For the third time this season, the Kentucky Wildcats fell to the Florida Gators, this time when it mattered most.

On Friday, March 13, the No. 9 seeded Kentucky Wildcats (21-13, 10-8 SEC) didn’t last against the No. 1 seeded Florida Gators (26-6, 16-2 SEC) in the quarterfinals of the SEC Tournament, losing by a score of 71-63.

Coming into this one, the Wildcats had already played two games in two days, taking down the No. 16 LSU Tigers and the No. 8 Missouri Tigers, while the Gators enjoyed their double-bye.

Starting off, it seemed like Kentucky was a little tired from its previous time in Nashville, turning the ball over three times by the first media timeout and allowing Florida to get out to a 10-4 start.

The same trend would continue, as Florida would score with ease at the rim, even shoving players on the ground on loose balls – a call from the referee was nowhere to be found.

(Kam Williams thankfully got up by the way).

Kentucky didn’t show any signs of quit however, going on an 8-0 run in just 44 seconds of play, due in part to stellar outside shooting from Mo Dioubate. Yes, that sentence is true. No, I can’t believe I wrote it.

Florida would answer with its own 6-0 run while Kentucky would miss its next five goals, quickly shifting the entire vibe of the game back in favor of the chompers.

That run would indeed not end, as the Gators would go up by 11 with three minutes left in the first half. At the time, they were out-stating Kentucky by double digits in rebounds, second chance points and points in the paint.

At the half, Mark Pope’s Wildcats trailed 37-28, missing 16 out of their 18 field goals. Did I mention that Collin Chandler had a bloody nose but was called for the foul?

The second half got out to an extremely slow start for both teams, but Alex Condon would continue to dominate in the paint for the Gators, dunking the ball aggressively on back-to-back plays and taking his point total to 20.

Down 17 in Nashville with just under 13 minutes left in the game, the odds that Kentucky could pull off one of those crazy comebacks seemed distant.

At one point, Florida actually didn’t make a field goal in over five minutes, but that didn’t really matter considering the Wildcats did nothing to eat away at the lead.

Trent Noah would check in around the seven-minute mark, earning his first minutes of the tourney. He missed a wide-open three, but came up with a steal on the defensive end, leading to an open dunk for Otega Oweh and cutting the lead to ten.

As a last desperation, Chandler would be fouled on a 3-pointer, giving him an opportunity to cut the lead to single digits. Making all three, with Denzel Aberdeen drawing a charge the next play, Kentucky indeed had life.

Ending the 8-2 run, Flordia’s Thomas Haugh would sink two freebies, putting Florida up by eight with 2:35 remaining.

Aberdeen would cut the lead to six with a layup, putting Kentucky fans on their feet, but Haugh would again answer with a tough fadeaway. Aberdeen, with a got ya moment, would answer with a pocket three after the timeout.

Down five, Xavien Lee would hit a stepback jumper, lacing it with ease. He then stole the ball for Florida, sealing his team’s first game of the tournament.

Up next, Pope and the Wildcats will await to hear their name called during Selection Sunday on March 15. KY Insider will be on site and will provide coverage during the event.

Fast break dunks, large runs and lots of fun! Kentucky survives and advances on!

On Thursday, March 12, the No. 9 seeded Kentucky Wildcats (21-12, 10-8 SEC) survived the late surge from the No. 8 Missouri Tigers (20-12, 10-8 SEC), winning by a score of 78-72 in the second round of the SEC Tournament.

Starting this one off, the Big Blue Nation was treated by an early three from Denzel Aberdeen and a breakaway dunk from Collin Chandler, but more notable than that was Malachi Moreno’s aggressive tendencies. His ability to force himself inside put Missouri’s starting center Shawn Phillips Jr. on the bench early with two fouls.

At the first media break, Moreno had four points and the Wildcats led 9-7.

Kentucky would start throwing down every single bucket they could, with back-to-back dunks from Mo Dioubate and Chandler, causing a timeout from Dennis Gates after a 7-0 run.

Otega Oweh, still struggling to score, would watch on as the Tigers slowly crept back in to the game. Halfway through the first half, the Wildcats still held their lead, up 16-15.

From that point on, Kentucky basically would take the half, outscoring Missouri 22-14 in the final 10 minutes, receiving offense from multiple different players.

Up 38-29, Mark Pope’s squad jogged into the locker room with a nine-point lead and with five different Wildcats reaching the six-point mark.

Coming out of the break, Pope’s team want on a quick 7-2 run, causing yet another timeout from the Tigers’ sideline and sparking C-A-T-S chants inside of Bridgestone Arena.

