The Cats traveled to Gainesville and picked up a huge road win over the Gators. Kentucky is now 1-0 in the SEC and picks up it’s 2nd Quad 1 win on the season. It was an important step with a lot of positives. Let’s dive into it.
Tre Mitchell and Antonio Reeves Are Necessary
The veteran pair proved how important they were in the first half as they combined for 21 of Kentucky’s 37 first half points. The most important stretch of the first half came after a 15-4 Florida run that saw them take a double-digit lead with 2 minutes to go in the first half. The pair scored 6 straight points to close the half to keep Kentucky in striking distance.
Tre Mitchell scored all of his 12 points and grabbed 8 of his 10 rebounds in the first half. With no Adou and Bradshaw floundering Kentucky needed a tough physical presence and Tre delivered.
DJ Wagner and Aaron Bradshaw Showed up In Winning Time
After a frustrating first half (Aaron in particular) both came to play in the 2nd half. They combined for 22 points with both scoring huge baskets. They also connected for the go-ahead 3 with DJ assisting Aaron with about 80 seconds left in the game.
Lots has been written about those two, but both showed why Cal sticks with them even when they struggle. Neither are afraid of the moment, and both are clearly invested in winning. I think Bradshaw deserves some additional praise because he was absolutely having a stinker for the first 30 minutes. It was so bad that I was publicly wondering at what point do you just go small to try and win. In the final 10 minutes Bradshaw looked like one of the best players in the SEC. He rebounded, blocked a shot, hit some FTs, hit a midrange jumper, and of course hit the go-ahead 3.
Consistently Inconsistent on Defense
The one aspect of this team that feels exploitable is the defense. This was on full display in the first half yesterday as Florida took advantage of Kentucky’s lack of intensity. The Gators were able to get far too comfortable as they just walked into easy shots. They shot 8/20 from three and didn’t have to work that hard to get them, they also rebounded too many of the shits they did miss.
In the 2nd half Kentucky wasn’t perfect but the intensity on that end of the floor picked up dramatically and it started with pressure on the ball. Florida was unable to just walk into their sets and it wore them down over the course of the game. If Kentucky can recreate that kind of defensive effort consistently this team becomes scary.
What Does It Mean?
Had Kentucky lost that game there would have been no need to panic. Florida probably played it’s best half of the season and Kentucky was missing an important piece in their first true road game (no Louisville doesn’t count). The Cats found a way to win anyway, scoring 87 points while only shooting 5/20 from 3. The most important thing going forward is Kentucky avoiding letdowns after emotional wins. It happened already once this season after beating Miami (though Kentucky doesn’t lose that with a healthy DJ) so it can’t happen against an uninspiring Missouri team on Tuesday.
Kentucky is good enough to win the SEC and stacking road wins over the middle tier of the conference are how you win the league and Kentucky got an important one on Saturday.
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