3 takeaways from Kentucky's gritty win at Florida thanks to strong second half
Florida had an orange out and a sell-out crowd on Saturday at Exactech Arena for Kentucky’s first real road atmosphere of the season, and the game didn’t disappoint. Kentucky used a strong second half to prevail 87-85.
Kentucky came into Saturday’s SEC opener trying to avoid last year’s conference start. The Wildcats lost on the road to Missouri, barely beat LSU at home, then was routed at Alabama, and dropped a troubling game at Rupp Arena against South Carolina.
After an uneven first half in which the Cats struggled with long distance shooting and turnovers, they improved in the second half with just 2 turnovers, compared to 7 in the first half. Because of that, Florida led for more than 28 minutes in the game, compared to about 5 minutes for UK.
But UK made it count when it mattered with a 7-0 run over 1:44 down the stretch to take a 5-point lead. Florida’s Zyon Pullin then delivered an old-fashioned 3-point play to pull the Gators within 2.
Reed Sheppard was strong at the foul line in the closing minute, but also made a head-scratching foul with 0.4 seconds remaining.
UK had 5 players in double figures led by Antonio Reeves, who scored 19 points.
It’s Kentucky’s 10th in the last 11 meetings against Florida.
Here are our 3 takeaways:
Walter Clayton Jr.
Florida got a huge game from Clayton, who scored 23 points, including 3-for-11 from 3-point range, with 4 rebounds and assists. Clayton’s performance was another example for why the Florida backcourt is so improved from last season. He suffered an apparent cramp in his calf with about 5 minutes to play as the Gators led by 3.
3-point shooting in first half
Florida banked in a 3-pointer and overall held an impressive advantage against UK before halftime. The Cats were just 1-for-10 from 3-point range in the first half, while the Gators were 8-for-20. That was a big reason why Florida held an 8-point lead at halftime.
First-half turnovers
UK came into Saturday with just 9 turnovers per game was one of the best aspects of the team. But by halftime, the Cats already had 7 turnovers in this game. What’s more, UK had just 2 assists, and Florida was better in both areas. The Gators had 8 assists and 3 turnovers at halftime.
KUG!!
#2 with the steal + finish ?#GoGators | ?ESPN pic.twitter.com/oCIePQnIdd
— Florida Gators Men’s Basketball (@GatorsMBK) January 6, 2024