Instant Analysis: Florida looks flat in road loss to No. 20 Kentucky
Arriving at Lexington, Ky., winning five of its previous six games, Florida came out flat once again in a road loss - this time to No. 20 Kentucky.
The Gators (15-8, 6-4 SEC) struggled to contain the hot-shooting Wildcats (17-6, 7-3 SEC), losing 80-61 in Rupp Arena on Saturday in Mike White's first time as a head coach squaring off against John Calipari and Kentucky. UF is now 2-6 in road contests this season, with seven of its eight losses coming against teams in the top 100 nationally in RPI.
Instant Analysis now takes a look at Florida's road loss.
IT WAS OVER WHEN: The game tipped off, honestly. Kentucky jumped out to a 10-2 lead not even two minutes into the contest and didn’t let up from there. Suddenly, the Gators found themselves trailing 24-5 – and more than seven minutes later 42-18. Florida soon responded with a 10-0 run to cut its deficit to 14, but Kentucky closed out the half strong to enter halftime with a 50-32 lead.
The onslaught continued at the start of the second half, with the Wildcats jumping out to an 8-0 run. Florida managed to cut its deficit once again to 14 later on in the second half, but it was still too big of one to overcome as Kentucky led the entire second half by double-digit points.
THEY STOLE THE SHOW: Kentucky guards Jamal Murray and Tyler Ulis really were two of the most dominant players on the court Saturday afternoon, combining for 53 of UK's 80 points. Murray led the way with a career-best 35 points on 13-of-20 shooting (8-of-10 from three), with 20 of his points coming in the first half thanks to a perfect 5-of-5 clip from downtown. Ulis, though, kept Kentucky's offense rolling with a game-high 11 assists along with 18 points on 7-of-12 shooting.
On Florida's end, Dorian Finney-Smith led the way with 24 points on 8-of-11 shooting to go along with eight rebounds.
THE STATS DON'T LIE: Kentucky was simply sharper from the field - especially from behind the arc - than Florida was Saturday. UK finished the game 30-of-58 (51.7%) from the field and 12-of-20 (60%) from three-point range, while UF went 21-of-53 (39.6%) and 6-of-19 (31.6%) in those respective categories.
This season, UF is 11-1 at home and 2-1 at neutral sites but just 2-6 in true road games. Meanwhile, Kentucky is now 14-0 at home this season with a home record of 115-4 under Calipari.
WHAT A PLAY: At the end of the first half, Florida freshman guard KeVaughn Allen raced down the court and left off a three maneuvering between Kentucky defenders, banking in the runner as the buzzer sounded. The impressive three-point shot that gave Allen his first points of the afternoon cut UF’s deficit at the half to 50-32.
THE BOTTOM LINE: Kentucky came out like a bat out of hell Saturday and overall played with more intensity than the Gators, considering the Wildcats were pretty motivated after dropping two consecutive road games. Florida entered Saturday with plenty of momentum, but now must rekindle it after seeing its defense exploited by UK. UF heads into a week where it cannot afford another loss.
UP NEXT: Up next week for the Gators a home stand, as they will host Ole Miss next Tuesday (9 p.m. ET, ESPNU) and Alabama next Saturday (5:30 p.m. ET, SEC Network) in the O’Connell Center.
