Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports
With 9:23 left in the first half and Florida leading 20-16, Julius Randle rebounded a missed three point attempt by Florida’s Michael Frazier II, brought it up the court, and passed to a waiting Aaron Harrison. Instead of executing Kentucky’s half court offense, Harrison instead took a quick three point attempt. Florida rebounded Harrison’s miss. Kentucky’s deficit would never be less than 6 points the rest of the game. If you want to pinpoint the exact moment Kentucky lost today’s game against Florida, that missed three pointer was it.
Kentucky does deserve some credit for coming out in the second half determined to fight. Down 49-28 at halftime, the Wildcats could have easily let Florida push its lead to thirty points. In fact, I’m willing to bet that 99 percent of Big Blue Nation expected Florida to do just that. Instead, after a Casey Prather field goal with 17:32 left in the game to put Florida ahead 53-31, Kentucky would score the next 16 points in the game, holding Florida scoreless for almost 6 minutes, trimming its deficit to 6 points. Kentucky would get no closer. Instead, Florida simply dominated the last 12 minutes of the game, outscoring Kentucky 28-18. It was the most thorough performance by a Kentucky opponent in the Calipari era.
So the regular season is over. A season that began back in November with so much promise and anticipation has largely failed to meet expectations. It was always unrealistic to expect a 40-0 season. It was always unrealistic to expect this team wouldn’t have bumps along the way. It was always unrealistic to expect the rest of college basketball would roll over and hand this team a national championship.
But it wasn’t unrealistic to expect a much more competitive team than fans have seen much of the season. It wasn’t unrealistic to expect that guys wouldn’t be making the same mistakes in March they were making in November. It wasn’t unrealistic to expect this team to be better than they simply are.
Kentucky, of course, can still make a run. Anything is possible, I suppose, in college basketball. In the SEC Tournament, the Wildcats will play the winner of LSU/Alabama. Assuming they win, Kentucky would likely play Georgia in the semifinals. Should they win, a third matchup versus Florida in the championship game would await. Could Kentucky finally break through and beat the Gators? Again, anything is possible, I suppose. And who knows, maybe a run in the SEC Tournament would propel the Wildcats to a deep run in the NCAA Tournament.
But unfortunately, I just don’t see it happening. Social media is awash in “I believe in this team” statements but at this point, in what, exactly, does anyone believe? Surely no one, not even the most diehard fan, honestly thinks this Kentucky team can win a national championship. Indeed, does anyone really think a Sweet 16 is possible? Okay, maybe possible, but probable?
None of this is intended to convey the idea that I have given up on this team. Rather, it simply is the acceptance of the reality of the situation: Kentucky will make the Tournament but it is unlikely to make much noise. I would love nothing more than to be wrong but sadly, I doubt I will be.