KSR's takeaways from Kentucky's hard-fought win vs. Florida

And just like that, six straight wins in the Southeastern Conference for Kentucky, this time a five-point home victory over Florida inside Rupp Arena.

Two teams known for their slow starts, it was the Gators falling short in that area on Saturday, allowing the Wildcats to jump out to an 8-2 lead in the first five minutes. UK was able to extend that lead to as many as 13 points in the first half with 6:11 to go before going into the break up 11.

Florida fought back in the second half thanks to some defensive slip-ups and a cold offensive start for Kentucky, cutting the lead down to four less than five minutes in. The Wildcats pushed it back to 12 a little over three minutes later and extended it to as many as 14 with 8:19 to go. Again, a response from the Gators, slowly chipping away at the lead until they managed to cut it to just three with 38 seconds to go thanks to a 3-point prayer from guard Myreon Jones.

A missed free throw from Jacob Toppin — one of Kentucky’s brightest performers in the win — allowed for another heave for Jones to potentially tie it with 17 seconds to go, this time missing the mark. Cason Wallace — the other top performer for the Wildcats — was fouled and sent to the line, knocking down both to ultimately seal the five-point victory.

It was a win that moved Kentucky to 16-7 on the year and 7-3 in the SEC, slowly building an NCAA Tournament resume that now includes one Quad 1 and five Quad 2 victories, along with six more Quad 1 and one Quad 2 opportunities to go.

KSR has the top takeaways from the win.

Mike Pratt’s jersey retired at halftime

You can’t tell the story of the night without first starting with the late Mike Pratt’s jersey going up in the Rupp Arena rafters, a halftime ceremony featuring his wife, Marcia, and former teammate Dan Issel, along with additional members of the family. Led by Tom Leach, the unveiling showed Pratt’s name between Issel and Pat Riley, with the jersey honoring his All-American career as a player and the 21 seasons he spent as a radio analyst on game broadcasts.

“I just want to say thank you to Cal, to Mitch, to Dr. Capilouto for making this night possible,” Issel said. “It’s terrific. And I cannot be — I didn’t notice this until just a second ago — I cannot be prouder that he’s right up there next to me. I love it. I love it.”

Issel, Pratt’s longtime friend and radio partner, was later introduced as the honorary ‘Y’ during the second half, another nod to the late Kentucky basketball legend. And then after the win, John Calipari pointed out a few other examples of Pratt’s presence throughout the game.

“How many points did [Florida] have at halftime?” Calipari asked afterward. “Twenty-two. Mike’s number. Who made the last points of the game? No. 22 [Cason Wallace]. You don’t think Mike was up there tipping balls away? Think about that.”

A special night honoring a special man.

Cason Wallace plays a near-perfect game

Speaking of those final points for Kentucky, Wallace was nothing short of brilliant in the team’s 72-67 victory, finishing with a team-high 20 points on 7-10 shooting, 1-1 from three and 5-5 from the line to go with three rebounds, three blocks, two assists and a steal in 27 minutes. His second 20-point performance of the year, the five-star freshman hit a filthy stepback 3-pointer with 2:50 to go to put the Wildcats up eight, followed by a finish at the rim to keep it at six with 1:17 remaining.

And then, as Calipari pointed out, the final two free throws of the game to seal the win.

The Kentucky head coach made a strong statement after the game, singling out one player as the difference in the win: Sahvir Wheeler. Why? “He let Cason do his thing. He told me, ‘Let Cason handle it, I’ll just be on the wing.’ That’s a teammate.”

Wallace played arguably his best game as a Wildcat, and he did so coming off a leg contusion that kept him out at Ole Miss on Tuesday. He was patient and poised as the lead guard, settling in after some early turnovers to get to his spots and score at all three levels while also being a force on defense. Florida simply had no answer for the versatile two-way threat — couldn’t stop him off the dribble, couldn’t effectively contest his jumpers. Even the shots you’d typically be comfortable giving up, he hit.

UF head coach Todd Golden put it best: the 6-foot-4 guard “beat the scout.”

“I thought for the most part our guys executed our defensive coverages,” he said. “He stepped up and made some big shots. … You’ve got to tip your cap when they beat you in that case.”

Jacob Toppin is finally turning potential into production

Wallace led the way in scoring, but Jacob Toppin wasn’t far off, finishing with 17 points on 8-16 shooting and 1-2 from three to go with 10 rebounds, one assist, one block and just one turnover in 35 minutes. It was a brilliant effort for the senior forward, playing with a purpose on both ends and battling on the glass — he said after the game he had a friendly bet with Oscar Tshiebwe regarding individual rebounds for the frontcourt duo.

There’s a fine line between hunting your shot and being aggressive offensively, something Toppin has struggled finding this season. He has a tendency of getting a bit trigger-happy with untimely shots, typically long twos early in the shot clock. That, along with defensive lapses and disengaged stretches took him off the floor entirely at times to open SEC play.

