John Calipari cites exhaustion for Kentucky's breakdowns against Florida

Kentucky suffered a poor loss last night after Florida got it to overtime to steal one in Rupp Arena. Of all the reasons that the collapse happened, though, John Calipari is citing fatigue among the main reasons why it took place.

Calipari discussed what happened with his team toward the end of the game in his postgame press conference following the 94-91 defeat to the Gators. He credited the lapses, specifically on the defensive end, to exhaustion from some of the Wildcats after having to play heavier minutes.

“There were some breakdowns. Like, ‘why did you do that?’ kind of breakdowns,” said Calipari. “I’m owning it up to that they were exhausted.”

Calipari’s main example was the final, game-tying three in regulation from Florida G Walter Clayton Jr.. To that point, Clayton Jr. had shot 5-10 from distance on the night. That’s why it was so confusing to Calipari, among many others, why Reed Sheppard played several feet off of him. Clayton Jr. took advantage of that coverage, especially with a ball fake, and made his sixth triple of the game. That sent it to overtime where he’d hit another three before his team would go on to win in Lexington.

“Like, the last three. Why did you leave that guy?” Calipari asked. “We were guarding the three-point line, he’s stopped in the lane. You left your man. Why did you do that?”

“Well, he’s probably exhausted,” reasoned Calipari.

The lineup was already different considering the late scratches of both DJ Wagner and Justin Edwards due to injury. That forced players into extra minutes such as Sheppard having to join the starting lineup. Four players in Sheppard along with Tre Mitchell, Rob Dillingham, and Antonio Reeves played 37 minutes or more.

The extra five minutes in overtime, a position one could argue that Kentucky shouldn’t have been in in the first place, only compounded that problem and added more minutes to their fatigue.

All of it combined to complicate how the game ended up playing out. Calipari had to try to manage his players the best that he could under the circumstances, even with a few other others dealing with injuries during the game.

“Who are you going to take out and who are you going to put in? Robert even went back in with cramps.”

To be fair, though, Kentucky didn’t make it any easier on themselves as far as management. For one, they had their opportunities to close it out in regulation before it even got to overtime. For two, they still had two, unused timeouts at the end of regulation. They could have potentially used either for additional rest if that indeed became an issue late in the game.

After taking one away from Florida in Gainesville to open conference play at the start of the month, the Gators returned the favor in the bluegrass last night. That outcome now has Calipari and UK searching for answers, especially in terms of their lineup with questions still looming regarding certain availabilities moving forward.