Very Sad News: Kentucky Wildcats Key Player Set to Undergo Shoulder Surgery Today…
GAINESVILLE — Florida’s next trip to Kentucky will be much like the previous ones, filled with opportunity and fraught with peril.
The Gators (14-6, 4-3 SEC) hope Wednesday night’s showdown with the No. 10 Wildcats (15-4, 5-2) ends in a rare win at storied Rupp Arena and a likely return to the Top 25 for the first time in three seasons.
“We’ve lost to a lot of ranked games. I think we should be ranked,” power forward Tyrese Samuel said Tuesday. “We’re up there with the top 10 teams in the country. No question.
“We just fell short, just kind of being undisciplined a little bit.”
UF’s 87-85 home loss to Kentucky on Jan. 6 to open league play is one that slipped away for coach Todd Golden’s squad.
The Gators led by as many as 11 points and all for all but 5:25 of the 40-minute game, but ultimately stumbled down the stretch to lose their fifth straight in the series and 10th in the last 11 meetings.
UF has since struggled to hold leads against anyone. Yet during the past two games the Gators did hold on at home to beat Mississippi State, 79-70, and Georgia, 102-98 in overtime, after squandering second-half advantages of 17 and 21 points.
“It’s becoming too much of a common theme,” Samuel said. “We’ve got to fix it, especially coming down to the end of the season. Every game is going to get harder, every team is going to be dying for wins, so we’ve got to learn how to finish out games better.”
