Hoops Hodgepodge 4

NEXT-DAY TAKEAWAY
Florida 66, No. 18 Kentucky 64
Three leftover thoughts from Saturday's loss at Lexington.

1) Raise your hand if at some point during the game you were screaming at the television regarding Florida's shot selection. C'mon! Get 'em up! The Gators, of course, made like masons against Kentucky, hitting just 22 of their 66 shots (33.3 percent) and a woeful six of 30 attempts from the 3-point line. Had to be shot selection, right? Yes, there were five or six the coaches would have wanted back, but overall, the shots the Gators took weren't any different than the ones they've been taking all season. The difference? They didn't go in? Another difference? The shots didn't go in, yet the Gators still won. That hadn't happened. Maybe some of the 3s were a tad longer than normal, but when playing against Kentucky's size, length and athleticism — the Wildcats came in ranked first in the Southeastern Conference and No. 5 nationally in 3-point defense percentage (.290) — a shooter may have to take a step or so back to get one off. UF took too many of those, you say? Florida came into the game averaging nearly 25 attempts from the arc per game. The Gators' normal size disadvantage was even more pronounced against the Wildcats. They weren't going to all of a sudden become a team that excels at driving to the rim. And, finally, let's remember who the Gators are. Consider these stats: Florida went to Rupp Arena making 44.7 percent of its 2-point shots in SEC play and 44.5 percent of its 3s. Do the math. What shot would you rather have?

2) Kentucky's shooting struggles coming into the game were well documented. Four nights earlier, in a loss at South Carolina, the Wildcats went 1-for-11 from the 3-point line and came into the game with the fewest — by far — made 3-pointers in the SEC (just 88). That said, Kentucky started the night ranked third in field-goal percentage (.486) and a respectable seventh in 3-point percentage at 35.0. The Gators came in with the league's second-worst field-goal defense (.437) and dead-last at defending the 3-point line (.377), but held the Wildcats to 40-percent shooting and 23.5 from the arc (on just 4-for-17). It was the first time this season that Florida defended an opponent at 40 percent overall and below 25 percent on the long ball. That 23.5, by the way, was a season-low for a UF foe. Now, roll in the 16 forced turnovers and it was the Gators' best all-around defensive performance since defeating Cincinnati in Newark, N.J., back on Dec. 9. At one point, Kentucky missed 18 straight jump shots, according to The Lexington Herald-Leader, a cold spell that spanned the 9:37 mark of the first half until 8:52 remained in the game. Give junior center Kevarrius Hayes some credit. He was a soldier inside and on the glass, but also had to play really smart to stay out of foul trouble with Florida so undermanned up front. He played 32 minutes, tying his season high, showed his hands in the post and challenged shots. Forward Egor Koulechov battled, as well, holding his own at just 6-foot-5 against the much bigger Cats and not allowing his worst shooting night of the season affect him on the defensive end.

3) The case can be made that this was best road victory of Coach Mike White's three seasons. By now, you know the numbers. It was just the 10th time in 62 trips to Lexington that the Gators came away victorious, not to mention the run of domination (a .950 winning percentage in nine years) by the Wildcats at home under Coach John Calipari. The win kept UF alone atop the SEC standings, with a half-game lead on Auburn. All good stuff, but there was more. Though not as impressive as the overall result, the demeanor of White's team after pulling off the upset was notable. Oh, the players were happy and they celebrated, but as White told them afterward — and as a couple players repeated — it was just one game, one win for a team that came into the season with much bigger goals than a road victory at Lexington. How the Gators respond to this prosperity Wednesday night at home against a hard-nosed South Carolina team will be every bit as telling.

THE VIEW FROM BIG BLUE

They left Rupp grumbling, 24,000 strong, about those no-calls at the end of the game. If you polled Cat Fan, he'd tell you each of the final three plays -- Koulechov's block, Hudson's block and the Hayes/Chiozza icer -- should have been fouls. The officiating crew, of course, saw otherwise.

ESPN color analyst Jay Bilas, after seeing the overhead angle of Hudson stuffing PJ Washington, perhaps swiping the power forward atop his head, said the play by Hudson it was a foul.

WARNING: Viewer discretion is advised. Some images may be inappropriate for children. pic.twitter.com/BWNHZD4Rsl
— Evil Scratch (@Evil_Scratch) January 21, 2018

Several Wildcats agreed.

"I'm thinking, 'Yeah, he got fouled,' " UK forward Wenyen Gabriel said. "But I can't really control officiating. So I'm not going to talk much about that."

Calipari referenced the Koulechov defensive play and left it up for interpretation.

"I haven't watched the tape, but Quade drove and got knocked," he said. "I don't know if that was a foul or not, but we'll see. But at the end of the day, we had our chances, and I love the fact that we fought."

