KSR Today: The Plays Kentucky Did Not Make in a Devastating Loss to Florida

How did Kentucky lose that basketball game? It’s a question I’ve asked myself many times since I walked out of Rupp Arena Wednesday night. Unfortunately, there are so many different answers that all culminate with the final result, a 94-91 loss in overtime to Florida.

Kentucky Missed Kill Shots

When the Cats win a close game, John Calipari likes to say that his players are “throwing daggers.” Every time Kentucky had a chance to deliver a dagger, they missed.

The Cats would get a stop, then turn it over on the other end. They finally hit a big three, then let Florida sink one of their own. It was a back-and-forth game of pinball where Kentucky could not stack consecutive wins on offense and defense to gain any real traction and put the Gators away.

While most folks will talk about the late-game miscues, don’t forget the one time Kentucky did stack up wins. The Cats were up by 10 points with less than a minute to play in the first half. The Gators scored five before intermission, then the first six points out of halftime to take a lead. Instead of putting Florida away before the half, Kentucky kept the door cracked, allowing Todd Golden’s team to claw back into the game.

The Cats were Gassed

You could see the fatigue in each one of Tre Mitchell‘s five missed threes. It was evident at the free throw line, missing six times from the charity stripe. It was felt at the end of the 45 minutes Reed Sheppard logged. Tired legs led to one big mental mistake at the end of regulation.

Kentucky was without Justin Edwards and DJ Wagner. The Wildcats are now 0-2 in games without their starting point guard, both losses to unranked teams at home. Oh, and Adou Thiero may have suffered another setback in the second half after flashing with some impressive finishes at the rim. Five players played 33+ minutes and nobody else played more than 15.

Kentucky Did Not Foul (or Guard the Guy Who Made All the Threes)

The Cats failed to rebound one of Ugonna Onyenso‘s many blocked shots. Instead of corraling the ball and finishing the game at the free throw line, Florida hit a layup that cut the deficit to two. Rob Dillingham, not Antonio Reeves, received the inbounds pass and was immediately fouled. He only made one free throw.

Kentucky was up three. They could have fouled the driving Florida guard with 9 seconds to play, giving the Gators a 0% chance to tie it with one shot. Instead, they played it out, Reed Sheppard fell asleep at the wheel, and Walter Clayton Jr. hit one of his seven threes on the night to send the game into overtime. Florida had all of the momentum. The Cats were gassed. Ballgame.

WALTER CLAYTON JR. SENDS IT TO OVERTIME 👀 @GatorsMBK pic.twitter.com/ljMbdlYU6Y

— SEC Network (@SECNetwork) February 1, 2024

It Should Have Been a Fun Kentucky Win

Ugonna Onyenso spent the night on triple-double watch. He finished with a career night: 13 points, 16 rebounds, 8 blocked shots. Sheppard also scored a career-high 24 points, while Dillingham tallied 20 in his return to the hardwood. Rupp was rowdy. It was freaking awesome, until it wasn’t.

Kentucky has to learn to close. They failed to execute in a late-game situation against Kansas and it cost them a valuable win. You could say the same thing about another five-point loss, one on the road at Texas A&M. It’s the first day of February. Kentucky is running out of time to learn from its mistakes.

Postgame Comments and Rapid Reaction

It was a late night at Rupp. Catch up on what everybody had to say after Kentucky let one get away.

• John Calipari’s Postgame Presser
• Sheppard, Dillingham, Onyenso Behind the Mics
• KSR Postgame Show Podcast

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T-MAC was at the Game

But Tracy McGrady didn’t get the biggest applause from the fans at Rupp, and neither did Drew Franklin when he threw his Ls Down. The biggest star of the night was Scooby.

Scooby is a superstar. 🌟 pic.twitter.com/UeFTzlsBV5

— KSR (@KSRonX) February 1, 2024

More Basketball Action at Rupp Arena

The lights at Rupp will be bright for a second night in a row as the Kentucky women’s basketball team returns home to face a familiar foe. Head coach Sam Purcell spent nine seasons working for Jeff Walz at Louisville. He’s only been in Starkville for two seasons, but he has the program humming. They sold out The Hump on Monday and knocked off No. 9 LSU 77-73. It’s safe to say the Wildcats have a tall task ahead of them against the 17-5 Bulldogs. The action tips off at 7 pm EST on SECN+.

We’re Doing the Liam Coen Thing Again

It feels like deja vu all over again. The coaching carousel continues to spin in the NFL ranks and Liam Coen’s name is in the mix for another job opening.

Boston College head coach Jeff Hafley is leaving his post to be the Green Bay Packers defensive coordinator. There’s an option for the Northeast native. Another one in the NFL is more intriguing to Coen. Tampa Bay needs a play-caller. Coen worked with the quarterback who took the Bucs to playoffs last year. Now he’s reportedly interviewing for the position. Antwaan Randle-El (Lions WRs), Alex Van Pelt (Browns OC), Jerrod Johnson (Texans QBs), and Jake Peetz (Rams passing game coordinator) are also conducting interviews with the Bucs.

The interview between Coen and Tampa Bay is today. The timing is never great. It’s even more difficult to explain ahead of your biggest recruiting weekend of the spring.

Former Kentucky Wildcats in the Shrine Bowl

If you need some more football in your life, boy, do I have a treat for you. You can catch six Kentucky Wildcats today on the NFL Network. It’s the final day of practices for four Wildcats in the Senior Bowl. The event will be televised from 10 am to 3 pm. Later on this evening at 8 pm EST, Devin Leary and Tayvion Robinson are competing in the 99th Shrine Bowl. Leary hit a few impressive checkpoints in practice. A quality start at The Star might be enough to get him an NFL Combine invite.

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