At the Buzzer: Kentucky 71, Florida 70
Saturday, March 7, 2020 | Men's Basketball, Chris Harry
AT THE BUZZER
No. 6 KENTUCKY 71, FLORIDA 70
No. 6 KENTUCKY 71, FLORIDA 70
WHAT HAPPENED: Forward EJ Montgomery's tip-in of a teammate's miss with 11.8 seconds left gave the sixth-ranked Wildcats their only lead of the game (the only one they needed) and completed a second-half comeback from 18 points down to hand the Gators a crushing Southeastern Conference defeat Saturday at sold-out Exactech Arena/O'Connell Center. Montgomery's play, which was reversed by officials after initially calling an offensive goal-tend, finished the wild Wildcats' rally from from down 57-39 with less than 12 minutes remaining, as UF, with grad-transfer forward Kerry Blackshear Jr. sidelined by a wrist injury, managed just four field goals the rest of the way. Florida sophomore point guard Andrew Nembhard (7 points, 5 rebounds, 8 assists) twice had the ball in his hands with a chance to retake the lead. The first time, he drove, left his feet and tried to force a pass to a teammate in the corner, but threw the ball out of bounds for what his only turnover of the game. After a foul, UK junior forward Nick Richards (19 points, 7 rebounds) missed the front end of a one-and-one. Out of a timeout with 3.7 seconds left, Nembhard's desperation 3 hit the back of the rim, fell back on the rim, and bounced away. The Gators were led by freshman guard Scottie Lewis's career-high 19 points, plus 14 from Locke. After Richards, who was 1-for-8 from teh floor in the first half and 7-for-11 in the second, Kentucky 12 points from sophomore guard Immanuel Quickley, plus a combined 20 points and eight rebounds from guards Keion Brooks Jr. and Johnny Juzang, who were terrific in replacing starting point guard Ashton Hagans, who did not make the trip due to personal reasons, per Coach John Calipari's decision. Kentucky, which won the SEC regular-season title two weeks ago, came into this game having blown a 17-point second-half lead at home in losing Tuesday against Tennessee. The Cats made up for it at the Gators' expense.
WHAT IT MEANS: The defeat, though a gut punch, isn't expected to impact Florida's projected place in the NCAA Tournament field, but the Gators definitely whiffed a chance to enhance their seeding and postseason profile, starting with next week's SEC Tournament at Nashville, Tenn. A win would have secured UF the No. 2 spot in the league tourney, but now the Gators have to wait for outcomes throughout the league Saturday (specifically, Georgia at LSU and Ole Miss at Mississippi State ) to see if they'll be playing in Thursday's second round or have one of the four double-byes into Friday's quarterfinals.
IN THE SPOTLIGHT: Can't help but wonder how Blackshear's availability would have impacted the game for the Gators on the glass. Read on.
STAGGERING STATISTIC: Kentucky destroyed Florida 30-22 in the rebounding category, including 14-5 on the offensive glass, leading to 21 second-chance points.
UP NEXT: Florida (19-12, 11-7) will learn Saturday night which team (or teams) it could face in the SEC Tournament.
Players Mentioned
F
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's BasketballFlorida Men's Basketball | Todd Golden on Hanging 2025 National Championship Banner
Friday, November 07
Florida Men's Basketball | Players Press Conference | North Florida
Friday, November 07
Florida Men's Basketball | Head Coach Todd Golden Press Conference | North Florida
Friday, November 07
Haugh, Handlogten, Condon and Rioux Postgame Press Conference 11-6-25
Thursday, November 06
