Without Butler/Kriisa, Jaxson Robinson stepped up as PG1 vs. Gonzaga: 'He just put on his cape.'

Mark Pope was without both of his primary point guards during the most important moments of Saturday night’s win over Gonzaga. But he put his faith in Jaxson Robinson as the fill-in floor general and the fifth-year wing came up clutch as Kentucky pulled off an improbable comeback victory in overtime.

Starting point guard Lamont Butler was ruled out shortly ahead of tipoff due to the ankle injury he suffered in the second half at Clemson on Tuesday. His absence alone didn’t inspire much confidence in the Big Blue Nation. An embarrassingly slow start for the Wildcats didn’t help either. But as Kentucky began to fight back in the second half, backup point guard Kerr Kriisa, who had recorded eight points and four assists to that point, went down and did not return.

Pope mentioned earlier in the week that he’s used Robinson as a point guard in the past while the two were at BYU. He had no other choice but to roll with Robinson as the lead guard for the 8:47 of regulation and the entire overtime period. Pope certainly put his faith in the right person though.

Robinson finished Kentucky’s 90-89 overtime win with 18 points, five assists, three rebounds, one steal, and zero turnovers in 36 minutes of action. He shot 7-15 from the field, 2-5 from deep, and 2-2 from the free throw line. After Kriisa went out, Robinson took control of the offense, working in tandem with forward Andrew Carr. Robinson scored eight points in the final five minutes of the second half and then added two more points plus two assists and a rebound in overtime.

His two points in overtime? Arguably the most important of the entire game. He nailed a tough runner near the end of the shot clock that gave Kentucky a four-point lead with 20 seconds left in the game, all but sealing the Wildcats’ win.

“Jaxson just put on his cape,” Pope told Andy Katz postgame. “He just put on his cape and said ‘Listen, I’ll go do this.'”

JAXSON ROBINSON. CLUTCH.

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“I can’t thank my teammates enough,” Robinson added. “Everybody stepped up. Kerr and Lamont were out, so like I said, everybody had to step up. I just tried to do my job.”

At the time Kriisa was forced to the bench with his injury, Gonzaga still led by six. But Robinson remained calm with the ball in his hands and guided Kentucky to a historic comeback win. He controlled the pace and hit big shots when his team needed them most.

“Jaxson has played some point for me before in big games,” Pope added. “Never played as spectacular as he was tonight.”