It's an annual rite for Calipari's to point to youth and inexperience. And why not? Every year, the Cats are armed with four, five and six freshmen, all of whom rated among the nation's most sought-after prep prospects the year before. Despite the obvious talent that comes with McDonald's All-Americans, the "We're young" card is a constant narrative with the coach, assistants and even the players.

"Something we've been struggling with, obviously, lately is toughness down the stretch and executing," sophomore forward Sacha Killeya-Jones said. "That comes with us being a young team, but that's no excuse."

The Wildcats young and certainly dealing with some growing pains; even this late into January. And, as is annual the case, Kentucky will be a better and more seasoned team when it comes to Gainesville for the regular-season finale March 3.

Expect Florida to be, also.

CHARTING THE GATORS
They losses were so few over the years that ardent college hoops fans (definitely the ones in Lexington) could possibly name them off the top of their heads. Below are Kentucky's seven losses in the 152 games played at Rupp Arena during the Calipari era. Yes, the Gators now own two of them after becoming just the fourth unranked opponent in 132 games at Rupp Arena to defeat the Cal-coached Cats.

Casey Prather and the Gators went to Rupp in 2014 and rallied for a huge win on the way to a perfect 18-0 record in SEC play.

Opponent	Date	Score	What happened?
Baylor	Dec. 1, 2012	64-55	All five Bears starters scored in double-figures; UK had 16 turnovers
Texas A&M	Jan. 12, 2013	83-71	Aggie Elston Turner (40 points) became only third player to hit 40 at Rupp, joining Navy's David Robinson and LSU's Chris Jackson.
No. 3 Florida	Feb. 15, 2014	69-59	Casey Prather (24 points) went 8-for-9 from floor, Scottie Wilbekin (23 points) 11-of-12 from FT line in huge win on way to perfect SEC season.
Arkansas	Feb. 27, 2014	71-67 (OT)	UK shot just 34 percent; Coty Clarke reeled off 7 points in overtime in what was Cats' last loss to unranked foe (before Saturday)
No. 8 UCLA	Dec. 3, 2016	97-92	Isaac Hamilton and T.J. Leaf combined for 36 points to end No. 1 UK's 42-game home winning streak.
No. 2 Kansas	Jan. 28, 2017	79-73	Jayhawks guard Frank Mason, the eventual 2017 NCAA Player of the Year, scored 21 in SEC/Big 12 Challenge vs No. 4 Cats.
Florida	Jan. 20, 2018	66-64	Jalen Hudson scored 17, but Chris Chiozza stole the show (and ball on final play) vs nations No. 18 team.

UF ALUM UPDATE

Dorian Finney-Smith as a Dallas Maverick

It was about this time last year we checked in with Dorian Finney-Smith, both literally and figuratively.

And live.

In the final week of January, Florida took a two-game road swing to LSU and on to Oklahoma for the SEC/Big 12 Challenge. While in Norman, Okla., the Gators bused to Oklahoma City to see Billy Donovan's Thunder take on the Dallas Mavericks, who started "Doe-Doe," their undrafted rookie free agent, at the small forward spot that night. Eventually, Finney-Smith was assigned to guard Russell Westbrook, who went off for 34 second-half points on his way to 45 for the game, but that's neither here nor there.

After averaging 4.3 points and 2.7 rebounds in 81 games last season, Finney-Smith has played just eight games in 2017-18, due to tendinitis in his left knee. The issues with the knee began in October, but Finney-Smith played through the early part of the season, including one 14-point night on 5-for-6 shooting against Sacramento the first week. He was averaging 3.3 points and one rebound, though shooting a respectable 36 percent from the 3-point line, when the Mavs basically shut him down in mid-November. Finney-Smith has been listed as inactive for 31 straight games through Saturday.

He's still one of nine former UF players on current NBA rosters, but here's hoping he gets healthy and is back on the court soon.

Good luck, Doe!

PERSPECTIVE POLICE BEAT
(i.e. "Twitter Patter")

Coaches are held accountable. Players are held accountable. Even senior writers are held accountable. This space is dedicated to holding the fans (and fan boys) on Twitter accountable. We'll also, at times, recognize those who "get it" by responding to comments and acknowledging those who offer entertaining social media fodder, or (God forbid) the proper perspective. [Note: If you're completely unreasonable and wonder why you don't show up here, it's probably because you've been muted or blocked, and thus in "Perspective Prison." I'm the cop, judge, jury and warden.]

@GatorsChris fitting ending. Defense was the only reason they were in the game.
— Tom Sayers (@tomsayers69) January 21, 2018

Just calling it like it is, yes, it certainly wasn't because of offense.

