Kentucky was not a team that had a lot of margin for error going into Gainesville today. Yet, we made a ton of them.
Fourteen turnovers led directly to 25 Florida points, and honestly, that was the difference in the game. But the most frustrating part wasn't just the careless passing; it was the absolute mystery of our offensive game plan.
Collin Chandler did everything he could to keep us alive, but for whatever reason, Mark Pope's offense simply refused to run through him.
The efficiency disparity
The Cats battled all night long. We even outrebounded Florida for a stretch of the game before the Gators began to pull away with about 14 minutes to go (which coincided perfectly with Malachi Moreno picking up his fourth foul).
But every single time Kentucky would claw back and get close, the offense completely bogged down. In total, we missed 15 layups.
Look at the box score. Collin Chandler had 18 points on just 10 shots. Chandler was a blistering 5-for-7 from deep. The rest of the team? A combined 4-for-13. Chandler was 6-for-10 overall. The rest of the team? A combined 22-for-55.
When you see a guy playing with that kind of video-game efficiency, you have to get him some shots. Yes, Florida was trailing him and playing him tight, but Mark Pope's offense is built entirely on finding ways to get shooters open. Instead of running sets to free up Chandler, the rest of the offense just put their heads down and drove straight into traffic.
Kentucky misses Jaland Lowe bad
Nights like tonight are exactly why losing Jaland Lowe to that season-ending shoulder surgery hurts so badly.
Lowe was the exact player who could set the offense up, read the floor, and get the ball where it needed to be. Denzel Aberdeen is a fine ball handler and a great player, but he is a scorer, not a true pass-first point guard. In a hostile road environment against a top-15 team, that lack of a true floor general showed, and it resulted in us completely ignoring the hottest hand in the gym. A good point guard finds that guy, makes sure he gets more shots and feed the hot hands.
Too many times tonight, Aberdeen called his own number. That can't be the offense going forward, or Kentucky will struggle against a team that applies any bit of defense. The Cats get a chance to get back in the win column Tuesday against a struggling Georgia team.