'Missed opportunity.' Florida basketball, players coaches discuss second-half collapse vs. No. 6 UK
Florida basketball coach Todd Golden called Saturday's 87-85 loss to No. 6 Kentucky on Saturday afternoon a "missed opportunity."
The Florida Gators (10-4, 0-1 SEC) had an eight-point halftime lead before a raucous sellout crowd of 10,106 at the O'Connell Center. But defensive lapses and an inability to convert shots in crunch time proved too much for UF to overcome.
Florida led for 28:35 of the 40 minutes, but Kentucky seized control down the stretch, building an 81-76 lead with 35 seconds left.
"You can't give up 87 points and expect to win a game," said Florida guard Zyon Pullin, who had 23 points and 3 assists.
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Golden said Florida didn't come out with the right intensity to start the second half. Up 45-37 at halftime, the Gators allowed Kentucky to go on a 14-4 run, with the Wildcats taking a brief 51-49 lead on a 3-pointer by D.J. Wagner with 15:22 remaining.
"We just didn't come out the right way in the second half, didn't execute well enough and that gave them some confidence," Golden said. "That was a big inflection point and against a really good team like this you can't give them life, you can't give them hope. Played really well for 20 but you've got to do it for 40 against these guys."
The 3-point line flipped on Florida basketball in the second half
In the first half, Florida had bodies flying, limiting Kentucky's open looks on the perimeter with its switching defense. The Gators held Kentucky to 1 of 10 shooting from 3-point range in the first half, while Florida was 8 of 20, with Pullin and freshman forward Alex Condon banking in 3-point attempts.
In the second half, Florida made just 1 of 11 3-point attempts, while Kentucky went 4 of 10 from 3-point range.
"We had some wide open catch and shoot 3s that you've got to bang if you want to win a game like this," Golden said,
Kentucky's biggest 3-pointer came from its most unlikely source. With the score tied at 71, Kentucky coach John Calipari ran an out of bounds play for 7-foot-1 freshman center Aaron Bradshaw, who sprung open at the top of the key and calmly drained a 3-pointer to put the Wildcats up 79-76 with 1:27 left.
"He makes them in practice," Calipari said,
Bradshaw entered the game with two 3-pointers in three attempts.
"If you would have said, 'hey they are going to get a 3 from their freshman big who has taken 3 attempts to dagger you guys' you'd probably live with that," Golden said. "As opposed to a Tre Mitchell post up or a Reed Sheppard catch and shoot 3. Against a top 10 team you've got to pick your poison a little bit what you are going to deal with."
Not a dominant enough effort for Florida basketball on the boards
Florida thought it could exploit Kentucky on the glass. But the Gators only held a slim 43-40 edge on the boards and 16-13 edge in second chance points.
Florida center Micah Handlogten had a big day on the boards with 12 rebounds (6 offensive, 6 defensive), but Tyrese Samuel had an off day with just 3 points and 7 rebounds (1 offensive) in 28 minutes.
"I was hoping to have a better margin on the glass," Golden said. "So, to be only plus-3 on the glass, is a little disappointing."
Calipari said the game served as a toughness test for a Kentucky frontline that's been vulnerable on the boards this season.
"If they played us early in the season and we didn't have any of our bigs, we wouldn't have won this game, no way," Calipari said. "Now, we have our 7-foot-2 guys, too."
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This article originally appeared on The Gainesville Sun: Florida Gators basketball breaks down in second half vs. No. 6 Kentucky
