FINAL: Kentucky overcomes 16-point halftime deficit in 90-89 OT win against No. 7 Gonzaga

Gonzaga entered Saturday night’s game having won 175 straight games when leading by double-digits at halftime. That streak ended early into the wee hours of Sunday morning.

The No. 4 Kentucky Wildcats (8-1) overcame a 16-point halftime deficit to complete a stunning comeback against No. 7 Gonzaga (7-2), winning in overtime 90-89. Head coach Mark Pope was without starting point guard Lamont Butler (ankle) and lost Kerr Kriisa to cramps in the second half, but Jaxson Robinson stepped up as the lead guard and guided his team to a massive victory in Seattle.

Robinson finished with 18 points on 7-15 shooting to go along with five assists and three rebounds. However, the true hero of the night was Andrew Carr, who scored 13 of his 19 points in the second half and overtime. Otega Oweh (13 points), Amari Williams (12), and Brandon Garrison rounded out the double-figure scorers for the Wildcats.

Pope brought out a 1-3-1 zone down the stretch, which proved to be the difference. His halftime adjustments shocked Gonzaga and the Bulldogs never found a solution. In the second half, the Zags went 0-9 from deep while Kentucky shot over 53 percent as a team. 16 points tied the largest halftime comeback in school history on a neutral court.

The first half was about as ugly as it could have possibly been for the Wildcats. Kentucky actually came out by hitting a couple of three-pointers and led 8-7 early on, but the offense fell off from there and Gonzaga never looked back. Graham Ike in particular was picking apart the UK defense, posting 18 points (6-9 FG) and eight rebounds in just the first half alone, while Andrew Nembhard was up to eight points and seven assists.

Kentucky ended up shooting 33.3 percent through the first 20 minutes and just 5-17 from deep. Brandon Garrison had his moments off the bench, adding a team-high eight points and four rebounds in the opening half (he was also hit with a very weak technical foul for celebrating an and-one). But it was the poor overall effort levels on both sides of the floor (Gonzaga had nine more rebounds) that stood out. UK went the final five minutes of the first half without a field goal and trailed 50-34 at the break.

A 16-point deficit marked the largest at the half for Kentucky since Nov. 2022 against… Gonzaga.

We finally saw from fight from the ‘Cats in the second half though. A 13-0 run out of the gate (mixed with a successful possession of zone defense!) sparked some much-needed momentum and quickly cut Gonzaga’s lead to single digits. A Koby Brea triple made it just a three-point advantage for the Bulldogs at the under 12-minute media timeout. Gonzaga was ice cold from deep.

Kentucky continued to try and get over the hump. Kriisa going down with a cramp midway through the second half didn’t help the cause, but a pair of free throws from Ansley Almonor brought it down to just a two-point hole for the ‘Cats. Getting a timely defensive stop proved difficult though. But Kentucky took advantage when it could. Robinson’s jumper got UK within one point with just 90 seconds left in the game.

With just under 60 seconds to go, Carr would finally tie the game up for Kentucky off a fadeaway jumper. Gonzaga would miss a shot on the block the next possession down. The ‘Cats scooped up the rebound, got the ball across halfcourt, and called a timeout with just 24.5 seconds on the clock. But out of the break, Oweh’s lob attempt in the closing moments was blocked as we went into overtime.

Without Butler and Kriisa, Robinson stepped up as PG1. Kentucky scored the first seven points in overtime to take its first lead since the opening minutes of the game. But Gonzaga responded right back with back-to-back three-pointers to make it 86-85 in favor of the ‘Cats with 1:34 left. Carr countered with a layup at the rim to extend the UK lead back to three. Robinson’s runner on UK’s next possession with the shot clock winding down made it a four-point lead.

Gonzaga would hit a three to bring Kentucky’s lead to 90-89 but with only five seconds remaining. Carr was then fouled on the inbounds pass. He unfortunately missed them both, but the Bulldogs couldn’t get off a shot before the buzzer as Kentucky pulled off the improbable and historic upset.