have been the signature win that propels Florida into the nation’s top 25 teams and gives a serious boost to the NCAA Net Rankings, but it ended up one of those close call, no cigar affairs. When Golden and his coaching staff watch the replay on tape, they will see far more reasons why this one slipped away than simply the 11 missed free throws or the 15 points Kentucky scored off Florida turnovers.

From start to finish, Golden had the right game plan and it gave the Gators ample opportunities to win the game. The way the Gators shot the ball in the first half, there were moments when a blowout seemed entirely possible, but in between a barrage of 3-pointers from Walter Clayton Jr., Riley Kugel and Zyon Pullin, there were too many empty possessions and far too many defensive lapses. Even so, Florida led by as many as 11 points when Pullin hit the most remarkable 3-pointer of the day.

With the shot clock about to strike zero and Kentucky smothering Clayton on the left wing, Clayton whipped a pass to Pullin just a couple steps inside the midcourt line. There was time for one dribble forward and a launch, a high arcing heave from about 35 feet away that banked off the glass and through the net.

Florida 42, Kentucky 31. The O-Dome crowd erupted, nearly lifting the lid off the joint, but instead of playing those last two minutes truly inspired and sticking it to the Wildcats, the Gators were outscored 6-3 the rest of the way, settling for a 45-37 lead at the break. 

It should have been much, much more, but this was the story of the game for Florida. There were way too many empty possessions when the Gators got the exact shot they wanted only to see the ball clang off the iron. The game was physical throughout, enough that the Gators merited at least 10-15 more free throws but Terry Oglesby’s zebra crew swallowed their whistles far too often. Kentucky would probably say the same thing about one of the more unevenly officiated games of the year.

Even with all the hard contact around the rim, the Gators got shots up that should have but didn’t find their way into the net. The Gators hit 8-20 from the 3-point line in the first half, but despite plenty of open shots in the second half, the ball wouldn’t drop. Florida hit 1-11 on 3-balls in the final 20 minutes.

That was bad. What was worse was the number of missed layups. The Gators were 11-22 on layups for the game. One more 3-pointer and the Gators win. One more layup and it’s overtime.

And then there was the foul line. It’s not just that the Gators were 18-29 from the line, it’s the fact they missed five in the second half that could have expanded the lead enough to the point Kentucky would have been scrambling to catch up.

“We’ve been around this team for a long time, you know, that’s (free throws) obviously a shortcoming for us, so we lost the battle at the line by one,” Golden said. “The thing that’s bothering me more right now is I thought we missed some really good looks, and in the moment, a game like this, great atmosphere, the crowd was amazing, you feel like you’ve got to step up and knock some of those down. And obviously free throws are a part of that, but I’m struggling more with the 1-for-11 from three in the second half, because I thought we took really good shots.” 

From the outset of the second half, Florida’s energy and intensity levels dipped a bit. The Gators got a stick back by Micah Handlogten and a couple of free throws by Will Richard in the first 4:38 of the second half, but there were also five empty possessions. Kentucky, meanwhile, came out energized and Florida’s inability to counter turned the game around.

The potential to score a knockout win became a street brawl.

The Wildcats took the lead at 51-49 on a layup and free throw by Antonio Reeves with 15:22 left in the game, UK’s first lead since it was 10-8 in the first half. Florida regained the lead on a 3-point play by Clayton that was followed by a monster dunk on a baseline drive by Kugel, but once again, the Gators couldn’t sustain the momentum.

Reeves again delivered a 3-point play, this time with 4:25 to go that tied the game at 72-72. With 1:27 to go Kentucky’s 7-1 freshman Aaron Bradshaw knocked down a 3-pointer that gave Kentucky the lead for good at 79-76.

It wasn’t a case of bad defense on Florida’s part. Entering the game, Bradshaw had taken only three shots from beyond the arc all season, so odds weren’t exactly in his favor when he launched from the top of the key, finding the bottom of the net.

“Yeah, he was 2-for-3 from three going into the year, so I put him in that Micah (Handlogten) category of guys that could make a shot,” Golden said. “But again, you're sitting in that game, if you would have said, ‘Hey, they're gonna need a three from their freshman big who's taking three attempts on the year to dagger you guys’ [you] probably live with that as opposed to a Tre Mitchell post up or a Reed Sheppard catch-and-shoot three. You know, against a top-10 team in the country, you gotta pick your poison a little bit and what you're willing to deal with. And credit to Bradshaw, that was a huge, huge shot. But, you know, he beat us with that shot. I don't think we beat ourselves by allowing that shot.”

