Kentucky has been fluent in second-half comebacks this season, but that wasn’t the case on Saturday in Gainesville.
The No. 25 Wildcats (17-8; 8-4 SEC) trailed from start to finish in a 92-83 loss to the No. 14 Florida Gators (19-6; 10-2 SEC). Kentucky had a chance to sit atop the SEC standings with a win, but instead, Florida solidified its status as the top team in the conference.
Kentucky saw four players reach double-figures, led by 19 points from Denzel Aberdeen in his return game against his former school. Collin Chandler chipped in 18 points on 5-7 outside shooting while Otega Oweh added 13 points, surpassing the 1,000-point mark as a Wildcat in the process. Malachi Moreno finished with 11 points and 11 rebounds despite playing most of the game in foul trouble.
Too many early first-half turnovers for UK allowed Florida to strike first. Kentucky made multiple comeback attempts throughout the game, but was never able to tie the score and get over the hump. After the ‘Cats matched Florida on the glass in the first half, the Gators won that battle 25-17 after the break. Five different Florida players reached double-digits, led by 22 points from Xaivian Lee and 19 more from Urban Klavzar. Rueben Chinyelu and Alex Condon both grabbed double-doubles for the Gators.
Kentucky once again fell into a first-half hole. The Wildcats were matching Florida’s physicality early, but back-to-back threes from Lee made it a quick 10-2 lead for the Gators. Chandler was able to respond with a three of his own out of a timeout before four straight points from Thomas Haugh gave UF a double-digit lead, 18-8, less than six minutes into the game. A second foul on Moreno, combined with five team turnovers, had UK playing on its heels.
By the second media timeout, Haugh and Lee each had 10 points with Florida in front 24-13. A jumper from Oweh cut it down to single digits, but the Gators added six straight points to take a 15-point advantage midway through the first half. Then Aberdeen began to settle in against his former team. A 10-0 killshot run from Kentucky, fueled by seven points from Aberdeen, cut Florida’s lead down to just five, 32-27. UK struggled to close the half strong, though, allowing the Gators to take a 43-34 edge into the intermission.
Kentucky actually stayed even with Florida on the glass with 20 rebounds each through the first opening half, but too many early turnovers (nine in the first half, leading to 16 Gator points) hurt the Wildcats’ momentum out of the gates. All things considered, a nine-point halftime deficit for UK didn’t feel insurmountable.
Seven straight Kentucky points to open the second-half made it just a two-point game, the closest the ‘Cats had been since it was 3-0. But a fourth foul on Moreno came with 18 minutes still to play, sending him and his nine rebounds to the bench for a significant chunk of time. Florida was in the bonus less than six minutes into the half, allowing them to extend the lead once again. Fouls would hurt the Gators, too, as Chinyelu picked up his fourth with under 12 minutes to go.
The ‘Cats continued to keep the game close, but couldn’t make the big push needed to go in front. A 7-0 run from Florida in under a minute put the Gators ahead 72-58, forcing Kentucky into a timeout. A couple more free throws made it a 16-point Gator lead, the largest of the night. UK would make another comeback attempt, trimming its deficit down to just eight, but poor defense allowed Florida to nail an open triple. At the final media timeout, the Gators were up 81-70.
Chandler hit a couple of threes in the closing minutes, even getting Kentucky within five with just 36 seconds left in regulation, but that was as close as the ‘Cats would get.
