GAINESVILLE, Fla. – One of lately, Todd Golden and the Florida Gators are going to interrupt that NCAA Evaluation Tool (NET) glass ceiling and begin stringing collectively some Quadrant-1 victories; the form of wins that build postseason resumes. The coaches understand it. The gamers understand it. The program is trending in too good a route for it to not occur.
But Saturday was not that day.
Kentucky freshman ahead Aaron Bradshaw, with simply three 3-point makes an attempt on the season, buried a go-ahead trey with 1:23 to play and classmate Reed Sheppard, the guard with deep Big Blue lineage, hit six consecutive free throws within the last 19.3 seconds, because the Wildcats accomplished a second-half comeback and burst the orange-out bubble inside sold-out Exactech Arena/O’Connell Center with an 89-87 victory that left the home group – nonetheless – pissed off by one other shut defeat, this one within the Southeastern Conference opener for each groups. The loss snapped the Gators’ six-game successful streak, this system’s longest in seven seasons.
“One shot right here, one turnover there, that is the robust factor,” Golden stated. “One possession may have modified the route of the sport.”
If any possession did, it was the one which ended with Bradshaw’s 3 from the highest of the important thing. To that time, the Gators (10-4, 0-1) had led for 28 minutes, 35 seconds, in comparison with the Wildcats (11-2, 1-0) out in entrance simply over 4 minutes. Bradshaw’s bomb broke a tie at 76-all and Sheppard, an 87-percent free-throw shooter and son of Kentucky icon and two-time NCAA champion Jeff Sheppard, dashed any hopes of a home-team comeback.
“It’s robust shedding like that and never defending our home ground,” junior UF guard Walter Clayton stated.
UF has now performed 19 Quadrant-1 video games, per the NET, the final two seasons and have a 2-17 mark to indicate for it, together with 0-4 this season (losses to Virginia and Baylor on impartial flooring, at Wake Forest, now home in opposition to Kentucky). The silver lining? Much more Q-1 alternatives are on the horizon, beginning Wednesday evening at Ole Miss, which started the day as one in every of simply three unbeaten groups in Division I.
Forward Antonio Reeves, the SEC’s No. 2 scorer coming in, led 5 Cats into double figures with 19 factors, whereas Sheppard completed with 14, going 9-for-11 from the free-throw line. Grad-transfer ahead Tre Mitchell posted a double-double of 12 factors and 10 rebounds. Freshman guard D.J. Wagner had 14 factors and Bradshaw tallied 10 factors and 7 rebounds.
Florida was led by Clayton and grad-transfer level guard Zyon Pullin, each of whom totaled a game-high 23 factors and mixed to make 16 of their group’s 29 subject targets. Sophomore guard Riley Kugel, in his second sport in a reserve function, had 15 factors and 4 rebounds, but additionally three turnovers. Micah Handlogten, the 7-foot-1 middle, had six factors and a game-high 12 boards, plus three turnovers. UF solely turned the ball over 11 instances, however UK cashed them in for 15 factors.
The Gators shot 42.6 % for the sport, however missed 10 of 11 makes an attempt from the 3-point arc within the second half and knee-capped themselves by going 18-for-29 from the free-throw line (62.1 %). What’s extra, two of their prime offensive threats, ahead Tyrese Samuel (3 factors, 7 rebounds) and guard Will Richard (2 factors, 0-for-8 from the ground), mixed to make simply one in every of 14 field-goal tries and go 0-for-8 from the 3-point, with seven of these misses from distance by Richard, who’d averaged 17.4 factors over his earlier 5 video games.
“We had quite a lot of beauty on pictures we normally make,” Pullin stated.
The Wildcats, the No. 3-rated offense within the nation and No. 2 group from the 3-point line at 41.6 % coming in, made simply one in every of 10 from deep within the first half, and trailed by eight on the break.
UK, nonetheless, began the second half with a 14-4 run to take its first lead for the reason that first 5 minutes of the sport. The Gators obtained the lead proper again on an old-fashion 3-point play by Clayton and really opened a seven-point margin, 58-51with simply over 12 minutes remaining, earlier than the Cats began clawing again.
Florida’s final lead, at 76-74, got here after two Clayton free throws. Kentucky tied the rating on a driving, guarded layup by Reeves, then compelled a shot-clock violation on the Gators’ subsequent possession with 1:43 to play and the rating knotted at 76.
Twenty second later, Bradshaw was huge open from the highest of the important thing and swished the game-changer.
“A dagger shot,” Golden stated.
Some of UK pictures that preceded Bradshaw’s weren’t as loud, however they have been each bit as key. The Cats hit 5 of their final six field-goal makes an attempt and 9 of 11 free throws over the ultimate six minutes. Each time Sheppard stepped to the road – with 19 seconds to go, then eight, then two – his group was up by simply two factors. Each time, he made it a two-possession sport.
UF truly had a longshot probability to tie the rating, as Sheppard inexplicably fouled 6-11 freshman ahead Alex Condon (10 factors, 4 rebounds) whereas he was trying a 3-pointer with .4 remaining within the sport. Condon sank the primary two free throws, then deliberately missed the third in hopes a tall teammate may get a game-tying tip.
Instead, a UK participant knocked the rebound away because the horn sounded.
“They’re going to win quite a lot of video games,” Cats coach John Calipari stated of the Gators.
Golden stated he anticipated to win this one, which made the result all of the extra disappointing and irritating.
“It’s all a part of the expansion of the place we’re making an attempt to get,” Golden stated. “We led for half-hour. We have been proper there. That’s going to sting. No ethical victories, however truthful to say this program is heading in the right direction.”
Now it simply want the wins (some large ones, as in Q1s) to indicate for.
