Kentucky came out of the gate on fire but lost its mojo down the stretch.
On what was Senior Day in Rupp Arena, the Wildcats fell to the Florida Gators by a final score of 71-67. Kentucky got off to a 26-16 lead midway through the first-half as they started the afternoon 7-11 from the floor. However, the ‘Cats would shoot just 12-37 the rest of the way as Florida outscored them by five in the second half to sneak away with the victory.
Davion Mintz led the way for Kentucky, pouring in 21 points on 7-14 shooting and a perfect 5-5 from the free-throw line. Three of his Wildcat teammates also finished in double-figures as B.J. Boston (13 points), Isaiah Jackson (11), and Jacob Toppin (11) helped fill in the scoring gaps. Free-throws kept Kentucky alive throughout, as they finished 25-29 from the charity stripe.
Once Florida employed a zone defense in the second half, the Kentucky offense stalled more than a few times. UK went on multiple droughts that exceeded three minutes in length, turned the ball over 15 total times, and only dished out just seven dimes. Missed opportunities, including a 1-11 mark from distance across the second half, had the ‘Cats trying to fight out of a hole that proved to too deep.
Kentucky shot 9-27 overall in the final 20 minutes of action while Florida went 10-19. Tre Mann was the engine for Florida, scoring 21 points as the Gators shot over 52 percent from the floor and 47 percent from beyond the arc. The ‘Cats now fall to 7-8 in the SEC and further away from a potential double-bye for the upcoming conference tournament.