After wide open looks for Kam Williams and Chandler from deep, that ultimately missed, the Tigers were able to go on a mini run and cut the lead back down to 10 with 15:26 remaining in the game. Much of the same would occur, as both teams would go back and forth with each other close to the halfway mark, but the Wildcats’ lead would still stay intact.

Unfortunately for the blue and white fans in attendance, they would witness no quit from the Tigers, who cut the lead down to three with just under eight minutes remaining.

During this stretch, Kentucky didn’t make a single field goal in over four minutes.

A missed goaltending call on Brandon Garrison, luckily recording his fourth block of the night, would put Kentucky fans on their feet – who later would be jumping for joy as Chandler hit a fading three. Oweh answered with a jumper right after, taking the lead back to seven.

Missouri, like clockwork, would use Mark Mitchell on every single possession to cut the Wildcat lead all the way down to one with 2:51 remaining, having the Kentucky proud anxious to see the outcome.

Taking the lead back after a pretty fadeaway, Aberdeen would sink two clutch freebies to put Kentucky up 71-70. Oweh swooped in for a layup soon after, taking the lead to three and giving him his 20-point game.

Aberdeen would swoop in for another difficult layup, sending a pop that could be heard throughout Nashville. This would be the dagger, and the Wildcats would survive.

Up next, Kentucky will face the No. 1 seeded Flordia Gators (25-6, 16-2 SEC) in the quarterfinals of the tourney, looking to prove that the third time is indeed the charm. That matchup will begin at 1:00 p.m. ET on Friday, March 13 and will be streamed live from ESPN.

On Wednesday, March 11, the No. 9 seeded Kentucky Wildcats (20-12, 10-8 SEC) took down the No. 16 seeded LSU Tigers (15-17, 3-15 SEC) in the first round of the SEC Tournament, winning by a score of 87-82.

After the whole buzzer-beater thing last time the Wildcats faced the Tigers, Kentucky was looking to start its week off right with a momentum-building win, playing in the team’s first Wednesday tourney game in program history.

Andrija Jelavić would start things out for the Wildcats, scoring a quick seven points on perfect shooting. Otega Oweh would soon take over, forcing multiple defenders to foul him throughout the first half.

To spark the members of the Big Blue Nation, Kam Williams took the court for the first time since breaking his foot, soon after hitting a pocket three to spark “Go Big Blue!” chants.

Mark Pope’s team would go up by as much as nine points after a stupidly-called flagrant foul on Mo Dioubate, but the Tigers wouldn’t go away, making four out of their next five field goals and cutting the lead back down to five.

At the half, Kentucky led by three, outscoring LSU 46-43. Otega Oweh dropped 13 points in the first 20 minutes, while Denzel Aberdeen and Andrija Jelavić combined for 15 points.

As the second half began, fans inside of Bridgestone Arena had no idea what they were in store for. The Wildcats, only starting 2-6 from the field, allowed the Tigers to get back in it, and from then on, every play was a response.

Brandon Garrison, nearly getting payback for his teammate Malachi Moreno after previously getting dunked on, would spark threes on back-to-back plays to put the Wildcats up 71-64, sending a pop throughout Nashville that could be heard back in Lexington.

Fans wouldn’t get any quieter, as the referees would do their bidding, but we know how that goes for the Wildcats this season.

Oweh would zoom by later on for a pretty layup, putting Kentucky up by 10 in the final seven minutes. On the next play, a charge would be called, firing up the chants once again.

Garrison, up to 15 points at the time, would get a huge smile from Pope during the next media timeout.

Max Mackinnon would keep on keepin’ on, scoring his eleventh bucket of the night and cutting the lead back down to nine, but the energy in the building was just enough for the Wildcats to pull one out after Pope’s timeout. With four minutes remaining, the Wildcats led by seven.

A missed call on a LSU walk, an airball from Dioubate and a quick bucket off of a turnover had the blue and white fans worried for a second, but Oweh would yet again swoop in for an easy bucket, taking his total to 20 points on the day.

The Tigers would cut the lead down to five with two minutes to go, but again, Oweh would sink a pull-up jumper, serving as the early dagger.

Was this a no-brainer? Of course, theres no way Pope and company would lose to the worst team in the conference. However, tomorrow should be fun, and the Wildcats aren’t willing to go home just yet.

Up next, Kentucky will face the No. 8 seeded Missouri Tigers (20-11, 10-8 SEC) on Thursday, March 12 for a second-round matchup. That game will tip off at 12:30 p.m. ET and will air live on the SEC Network.