All these UK people complaining about a missed call need look no further than the last time we played there when they shot ****21**** more foul shots than UF did. But it's easier to whine and complain for #BBN. pic.twitter.com/lcm6zI57kq
— ATL Gator (@champton85) January 21, 2018

Investigative reporting. Digging for documents. Doing my work for me. I like it.

GET HIM OUT OF OUR LINEUP. HE HAS NO SENSE OF TEAMWORK
— HO$KI (@YungBawse) January 21, 2018

This was in reference to Koulechov. Ridiculous statement. The kid is a great teammate and respected team player. His post-game remarks -- "It wasn't my night, but it's not bothering me at all. This was a great win." -- were on point and showed what kind of teammate the Russian Gusta is. And while we're on the subject, I'll ask a question with regards to yanking him from the lineup: "And put in who?"

He seems to fade in bigger games.
— Melissa Macon (@gatgrl) January 21, 2018

Hmmm. Another person going after Egor. Well, through seven SEC games now, Koulechov leads the team in scoring and rebounding. Do SEC games count as "bigger games?"

Gators shot selection is a disgrace.
— Tim D (@TJD8686) January 21, 2018

Take it easy. Harvey Weinstein is a "disgrace." Larry Nassar is a "disgrace." A poor night of shooting is just a poor night of shooting. Go back and read the first item in the "Takeaway" again, just so you understand.

I don't understand his inability to get the ball in the hoop. We miss way to many lay up shots.
— Jeff Nicks (@jnicks88) January 21, 2018

Maybe Kentucky, with some good players who are also rather tall, was a factor. Hayes finished 4-for-6 from the floor. Not awful. His free throws were an issue, though. Going into the game, he was at 71 percent in SEC play. He went 1-for-6 in this one.

Elbow to the face but I'm still cute tho ??????
— Chris Chiozza/ FLASH (@Chiozza11) January 18, 2018

From after the Arkansas game.

And still Mike White looks just as intense as if it was a one point game... I love that guy!
— Michelle Yates (@gatorgrad79) January 18, 2018

The best coaches coach to the horn.

Nice thought, but Allen isn't going to get the number of shots he did the last 2 years. Egor and Hudson have lessened his need to score more. https://t.co/dU422fLfnq
— zero halftime adjustments!! (@Gatorcwboyfan) January 17, 2018

This guy questioned my premise in the Arkansas setup story that KeVaughn Allen needed to shoot the ball more. Well, let's look at his premise a little closer. Allen took 12 shots against Arkansas (scored a season-best 28 points, by the way) and 16 at Kentucky. He averaged 10 shots per game his first two seasons. So guess what? The shots are there, if he wants to get them (or go and gets them). Apology accepted.

FREE THROWS

Florida's ascension up the Ratings Percentage Index continued in a big way, thanks to a pair of wins over teams that began the week in the metric's Top 25. The Gators jumped 11 spots to a tie with SEC brother Alabama at No. 23, which is still behind three other league teams: Auburn (8th), Tennessee (12th) and Kentucky (19th). UF has games with all three in the coming five weeks, two of them at home. … Credit third-year sophomore forward Keith Stone with helping steady his team in the opening minutes Saturday. Stone scored Florida's first eight points, including a pair of 3-pointers, to ease the Gators into the Rupp setting. He's now averaging 13.0 points and 5.6 rebounds in SEC play, as well as making 45.6 percent from the arc. … The Gators improved to 7-2 when playing in the featured ESPN "Game Day" game, with seven of those wins coming in eight dates against the Wildcats. … The last time an unranked UF team won at Kentucky was Feb. 1, 1998. UK was ranked fourth when point guard Jason Williams dazzled the Rupp crowd with 24 points on 8-for-12 shooting, 4-for-5 from deep and six assists (see the video above). Guard Kenyan Weaks also had 24 points, as the Gators won 86-78 and beat the team that went on to capture the '98 NCAA title. … Hayes' 120th career blocked shot tied him for eighth on UF's all-time list with Udonis Haslem. ... KeVaughn Allen's 11 points gave him 1,137 points and moved him past Joakim Noah (1,133) into 41st place among career scorers. … Koulechov's only two points came on free throws. He's now 50-for-53 from the line for the season. That's 94.3 percent, which leads the SEC and ranks third in the nation. The two players ahead of him nationally? Marquette's Markus Howard is a perfect 57-for-57 (that would be 100 percent, by the way) and Wofford's Fletcher McGee is 58 of 60 (.967).

Gators Calendar

Players Mentioned

KeVaughn Allen

Chris Chiozza

Kevarrius Hayes

Jalen Hudson

Egor Koulechov

Keith Stone

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