Kentucky players did the "Gator Chomp" after Saturday's win. (Vicky Graff Photo)
Kentucky dropped Florida from the ranks of the unbeaten in the Southeastern Conference opener Saturday.
The 10th-ranked Wildcats handed the sixth-ranked Gators their first loss of the season, hitting the century mark for the fifth time this year in a 106-100 triumph over Florida. Kentucky improved to 3-0 against teams ranked in the AP top 10 this season and gave coach Mark Pope his first conference victory as coach of the Wildcats.
“That was just an ugly level of physicality — the bloodbath, competitive, just incredible performance after incredible performance going down the line,” Pope said afterward. “(It was) a great game. How fun is this SEC league going to be?”
The league opener wasn’t enjoyable early for Pope’s squad as the Wildcats struggled from the field and missed eight of their first 10 shots from the field, including their first three shots from long range,
Florida (13-1) built an 11-point lead before the Wildcats broke loose and went on a monstrous 16-0 run to take the lead for good. Otega Oweh scored 10 points during the blitz that blossomed into a 21-3 scoring spree that turned the double-digit deficit into a 36-29 lead. Kentucky scored 12 of the last 14 points of the first half and led 52-42 at the break.
Oweh’s spark wasn’t a surprise to Pope, especially considering Oweh’s early exit to the bench and his lackluster first-half performance against Brown earlier this week.
“He’s just the most soft-spoken guy ever, but he has a competitive fire in him that burns really, really deep,” Pope said. “What he’s doing this season is just incredible.”
The Gators narrowed the margin to two down the stretch, but Kentucky made two of its 14 3-pointers, including a clincher by Andrew Carr in the final four minutes and made seven of eight free throws in the final minute to hold off the Gators.
“I thought every time he made a run and had a little momentum, I thought they stepped up and made some really big-time winning plays, big shots,” Florida coach Todd Golden said. “(They) just kept us at bay in those moments.”
Koby Brea led six players in double figures with a career-high 23 points and connected on seven 3-pointers, also a career-best for the smooth-shooting guard.
“How fun is it to watch Kobe bring it in the second half?” Pope said. “What was he six for? Seven? Something crazy like that. … it’s ridiculous the way he shoots it, how he gets it off, where he shoots it, how he shoots it. Clearly, he was massively important for us. He was also another huge catalyst in those runs (we had).”
Brea credited the coaching staff for its ability to dissect Florida’s defense, which led to 14 3-pointers and 44 points in the paint.
“I think the coaches did a really good job just showing us how they were going to guard us and how we’re going to be able to get some shots,” Brea said. “I think just sticking to the game plan and really just everything that we did in practice we did today and it worked out pretty well.”
Lamont Butler followed Brea with 19 points, Oweh scored 16, Amari Williams scored 15, while Carr and Jaxon Robinson contributed with 14 points each.
Robinson eclipsed the 1,000-point mark for his career on a 3-pointer early in the second half.
* * *
NEXT GAME: Kentucky at Georgia, 7 p.m., Tuesday. TV/Radio: SECN, UK Radio Network.
9 Responses
Any win against a No. 6 ranked team is awesome, but I don’t know if we won the game or if Florida lost it. They missed 13 free throws and we missed 6. We shot 58% overall and 48% from 3, but only 75% from the foul line? We got up 29 from the arc; if we had put up 6 more we most likely would have made 3 more. We have got to get off to better starts…going 1-13, and 0-3 from the arc will be hard to recover from on the road. We have to get better on free throws, especially when we are on the road because we are going to get hammered. We got out rebounded on both ends of the floor. We only had 6 turnovers for the game and Butler had 8 assists to go with 19 points, but Clayton put up 33 and Martin had 26. This game could have easily gone the other way.
A great win, but this could be fool’s gold over the next 8 games…not an easy one in the bunch at home or away. We have to rebound better, especially on the defensive end. We have to shoot better from the foul line…these are 2 controllable stats. Our motion offense was better, we need to trust it going forward. We need to shoot more 3s…this is our edge and can be a difference maker on the road. We have to get better guarding without fouling so much, we can’t count on 63% free throw shooting from the opponent in their home gym.
Again, a great win, but there is no room for an average effort game in the SEC this year. This year, every game we play is OUR Super Bowl! Go CATS!!!
Barry you never give credit were It’s due. You always emphasize they need do this and that. There not going to be perfect like you wanted it to be. Every team has flaws in there game. I like what I’m seeing compare what we have gone through last several years.
79, you are a guy who always talks about the good things, so you have that covered. I talk about what we do good and what we need to do better. If my critique of our play hurts your feelings, maybe you shouldn’t read them.
Barryy you can be critical all you want. It’s not gonna change anything that you want. Pope and his coaches are getting the best out of this group and I for one appreciate what the players have accomplished so far. GO CATS!!
Everyone is entitled to have their say here. You criticize those who those who aren’t rah rahs like yourself. You don’t have to be an everything is roses rah rah to be a fan. The only change I want is for all of you Calipari lovers who are still crying the blues over him being run out of town is to move there and be with him. Mark Pope is the best coach that Kentucky could ever want.
If Cal was coaching Cats would have lost by at least 15.
Still living in the past
It couldn’t have been a better first game or outcome for the Popester. The outcome wasn’t secured until very end. I can only imagine how good this team could really be if they were totally engaged at the beginning. We have no offense, defense, or rebounding first 5-10 mins of most games. Carr never woke up until final 2 mins of game, and we desperately needed that. We got nothing out of other two bigs. If we had more team buy-in to play a complete game, we could be very unstoppable.
Barry, I’m not a Cal lover that you mention and it’s funny you the one that keeps bringing his name up. I’ ve move on and not dwell the past. Rah rah