Tonight, however, was the perfect vision for Toppin’s future. He had a drive-first mindset, attacking the basket and finishing with touch and flair around the basket, playing above the rim when the opportunities presented themselves. When face-up looks were open out of the high post, he took them and converted. And then to keep defenders honest, he launched on open catch-and-shoot threes, knocking down one. It was a mature game from the athletic forward that showed clear growth and promise for what’s next to close out the season.

This version of Toppin is what Kentucky needs.

CJ Fredrick gets shots to fall

Entering Saturday’s matchup, CJ Fredrick had made just 10 of his last 40 attempts, good for just 25.0% in his last eight games. He was in the midst of a pretty significant shooting slump, largely in part due to the dislocated finger he suffered at Missouri in December. The 6-foot-3 senior was forced to wear a splint on his right shooting hand, affecting his release and ability to cleanly catch passes, along with general discomfort from the injury itself.

That splint came off leading up to the game vs. Florida, and wouldn’t you know it, the shots finally started falling again. Fredrick would finish the day third on the team with 12 points on 4-10 shooting and 3-6 from three to go with one rebound, one assist and two turnovers in 35 minutes. It was clearly the most comfortable we’ve seen the Cincinnati native out on the floor since the injury, knocking down his first three 3-point jumpers of the night.

As Fredrick’s production spiked, Antonio Reeves’ took a hit, with the senior guard scoring just four points on 2-5 shooting in 19 minutes. Calipari was critical of the Illinois State transfer’s defense, saying he gave up five backdoor baskets to the Gators, forcing his hand to keep him off the floor.

Oscar Tshiebwe has his worst offensive showing of the season

All eyes were on the head-to-head battle between college basketball’s reigning national player of the year and Florida star forward Colin Castleton. Tshiebwe won both matchups last season, combining for 54 points and 33 rebounds in two wins for the Gators.

This time around, it was Castleton who won the battle — by a significant margin, at that. The Florida standout finished with a team-high 25 points on 9-16 shooting, eight rebounds, five assists, three blocks and one steal, dominating on both ends of the floor. And by walking on nearly every touch, but that’s another topic for another time.

As for Tshiebwe, well, it was a rough one. He jumped out to a hot rebounding start, pulling down six boards in the first three minutes of the game, but then really struggled to produce on either end of the floor. He’d finish with just four points on 2-14 shooting to go with 15 rebounds, three turnovers and five fouls in 34 minutes, ending with a team-low -5 in the plus/minus. The 6-foot-9 center had his worst offensive performance of the season, clearly bothered by Castleton’s length and aggressive style of play.

It was a performance that led to quite the epiphany for Coach Cal.

“Need to play (Daimion Collins) more. Need to play Oscar (Tshiebwe) less,” Calipari said after the game. “I mean, Oscar — I’ve got to chalk it up to, he’s playing too many minutes.”

Collins played well in his brief time on the floor, finishing with three points (3-4 FT), one rebound and one steal in five minutes. It’s a follow-up to the sophomore forward’s strong outing at Ole Miss this past week. If there’s one person on the roster that’s deserving of some positive steps forward, it’s undoubtedly Collins.

Like Reeves, it just wasn’t Tshiebwe’s night. That doesn’t mean, though, Calipari is losing hope in either of the standout seniors the rest of the way,

“You got a lot of guys that are playing well,” the UK head coach said. “I would expect Oscar and Antonio to step back up and be where they were.”

DJ Wagner introduced at midcourt (with another visitor tagging along)

It’s been quite the weekend for Kentucky signee DJ Wagner. He arrived with his Camden (N.J.) High School squad on Thursday, practicing with the team at Kentucky State University. Then on Friday, Camden traveled to Lexington for practice inside the Joe Craft Center, with Wagner and his five-star teammate Aaron Bradshaw explored their future homes in Lexington. That was the lead-up to Camden’s matchup vs. Combine (N.C.) Academy in Frankfort late Friday night, a blowout victory for the future Wildcats, playing in front of Big Blue Nation for the first time since their commitments.

Then to close out the busy weekend for Wagner, a trip to Rupp Arena for Kentucky’s game vs. Florida where he was introduced at midcourt.

As you’d expect, the blue-chip senior received one heck of a standing ovation from BBN.

Making his unofficial Rupp Arena debut…

Kentucky signee D.J. Wagner! pic.twitter.com/eYIqbDvitZ

— Jack Pilgrim (@JackPilgrimKSR) February 5, 2023

An added bonus: Wagner was joined by four-star teammate Billy Richmond III, Kentucky’s newest offer in the junior class. The two spent the evening together touring the UK basketball facilities before returning back to New Jersey.

Not a bad win to see for either recruit.

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Kentucky is set to host Arkansas on Tuesday, Feb. 7 at 9 p.m. ET, with the game broadcast live on ESPN.