Kentucky fended off an extremely efficient Gators offense to get the win

AdamStrattonKSR

Kentucky forward Ansley Almonor on defense - Dr. Michael Huang, Kentucky Sports Radio

The superlatives keep flooding out of Kentucky’s incredible win over Florida. Koby Brea had a career-high 23 points. Lamont Butler had a career-high eight assists. And six players scored at least 14 points for only the second time in school history and the first time since 1974. Not a bad night on the offensive side of the ball, and it is a good thing because the ‘Cats needed all of it to fend off an equally efficient Gator team.

In the second half, Florida scored or shot free throws on all but three possessions. That’s right, out of 33 total second-half possessions, Florida got a bucket or went to the line 30 times. And yet, Kentucky still won. Even more impressively, Florida only cut the 10-point halftime deficit down to six as the final buzzer sounded. If Florida hadn’t missed eight second-half free throws, there may have been a different outcome altogether.

Even struggling at the line, Florida scored 1.39 points per possession, an unfathomably high number. Thankfully, Kentucky scored 1.47 points per possession, an even more unbelievable clip.

Myron Metcalf pointed it out on X, but for comparison, the Boston Celtics, arguably the best team in the NBA, score on average 1.2 points per possession. Sure, this was only one game, but that is elite company.

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Moving forward, Kentucky may want to consider playing better defense and rebounding the ball better to avoid having to put up mind-boggling offensive efficiency numbers in order to win. Obviously, that is easier said than done, and credit to the Gators for a great game.

However, 1.47 points per possession is not a sustainable number. To be fair, neither is 1.39 points per possession, but still, Kentucky will need to sure up defense and rebounding as the gauntlet known as the SEC continues.

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