Kentucky's win reaffirms Calipari's belief in freshmen: "They're dogs"

At times, it just felt like Florida’s day. The Gators, who were tenth in the SEC in three-pointers made coming into today’s game, made eight treys in the first half, while Kentucky, second in the league, was a chilly 1-10 from behind the arc. Freshmen DJ Wagner and Aaron Bradshaw, both starters, had only two points at halftime on 3-7 shooting. Kentucky, which was averaging over 19 assists per game, only had two assists to three turnovers.

Thankfully, there are two halves to a game. When all was said and done, Kentucky is leaving Florida with an 87-85 win thanks in large part to Wagner and Bradshaw. Wagner came out of the half on a tear, scoring seven of Kentucky’s first 14 points to give the Cats the lead. At the end of the game, it was Bradshaw’s turn to play hero. After Antonio Reeves tied the game at 76 with just over two minutes remaining, Bradshaw blocked Alex Condon’s layup and on the other end, hit an incredible, improbable three to give the Cats the three-point lead. They never lost it, thanks to six crucial free throws by Reed Sheppard.

Kentucky’s win over then-No. 9 North Carolina may look better on paper, but today’s victory over Florida is more impressive. Not only did the Cats pull off a victory in a sold-out, Oranged-out SEC road venue, but they did it on a day when things just weren’t going their way.

“Where did you think this was going when we missed two front-end one-and-ones back-to-back?” John Calipari said of Sheppard and Antonio Reeves — the team’s best shooters — missing big free throws around the eight-minute mark.

“That just tells you, this team never — they’re a bunch of — I don’t care that they’re young. They’re dogs. They have a will to win. They were playing to win the game.”

Calipari said that’s why he wanted Rob Dillingham in the game at the end despite a very off-day by the freshman guard. It’s also why he was fine with 7-1 Aaron Bradshaw stepping back and taking a three with under two minutes to go on a crucial possession.

“Aaron’s three at the top? I mean, he does it in practice. He’s done in one game where he made a three. And that’s why we ran that high ball screen and threw it back to him and the kid had the courage to make it.”

Calipari’s reaction to Bradshaw’s three says it all:

Aaron Bradshaw making big plays for the Wildcats 😤

(via @KentuckyMBB)

pic.twitter.com/49yz1rYxNO

— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) January 6, 2024

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“They can get themselves changed within a game”

To Calipari, Wagner and Bradshaw’s strong second halves are great examples of what makes this team special. Not only can he afford to put star players on the bench when they’re playing poorly, but those star players are capable of shaking off a bad start to finish strong.

“That they can get themselves changed within a game,” Calipari said of what he learned about his team. “That’s hard now. You start playing bad and you flip it around within the game? Now that means you’re a five-star player because you’ve lived it. If you’re anything down there and that happens, it’s hard to flip it. You play bad, ‘I’m bad this game.’ We had a bunch of guys out there that struggled and we found a way to win.”

Let’s not forget the veterans. Antonio Reeves and Tre Mitchell steadied the ship while the rookies found their footing in their first true road game. Both hit several clutch buckets to keep Kentucky within striking distance and in the final minutes, Mitchell battled cramps in both legs but found a way to get back on the floor. The moment he checked back in and slapped hands with Reeves was iconic.

This when I knew we had it pic.twitter.com/guqws8aFII

— Ryan Back East (@heyryanwallace) January 6, 2024

“I told them, Tre and DJ were playing the best,” Calipari told Tom Leach of his message to his team in the second half. “The rest of you, I’m going to filter you in and out, but those two are staying on the court as long as they can. Obviously, Tre cramped up.”

Kentucky returns to Lexington with a Quad 1 victory over a good Florida team in a hostile road environment. They’ll go through the same exercise a week from today at Texas A&M. Before then, they’ll host Missouri on Tuesday. There’s work to be done, but after watching his young team overcome a bad first half to pull off a gritty road win, John Calipari was pleased.

“This is where you find out where you are right now.”