The Kentucky Wildcats (16-7, 7-3) defeated the Florida Gators (13-10, 6-4) in a close SEC showdown on Saturday night. The final score was 72-67 in favor of Kentucky basketball.
Kentucky basketball defeats Florida in Lexington, 72-67
Kentucky was rolling into Saturday night’s matchup on a one game winning streak after defeating the Ole Miss Rebels, 75-66, in Oxford, Mississippi last Tuesday. Kentucky had won five of their last six games prior to Saturday night.
Reigning National Player of the Year and fan favorite, Oscar Tshiebwe, started the game off with a slam giving the Cats an early 2-0 lead. Tshiebwe finished the game with four points however he did what he does best, any guesses? Yeah you were right, rebound. Tshiebwe finished the game with fifteen rebounds, making this his third straight game grabbing double digit rebounds.
There was not another point scored for almost a minute after Tshiebwe’s bucket until senior, CJ Fredrick, splashed a shot from behind the arc giving Kentucky a 5-0 lead.
Frederick was riding a slump for a bit before Saturday night, only dropping two points combined in Kentucky’s previous two games. Putting that behind him, Fredrick shot 50% from behind the three point line going 3-6.
Kentucky Head Coach, John Calipari, stated “I told CJ in the huddle, I said, shoot. If you are open, you let the ball go. This team has confidence in him.” Calipari also said, “The other teams know he went like 1-15 or whatever he did over a couple games. The other teams still play him as a shooter because they know he can shoot.”
Kentucky’s defense did not allow a bucket through the first three minutes, that was until Florida’s fifth year senior, Colin Castleton, put home a jumper. This was Castleton’s first bucket of many as he went on to drop 25 points.
Kentucky’s true freshman Guard, Cason Wallace, led the Wildcats in scoring against the gritty Gators defense as he put up 20 points, three rebounds, and two assists.
Adding to Wallace’s points, Kentucky senior Jacob Toppin posted a double double, scoring 17 points and adding 10 rebounds and one assist to the statsheet. This was Toppin’s sixth straight game scoring double digit points.
Next Up for the Wildcats
Next up on the calendar for Kentucky is the young Arkansas Razorbacks on Feb. 7. The Razorbacks are filled with freshmen who are coming into the matchup on a two game win streak and looking to improve to 17-7 overall.