That was not a defensive lapse on Florida’s part to give up the bomb by Bradshaw and while Kentucky shot the ball better from the 3-point line in the second half – 4-10 after a 1-11 first half – it’s hard to fault holding a team that came into the game shooting better than 41 percent from the 3-point line to 5-20.  

What hurt the Gators far more than 3-pointers was Kentucky shooting 68 percent (17-25) on layups. The layups were like death by a thousand cuts for the Gators, who gave up way too many points in the paint. Take away the 5-20 shooting on 3-pointers and Kentucky shot 26-48 (54.1 percent) inside the arc with most of that on layups. For the game, Kentucky shot 45.6 percent. Although the Wildcats struggled at the foul line for much of the game, they were 8-10 in the final 1:04, finishing 20-28.

“You know, a big part of our game plan was to not allow assisted 3-point baskets for them and they only had six assists on the night,” Golden said. “So when you look at that, you're like, ‘Alright, you did a good job’ but then it comes down to being able to guard your yard and play one-on-one defense, especially in the middle of the floor. And to their credit, I thought they did a really good job finishing tough layups around the rim. I would imagine they had the best two-point field goal percentage against us that anybody's had all year.

“And you know, there's only so many things you do schematically at the end of the day with one-on-one defense. It comes down to are you physical enough? Are you able to keep him first far enough away from the rim? Are you able to contest the shot hard enough? So, I thought her switching was good. I thought it was really good for us when switching that Mitchell ball screen in the middle of the floor because he's such a good catch-and-shoot shooter. And he was 0-for-2 from three. They shot 45 (percent) from the field, too high of a percentage from two. I thought we did a good job limiting their threes and how good of shots they were able to get and they missed some free throws too. So, again, just one shot here, one turnover there is the difference. And that's a tough thing in a game like this when one play can change the direction of the game.”

One play nearly changed the outcome with less than a half second remaining. Trailing 87-83, Sheppard inexplicably fouled Alex Condon as he tried to shoot after he gathered in long in-bounds pass at the top of the key. Condon hit his first two free throws to close the Gators to within 87-85. He deliberately missed the third free throw, but there was no miracle tip-in to be had.

Kentucky escaped, probably leaving the O-Dome feeling that it had stolen one on the road. Florida left the O-Dome feeling that a perfectly winnable game had slipped away. To beat a team of Kentucky’s caliber, the margin for error is rather slim but somehow the Gators hung with the Wildcats in spite of themselves.

The Gators weren’t done in by one glaring error after another. Instead it was little things. Way too many little things that proved costly. If there is a lesson to be learned from a loss other than the fact that the little mistakes keep adding up, it is that Florida is more than capable of playing with any team in the country.

The next step is to not only play with any team in the country but walk away with a win.

SEC basketball

Saturday’s scores: Kentucky (11-2, 1-0 SEC) 87, FLORIDA (10-4, 0-1 SEC) 85; No. 5 Tennessee (11-3, 1-0 SEC) 90, No. 22 Ole Miss (13-1, 0-1 SEC) 64; No. 25 Auburn (12-2, 1-0 SEC) 83, Arkansas (9-5, 0-1 SEC) 51; South Carolina (13-1, 1-0 SEC) 68, Mississippi State (11-3, 0-1 SEC) 62; Georgia (11-3, 1-0 SEC) 75, Missouri (8-6, 0-1 SEC) 68; Alabama (9-5, 1-0 SEC) 78, Vanderbilt (5-9, 0-1 SEC) 75; LSU (9-5, 1-0 SEC) 68, Texas A&M (9-5, 0-1 SEC) 53

Tuesday’s games: Missouri (8-6, 0-1 SEC) at No. 6 Kentucky (11-2, 1-0 SEC); South Carolina (13-1, 1-0 SEC) at Alabama (9-5, 1-0 SEC); Texas A&M (9-5, 0-1) at No. 25 Auburn (12-2, 1-0 SEC); Vanderbilt (5-9, 0-1 SEC) at LSU (9-5, 1-0 SEC)

Wednesday’s games: FLORIDA (10-4, 0-1 SEC) at No. 22 Ole Miss (13-1, 0-1 SEC); No. 5 Tennessee (11-3, 1-0 SEC) at Mississippi State (11-3, 0-1 SEC); Arkansas (9-5, 0-1 SEC) at Georgia (11-3, 1-0 SEC)