For nine minutes it went so well. Kentucky started this game as the team we started believing in took a 13-5 lead and Florida took a ten lead by 10:52 until halftime. From there it unraveled.
The Gators zone has the Cats, who have changed in the old versions of themselves, playing hot potatoes around the perimeter, for the time being to ride the track. Key players made key mistakes and the offense stopped, and once again an opportunity was lost. Despite late-game heroics by Davion Mintz and Jacob Toppin, Kentucky lost the game 71-67 and dropped to 8-14 on the season, 7-8 in conference play. The double farewell at the SEC tournament is probably out of reach, which really stings because all the dominoes the Cats needed to fall their way to make it happen today. Ugh.
With two games left until the SEC tournament, it is ‘back to the drawing board’, as John Calipari said to end his press conference. Let’s talk about.
Davion Mintz and Jacob Toppin did their part
Two players who do not deserve criticism are Davion Mintz and Jacob Toppin, who have kept the Cats alive lately. On his Senior Day (which may not really be a Senior Day) Mintz finished with a team high of 21 points on 7-14 shooting. He was just 2-9 out of three, but one of those tries helped Kentucky take the lead after an 8-0 run from Florida in the first half. Mintz and Toppin scored ten of Kentucky’s final 12 points, with Toppin hitting four straight free throws to put Kentucky ahead 6:30. Toppin had just two field goals, but it was spectacular: a try at 13:11 gave Kentucky the lead and this ridiculous blow with 3:46 left.
BOTTOM WITH THE THUNDER pic.twitter.com/nRma0o7MDx
– CBS Sport CBB (@CBSSportsCBB) 27 February 2021
Mintz and Toppin also missed shots in the end – especially a predictable dagger for Mintz with 1:02 left – but that’s not why Kentucky lost tonight. Hopefully we get to see them both next season.
The fact that Isaiah Jackson was in bad trouble was a game changer
What would have been the outcome of this match if Isaiah Jackson had not had bad problems? The super-freak freshman played only 16 minutes due to fouls, but he counted those minutes, scoring 11 points (4-4 FG, 3-4 FT), grabbing five rebounds and blocking three shots. With little work on the attack, Kentucky Jackson desperately needed make-up, plates and blocks on both sides. He led the team plus + minus efficiency at +8. Like the whole season, dirty trouble is his Achilles’ heel.
Devin Askew and Keion Brooks really struggled
It’s really hard to win when two of your key players can’t stop making mistakes. Both Devin Askew and Keion Brooks turned the ball over three times, leading to the Cats’ bare 7-15 assist-to-turnover ratio. Askew finished with one point at 0-5 from the floor, 1-2 from the free-throw line, three assistants, three turnovers and a steal in 30 minutes. Brooks was 1-5 off the floor, 2-2 from the free throw line for four points, four rebounds, three overs and a block. His plus / minus efficiency was a worst team -14.
“We played badly today, played badly individually and it happened,” Calipari said afterwards. “They are not machines. These are not robots. We let some guys play one of their worst games, no energy. ”
When in doubt, Brooks was one of the players he referred to.
“Really surprising,” Cal said when asked about Brooks’ game. “I have no idea. He lost one ball and then did not bounce back and let them dip a ball when the guys were three steps behind him when they both took off. But I’m going to say it. I love him. He “He played very well for us. These are not machines. These are not robots. But he was not very good today.”
Speaking of the turnover he mentioned …
A stretch of 1:16 that spilled doom
As already mentioned, Kentucky drove high early and scored seven of his first eleven field goals, but he hit a wall in about nine minutes. Three different cats (Toppin, Sarr, Brooks) transferred it to consecutive possessions, which gave Florida an 8-0 run in a 1:16 run, turning a ten-point lead into a two-point lead has. I have no doubt the Gators would have made another turn later, but it has lost a great deal of momentum.
Eight points in just over a minute. Sheesh.
What was that final game?
Despite everything, Kentucky had a chance to win in the end. With two seconds left with 37 seconds left, the Cats tried to pick and select Davion Mintz, but Devin Askew could not get him the ball, and threw it to Olivier Sarr, who hurried a try against the shot-bell buzzer has. It did not work. Unfortunately, Sarr missed what could have been a match winner, and it was not even his fault.
A golden opportunity lost
I thought we were past the point that Kentucky was throwing away opportunities, but apparently not. The Cats got a double farewell at the SEC tournament – meaning they would only have to win three games in a row instead of four to get an automatic bid – was within reach today, thanks to a number of unlikely results. First, Sharife Cooper-less beat Auburn Tennessee. Then Arkansas turned off LSU. Finally, the most unlikely of all, Vanderbilt beat Ole Miss and laid the double bees like the golden egg in front of the Cats. Unfortunately, Kentucky just turned the odds around, meaning they will play in Nashville on Thursday, which is not so bad depending on the draw, but winning three in a row is easier than winning four in a row. win, especially if this group has not done so all season.