My feeling is Kentucky was slow to get locked in. Got punched in the mouth early. Florida was incredibly locked in and execution with precision. Killed UK early with ball screens, spacing, and movement. Built a double digit lead and had the look of a machine.
Then, you saw Kentucky's experience. On the fly, down ten in the first half, they got their heads on straight. Went on a 16-0 run to take the lead. You saw they started going at the rim in attack mode. It's like a light went on and they suddenly understood what was required against a team like that. Florida got 13 of the first 16 rebounds of the game, but from that point Kentucky hit the glass.
From the time when Kentucky went on that run they were excellent on offense. Attacked the rim with the requisite toughness. Made tremendous cuts to the basket. Passing, vision, court awareness, shot selection.
Thought Oweh in particular was really tough finishing near the basket. Lots of scoring so tough to single out anything but coming from the under four timeout, Butler's corner three was huge. Florida had pulled within two.
Final note. Thought the officiating was horrendous. Late calls. Anticipated calls. Florida played at a high level and so did Kentucky but the refs were bad.
Fun basketball game, incredible atmosphere at Rupp, Final Four caliber contest. Florida is a capable contender and Kentucky probably is, too. The SEC is a beast. More games like this incoming this year. UK now has wins over Gonzaga, Duke, and Florida. Pretty solid.
Then, you saw Kentucky's experience. On the fly, down ten in the first half, they got their heads on straight. Went on a 16-0 run to take the lead. You saw they started going at the rim in attack mode. It's like a light went on and they suddenly understood what was required against a team like that. Florida got 13 of the first 16 rebounds of the game, but from that point Kentucky hit the glass.
From the time when Kentucky went on that run they were excellent on offense. Attacked the rim with the requisite toughness. Made tremendous cuts to the basket. Passing, vision, court awareness, shot selection.
Thought Oweh in particular was really tough finishing near the basket. Lots of scoring so tough to single out anything but coming from the under four timeout, Butler's corner three was huge. Florida had pulled within two.
Final note. Thought the officiating was horrendous. Late calls. Anticipated calls. Florida played at a high level and so did Kentucky but the refs were bad.
Fun basketball game, incredible atmosphere at Rupp, Final Four caliber contest. Florida is a capable contender and Kentucky probably is, too. The SEC is a beast. More games like this incoming this year. UK now has wins over Gonzaga, Duke, and Florida. Pretty solid.
