January means conference play in college basketball, and the first SEC game of the 2024-25 season was a 106-100 loss for the Florida Gators against the Kentucky Wildcats.
For the Gators, it marks the first loss of the season and likely means a dip in the upcoming poll updates. For the Wildcats, it’s a Quadrant 1 win at home that isn’t likely to re-categorize as the SEC schedule progresses. Both teams can praise the work done on offense, combining for 206 points, but each has some defensive kinks to work on before the next conference game.
[autotag]Walter Clayton Jr[/autotag]. led all scorers with 33 points on 9 of 15 (60%) shooting, including 6 of 12 (50%) from three-point range, followed by [autotag]Alijah Martin[/autotag] on 9 of 17 (52.9%) shooting. However, eight combined misses from the backcourt duo were the difference in this matchup.
Forward [autotag]Alex Condon[/autotag] was one point off from a double-double. [autotag]Rueben Chinyelu[/autotag] was also in range with 10 points and eight rebounds, including five on offense. Florida won the overall rebound battle, 38-30, and nearly doubled Kentucky’s offensive rebounds, 15-9.
First-half breakdown in the wrong building
Florida led for the game’s first nine minutes, building an 11-point lead early. Kentucky answered with a 16-0 run and never looked back. The Gators tied it up with two minutes to the half but never led again.
Rupp Arena is not the venue players want to play from behind in. Known as one of the most hostile arenas in sports, Rupp makes climbing a mountain feel like climbing the seventh circle of Dante’s Inferno.
Clayton’s 33 didn’t phase the Wildcats’ faithful, and the team responded every time the Gators made it close. Andrew Carr’s dagger three from the corner put the foul game into effect with 90 seconds to go and Kentucky came up big where Florida could not.
They’re called FREE throws for a reason
The Gators came into this one shooting 73.4% from the free-throw line as a team. Walter Clayton led the team with a 90.9% average on 30 makes and three misses, while Alijah Martin checked in fourth with an 81.6% average on 31-of-38 shooting.
That duo combined for eight misses at the stripe in Florida’s first loss of the season, which came by six points. Both teams played well and scored plenty, but an empty feeling comes around when teams’ top scorers leave “free” points on the board.
Making those baskets put Florida ahead by two points. Alex Condon’s five misses are also a letdown. That’s how big games are lost.
Hard to beat 50% from 3PT
Giving up triple digits usually means there are no silver linings on defense, but sometimes it’s better to tip your cap to a lights-out performance than figure out a plan to stop the reincarnation of 2016 Steph Curry.
Kentucky’s Koby Brea drilled seven of the first eight three-pointers he heaved up, and losing to 23 points off the bench isn’t something that’s going to happen every night.
Still, Florida’s defensive efficiency has improved over recent weeks, and this performance is going to give teams a blueprint to beat the Gators’ backcourt. Florida only had nine turnovers in this loss. Kentucky had six.
The fun had to come to an end at some point. At least Florida can learn from this kind of loss, rather than falling to a lesser opponent in a self-inflicted defeat.
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