The Impact Of Choking Against Florida In Rupp Arena

The Nation is as Blue as it is Big following the Wildcats’ devastating home loss to the Florida Gators on Wednesday night. Florida responded to its January 6th loss to Kentucky in Gainesville by traveling to Lexington to return the favor, spoiling all of the fun in Rupp Arena with an overtime victory.

The 94-91 outcome was extremely deflating, given the excitement and expectations surrounding this Kentucky team and the fact that Kentucky had already beaten Florida in the O’Dome earlier this month. Adding to the embarrassment, Kentucky had the game won in regulation but didn’t make a closing free throw or commit the foul on the other end to seal the victory. Still up three, a routine coaching decision could’ve changed the outcome, but the Wildcats allowed Walter Clayton Jr. to drain another from outside, tying the game and sending it to OT, where the Gators prevailed in the end.

While we await John Calipari‘s comments from the scene, here’s what the loss means to the SEC race, the NCAA Tournament picture, the rivalry, and the most passionate fan base in college basketball.

Further Out Of SEC Contention

With the crushing home loss, Kentucky dropped a third game in league play, falling further out of contention for the SEC’s regular season championship. With two games against Tennessee, one versus first-place Alabama, and a trip to Auburn still to come, we can probably kiss that regular-season trophy and the No. 1 seed in Nashville goodbye. Barring some February magic, the Wildcats will likely fall short of first in the SEC for a fourth straight year.

Looking at the current SEC standings, Kentucky fell into a tie with the Gators and Ole Miss for fifth place before the halfway mark in conference play.

	CONFERENCE	OVERALL
Alabama	7-1	15-6
South Carolina	6-2	18-3
Auburn	5-2	16-4
Tennessee	5-2	15-5
Ole Miss	5-3	18-3
Kentucky	5-3	15-5
Florida	5-3	15-6
Georgia	4-4	14-7

Another Hit To The NCAA Tournament Resume

Kentucky dropped out of the top 20 in the Net Rankings with last week’s loss at South Carolina. The No. 23 ranking will worsen when we wake up to the new update as the Wildcats lost their first Quad 2 game of the season, falling to 3-1 in such games. Kentucky now has as many Quad 2 and Quad 3 losses as Quad 1 wins. Kentucky is 2-3 in Quad 1 games.

Florida Streak Snapped

Until losing to the Gators in Rupp Arena, the Wildcats dominated the head-to-head series in recent years, winning all but one game (Senior Day 2021) since Florida swept the 2017-18 regular season. Kentucky had a five-game winning streak on each end of that 2021 home loss, winning 10 of the last 11 before Wednesday night’s debacle.

Fan Morale Down

Kentucky still has fan favorites in Reed Sheppard and Rob Dillingham, an All-American candidate in Antonio Reeves, and several other lovable Wildcats throughout the roster. So, nobody in the Big Blue Nation is turning the TV off for the season because of this late-January funk. The Wildcats are still an exciting team with high(ish) expectations for later in the year.

However, the current funk has disappointed a fan base that expected the young team and America’s No. 1 offense to hit the gas out of Camp Cal with its full complement of players. Losses on the road are one thing, even when it happens twice. The SEC is a grind. But there is a longstanding expectation that Kentucky rarely loses in Rupp Arena, especially to a middle-of-the-pack conference opponent with a 0-6 record in Quad 1 games. It was a game Kentucky shouldn’t lose but lost. Now we, the BBN, wonder what to make of the team as fifth-ranked Tennessee comes to town, fresh off its surprising home loss, presenting a more significant challenge than the Gators brought to Lexington. Kentucky will also need to bounce back on a short turnaround due to the Wednesday game this week. Right now, there isn’t a lot of confidence moving forward.