“You lose the rebounding battle by 21, you’re not going to win the game.”
Mark Pope didn’t need a deep dive into the analytics to explain this one. Kentucky is now heading home early from Nashville yet again. The box score from Friday afternoon told the story in black and white for everyone to see: Florida 50, Kentucky 29.
In a game where the Cats’ defense actually held the Gators to 38% shooting and forced 18 turnovers, the inability to finish possessions on the glass turned a winnable game into a “Triple Crown” sweep for Todd Golden.
Kentucky can’t afford the effort gap
Kentucky’s first-shot defense was elite at times today, forcing 18 Florida turnovers and holding them to a dismal 3-of-20 (15%) from beyond the arc. But defense doesn’t matter if you can’t grab the miss. Florida hauled in 18 offensive rebounds, the same number of turnovers they had, leading to a parade of second-chance points and a massive advantage in free throw attempts (33-20)…