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For nine minutes it was going so well. Kentucky started this game like the team we started to believe in, sprinting with a 13-5 lead and leading Florida by ten with 10:52 left until halftime. From there he collapsed.
The Gators’ zone completely thwarted the Cats, who became the old versions of themselves, playing hot potato around the perimeter, too hesitant to lead the way. The key players made some big mistakes and the attack stalled, and once again an opportunity was lost. Despite late-game heroics from Davion Mintz and Jacob Toppin, Kentucky lost the game 71-67, falling to 8-14 on the season, 7-8 in conference. The double bye to the SEC Tournament is probably out of reach, which really stings because all of the dominoes cats needed to fall for that to happen today did. Ugh.
With two games remaining before the SEC Tournament, it’s “back to the drawing board,” as John Calipari put it to end his press conference. Let’s talk about.
Davion Mintz and Jacob Toppin have done their part
Two players who don’t deserve criticism are Davion Mintz and Jacob Toppin, who kept the Cats alive in the home stretch. On his senior day (which may not really be a senior day), Mintz finished with a team record 21 points on a 7-14 shot. He was just 2-9 of three, but one of those three helped bolster Kentucky’s lead after an 8-0 run in Florida in the first half. Mintz and Toppin have scored ten of Kentucky’s last 12 points, with Toppin hitting four straight free throws to put Kentucky at 6.30am left. Toppin only had two field goals, but they were spectacular: a threesome at 13:11 gives Kentucky the lead and that ridiculous dunk with 3:46 to go.
TOPPIN WITH THE THUNDER pic.twitter.com/nRma0o7MDx
– CBS Sports CBB (@CBSSportsCBB) February 27, 2021
Mintz and Toppin also missed some shots in the end – notably, a potential dagger for Mintz with 1:02 left – but that’s not why Kentucky lost tonight. Hope we can see them both next season.
Isaiah Jackson was in trouble was a game-changer
What would have been the outcome of this game if Isaiah Jackson was not in trouble? The first-year super-monster only played 16 minutes due to fouls, but he made those minutes count, scoring 11 points (4-4 FG, 3-4 FT), grabbing five rebounds and blocking three shots. With little work on offense, Kentucky desperately needed Jackson at both ends for easy buckets, boards and blocks. He led the team in plus / minus efficiency at +8. Like all season, a bad problem is his Achilles heel.
Devin Askew and Keion Brooks really struggled
It’s really hard to win when two of your key players keep making mistakes. Devin Askew and Keion Brooks returned the ball three times, leading to the Cats’ 7-15 abyss between assists and rolls. Askew finished with a run 0-5 from the floor, 1-2 from the free throw line, three assists, three turnovers and one steal in 30 minutes. Brooks was 1-5 from the floor, 2-2 from the free throw line for four runs, four rebounds, three turnovers and one block. His plus / minus efficiency was a worse team -14.
“We had a bad play, a bad individual play today and it is happening,” Calipari said afterwards. “They are not machines. They are not robots. We had a few guys who played one of their worst games with no energy.
When in doubt, one of the players he was referring to was Brooks.
“Really surprising,” Cal said when asked about Brooks’ game. “I have no idea. He lost a ball and then didn’t sprint back and let them soak a ball when the guys were three paces behind him when they both took off. But, I’m going. say this. I love him. He played very well for us. They are not machines. They are not robots. But he was not very good today.
Speaking of this turnover, he mentioned …
A 1:16 stretch that spelled fate
As mentioned, Kentucky rolled high at the start, hitting seven of their first eleven field goals, but hit a wall of their own making around the nine-minute mark. Three different cats (Toppin, Sarr, Brooks) turned him over on back-to-back possessions, allowing Florida to start an 8-0 run in 1:16, which turned a ten-point lead into a two-point lead. points. I have no doubt the Gators would have done another race later, but it was a great lost momentum.
Eight points in just over a minute. Sheesh.
What was this final piece?
Even so, Kentucky had a chance to win it in the end. With less than two to 37 seconds left, the Cats attempted a pick-and-pop for Davion Mintz, but Devin Askew couldn’t get him the ball so he threw it at Olivier Sarr, who pitched. a three on the shot clock buzzer. It did not work. Sadly, Sarr missed what could have been a winner and it wasn’t even really his fault.
A lost golden opportunity
I thought we had passed Kentucky Stadium to waste opportunities, but apparently we weren’t. The Cats scoring a double bye in the SEC tournament – meaning they would only have to win three straight games instead of four to get an automatic bid – were on hand today thanks to a number of unlikely outcomes. First, Auburn, without Sharife Cooper, beat Tennessee. Arkansas then overthrew LSU. Finally, most unlikely of all, Vanderbilt defeated Ole Miss, dropping the double bye in front of the Cats like a golden egg. Unfortunately, Kentucky just returned that opportunity, which means they’ll play Nashville on Thursday, which isn’t bad according to the draw, but winning three in a row is easier than winning four in a row. especially when this group hasn’t done that all season.
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