No. 10 Kentucky put an finish to sixth-ranked Florida’s undefeated begin to the season with an exhilarating 106-100 win within the SEC opener for each groups on Saturday.
It was a high-octane battle from begin to end. The Wildcats went 37-for-64 (57.8%) taking pictures and made 14 of their 29 three-point makes an attempt.
Senior guard Koby Brea had a team-high 23 factors off the bench. Brea made seven threes within the recreation, together with this long-range shot that prolonged Kentucky’s result in 83-74 with below eight minutes to play:
The 23 factors had been a career-high for Brea. Coming into the sport, he was taking pictures 49.4% from behind the arc, so his sizzling taking pictures efficiency on Saturday ought to come as no shock.
This clutch three from senior ahead Andrew Carr, certainly one of two for him in a 14-point effort, gave Kentucky a snug 99-91 lead with below 1:30 remaining:
The sport featured a number of runs from Kentucky. Down 26-15 on the 11:13 mark within the first half, Kentucky scored 16 unanswered to take a 31-26 lead. The Wildcats adopted that up with a 10-0 run simply earlier than the half. After Florida lower the deficit to 70-69, Kentucky went on one other 10-0 run to take an 80-69 lead with 9:23 left.
Florida was environment friendly from the ground as effectively. The Gators shot 55% general and made 12 of their 34 lengthy vary photographs. Senior guard Walter Clayton Jr. tied his earlier career-high with 33 factors (9-for-15 FG).
The street doesn’t get any simpler for Florida (13-1, 0-1 SEC) with a showdown towards No. 1 Tennessee on Tuesday. Kentucky (12-2, 1-0 SEC) hits the street to tackle Georgia on Tuesday.
According to TeamRankings as of noon Saturday, the Wildcats have the third-best offense (89 PPG) within the nation and commit the seventh-fewest turnovers per game (9.4). If Kentucky retains scoring at that price and taking good care of the ball, the Wildcats are going to proceed to be an issue for opposing groups the remainder of the way in which.
