Kentucky vs. Florida Part II: Takeaways

Kentucky snatched defeat from the jaws of victory with a 94-91 OT loss to Florida in Rupp last night.  We’ve also added a fresh round of injuries to the roster.  Lets dive into some takeaways.

DJ Wagner Is Important

A very loud segment of fans have tried to diminish the importance of DJ Wagner but once again we saw how important he is.  His stats might not pop the way some do on a +/- stat sheet but DJ is a winner.  I’ve said before that he is the straw that stirs the drink and it was on display last night.  Kentucky needs DJ on the floor to win important basketball games.  He is not only important in terms of paint touches, but he also brings intangibles that others on the team are incapable of bringing with the ball in their hands.

Kentucky needs to get him healthy.  That might mean him missing a few more games to get that ankle completely healed.

Tre/Tone Picked a Bad Time To Disappear

Tre Mitchell probably had his worst game as a Wildcat last night and the timing couldn’t have been worse.  Misses on wide open threes, slow footed on defense, and just generally being a non-factor outside of a handful of rebounds.  Antonio was better but went missing late in the game and OT.  With no real PG on the floor the two 23-year olds have to take charge of winning time.  They didn’t do that.

Reed was floundering with having to run a team (which is no shame, it’s a hard job) and both vets kind of just let him sink.  Guys have bad games so I’m not worried about Tre (or Antonio) when it comes to production, but the lack of leadership was very concerning to me.

Ugo Is the Lone Bright-Spot

How about Ugo?  There was a lot written and said about Ugo coming into the season.  Several media personalities were adamant that they didn’t want Ugo playing, one even implied that he was getting worked in practice by a manager.  Ugo has starred in the role given so far in conference play.  There will be matchups where he isn’t as needed but I’m proud of the progress he’s made.

He’s still not perfect, he missed several shots at or around the rim.  He’ll have to learn to finish through contact but he’s improved dramatically since last year.

What Does It Mean

This is a bad loss.  Not because Florida is bad (they aren’t) but because it will sting come tournament time.  Unless Kentucky gets hot in February it probably ends any chance of winning the SEC Title.  For me this loss raises some serious red flags.  Kentucky had been an efficient offensive machine for most of the season but that is gone.  Crucial mistakes being made on the offensive end in crunch time (by multiple guys).  It remains to be seen if it’s just a common January blip  or a fatal flaw.  The mistakes are fixable but someone will actually need to fix them.

Things don’t get easier as they welcome a tough Tennessee team to Rupp on Saturday.