LEXINGTON, Ky. — Kentucky coach John Calipari interpreted Florida riding a four-game winning streak into Lexington as meaning an opponent “expecting to win.”
Florida coach Mike White saw Saturday’s game as an uphill climb at best.
“It’s a huge challenge,” he said Friday. “If we don’t have fun with it, then shame on us. We look forward to it. Hopefully we can grow throughout the 40 (minutes). We can overcome some adversity. Hopefully, we get a chance if you play well enough to be in position to do something down the stretch. That’s all you can ask on the road in the SEC these days.”
Judging by the boos that filled Rupp Arena, Kentucky’s 78-57 victory was not fun. The competitive game reflected the ups and downs both teams have experienced.
For Kentucky, TyTy Washington limped off the court and went directly to the locker room without waiting for medical attention with 12:51 left. Florida’s Brandon McKissic dove into Washington’s left leg trying to get to a loose ball. For the rest of the game, boos filled Rupp Arena whenever McKissic touched the ball.
Washington’s exit marked at least the eighth time this season a Kentucky player was either injured or ill.
More chippy play came with 5:54 left in the game.
Lance Ware flung Myreon Jones to the court as they competed for a loose ball. Replays showed Calipari shouting “don’t foul” at Ware. The sling led Phlandrous Fleming to approach Ware and give the UK player a watch-it bump.
After the referees reviewed the incident, Ware was called for a foul. This sparked more booing.
For Florida, the game was yet another example of surges and retreats.
Florida came into the game with a history of thriving and surviving marked swings in momentum.
In its four-game winning streak heading to Kentucky, Florida rallied from deficits of 13, nine and nine.
In the 72-63 victory over Georgia earlier in the week, Florida’s 14-point second-half lead was reduced to three.
“Obviously, there’s an intensity drop,” White said of these swings of momentum. “Are we watching the scoreboard? Are you just hoping it ends? Are you mentally fatigued? Are you down about your last missed shot?”
Tshiebwe led Kentucky with 27 points and 19 rebounds. That marked his seventh straight double-double, and it was his 19th of the season.
The first half served as more of the same.
Kentucky roared to a 20-6 lead less than six minutes into the game. Twice Florida called timeouts trying to slow, if not stop, the avalanche.
Then seemingly out of nowhere, Florida went on a 15-2 run. During this six-plus minute span, Kentucky called two timeouts trying to stem the tide.
The final stretch of the half saw an 8-0 Kentucky mini-run that helped establish a 33-28 halftime lead.
Kellan Grady’s shooting spurred Kentucky’s break from the gate. Coming into the game ranked 11th in 3-point shooting accuracy among Division I players, he hit three 3-point shots before the first television timeout.
Grady scored nine of UK’s first 16 points. But then he did not score again the rest of the half.
After making eight of its first 10 shots, UK missed its next seven shots as Florida closed within 22-21 on Colin Castleton’s screen-and-roll layup with 6:43 left.
That prompted Kentucky’s second timeout six seconds later.
Kentucky went big — or is that “bigs?” — by playing Tshiebwe and Ware against Florida’s relatively undersized team.
Size mattered as Tshiebwe scored on a layup, put-back and dunk inside the next three minutes.
Florida rallied late with a floater by Fleming in the final seconds setting the halftime score.
The beginning of the second half mirrored the opening minutes of the game. Kentucky again got off to a roaring start. This time a 13-2 breakout gave UK its largest lead yet at 46-30.
The punctuation to the run thrilled the crowd as Washington hit a step back 3-pointer from the right corner. Then UK cashed in a Florida turnover with Washington and Tshiebwe collaborating on a lob-and-dunk fast break.
Florida called timeout with 16:24 left.
Jones, who made a career-high seven 3-point shots in Florida’s victory over Georgia, did not score until hitting a 3 with 14:01 left. When he made another 36 seconds later to reduce the margin to 50-42, UK called time with 13:21 left.
Tshiebwe scored the game’s next six points (two post-ups and two free throws) to return Kentucky on the path to victory.
