Kentucky comes from way behind to beat Florida in wild regular-season finale
By Adam Spencer
Published:
The Kentucky Wildcats entered Saturday’s regular-season finale at Florida coming off a midweek loss to Tennessee.
To make matters worse, the Wildcats were without starting PG Ashton Hagans, who has stepped away from the team temporarily for personal reasons.
Things weren’t exactly easy for Florida, though, either, as star big man Kerry Blackshear Jr. left the game early with a left wrist injury and didn’t return.
Florida ended up taking a huge 59-41 lead at one point in the second half. However, down the stretch, Kentucky battled back, never giving up, even after Immanuel Quickley fouled out.
The Wildcats took a 71-70 lead with 11 seconds left. Then, with 3.4 seconds left, Nick Richards went to the free-throw line for a 1-and-1. He missed the front end and Florida grabbed the rebound, calling a timeout with 2.6 seconds remaining.
However, as you can see below, the game ended with Florida coming up just short on its final shot in a 71-70 loss:
COMEBACK COMPLETE
No. 6 @KentuckyMBB erases an 18-point deficit on the road to win at Florida. pic.twitter.com/c3QZvnKrxA
— CBS Sports (@CBSSports) March 7, 2020
Here was the final basket by EJ Montgomery, which was reviewed for goaltending but allowed to stand:
Basket is good!!! @KentuckyMBB takes the lead! pic.twitter.com/FyrBeE0F9k
— CBS Sports College Basketball ? (@CBSSportsCBB) March 7, 2020
Richards had 19 points and 7 rebounds to lead the Wildcats. Scottie Lewis had 19 points for the Gators.
Florida won’t be the No. 2 seed, as it would have been with a win. Kentucky will enter the SEC Tournament next week as the No. 1 seed.
Adam is a daily fantasy sports (DFS) and sports betting expert. A 2012 graduate of the University of Missouri, Adam now covers all 16 SEC football teams. He is the director of DFS, evergreen and newsletter content across all Saturday Football brands.
