Men's Basketball

Recap and Takeaways From Kentucky’s Brutal Overtime Loss To Florida

Published

1 year ago

February 1, 2024

Kentucky had a wild game against Florida on Wednesday night in Rupp Arena. It was a close game throughout, with both teams essentially trading baskets. But, in the final minutes, Kentucky let a lead slip away along with bad late-game execution that led to overtime.

Florida would go on to take a lead in overtime by as much as 7. The Cats climbed back, but missed shots and poor defense led to the 94-91 loss in overtime. Reed Sheppard was Kentucky’s leading scorer with 24 points, followed by Rob Dillingham with 20 points, and Antonio Reeves with 19. Ugonna Onyenso also had an impressive career-best game, with 13 points, 16 rebounds, 8 blocks, and 2 steals.

Let’s take a look at the takeaways from the rough loss.

Ugonna Onyenso Has Career-Best Game

Despite the loss, one of the bright spots was Ugonna Onyenso’s incredible performance. Making his first career start at Kentucky, Onyenso was a force on the defensive end. He finished with 13 points, 16 rebounds, 8 blocks, and 2 steals.

Onyenso had a career-high in his 8 blocks along with a team season-high of 16 rebounds. His stat-line of 13-6-8 is the first of that same combination in UK history. His performance though, was overshadowed by Florida escaping Rupp Arena with the win.

Injuries Hurt Kentucky’s Depth

Kentucky was shorthanded in Wednesday’s loss to Florida. After getting Rob Dillingham back from sickness, they were still unable to play at full strength yet this season. DJ Wagner and Justin Edwards both did not play on Wednesday. Calipari said pregame on the UK Sports Network that Wagner’s ankle was bothering him, which has been lingering for a lot of the season.

Justin Edwards was battling a leg injury that he suffered last week at South Carolina, which led to limited minutes against Arkansas on Saturday. With both Wagner and Edwards out, Kentucky’s rotation got smaller, which forced players to play more minutes. Five players ended up playing at least 33 minutes on Wednesday, which led to players being tired, and Calipari said that led to some of the late-game errors.”it’s kind of like we got tired out but we didn’t — there was not a whole lot of subs,” Calipari said.

During the game on Wednesday, Adou Thiero was having back problems after just returning from a back injury last game. Calipari says he’s unsure if Kentucky will be fully healthy against Tennessee on Saturday. “I don’t know if we’ll have a full roster, but we’ve got no choice.”

Poor Late-Game Execution Costs Kentucky

Kentucky had the game in their hands, but bad late-game execution and errors led to the brutal loss. With no fresh legs on the court, Kentucky was forced to play with just a handful of players due to injuries. With a 3-point lead with 13 seconds left, Rob Dillingham went 1-2 at the line, which led to a game-tying three by Florida’s Walter Clayton Jr. that ultimately led to overtime, where Florida escaped with the win.

It was in Kentucky’s hands, but the mistakes costed them in the final moments. The Cats are now 15-5 overall and 5-3 in SEC play. Kentucky will look to bounce back on Saturday when 5th ranked Tennessee comes to Rupp Arena. Tip-off is scheduled for 8:30 p.m. EST and will be televised on ESPN.

Box Score

Men's Basketball

Kentucky Basketball’s Practice Facility Sees Major Makeover

The Joe Craft Center, after years of casual criticism from Wildcats fans, has finally been given an upgrade.

Published

12 hours ago

June 21, 2025

Lane Mills

UK Athletics

Maybe the weirdest qualm of many that plagued John Calipari’s tenure at Kentucky were the consistent complaints about the team’s practice facility, the Joe Craft Center.

From exaggerated rumors about leaks in the ceiling to general observations made about the court and facilities, fans, especially towards the end of that era, pointed to the Craft Center’s age as one of many signs of the times. Even in spite of occasional, supposed changes now and again.

In only his second year, Mark Pope has seemingly already addressed that complaint — at least to an extent.

The official Kentucky men’s basketball account recently posted a video across all social media platforms of the team during summer practice, featuring and obviously removed Craft Center court.

The court itself has been redone, in addition to the graphics and banners on the wall. Alongside the hanging threads celebrating the program’s eight national championships, a ninth one has been tacked onto the end.

It simply reads: “#9 – The Assignment.” If fans weren’t already excited enough for Coach Pope’s sophomore season, a ninth title banner being fixed in the renovation’s spotlight should send folks through the roof.

It may seem like a small thing, but given the program’s track record in the last few years, it’s the small things that feel the biggest. Mark Pope not only understands the assignment, but he’s making sure his team does, too.

Men's Basketball

Jasper Johnson Makes Final U19 USA Roster Under Coach Mark Pope

Jasper Johnson has advanced in the U19 USA camp for the second time alongside the nation’s best recruits, and under Mark Pope’s wing.

Published

1 day ago

June 20, 2025

Lane Mills

Instagram: @bruhjasperj (UK Athletics)

In a surprisingly relevant development smack dab in the middle of the offseason, Jasper Johnson has yet again advanced in the pool of players participating in the USA U19 camp.

The program, which could be a described as a sort of extension of the Team USA that just took home the gold in 2024, is comprised of some of the nation’s most anticipated talents set to take collegiate courts in the next couple of seasons.

Blue Gets In

Among them is Kentucky native and commit Johnson, and was also incoming Cat Malachi Moreno, before the latter was cut as a result of a mild injury he obtained throughout the camp’s course. Despite Moreno’s exit, his future teammate continues to impress.

Under the wing of Coach Mark Pope, who’s helmed the team in the camp up to this point, Johnson has now made the final cut after multiple roster slashes – he and only 11 other players remain in the minority that will go forward to actually compete for the team in the 2025 FIBA U19 Men’s World Cup, which will take place June 28 through July 6 in Lausanne, Switzerland.

The pre-competition camp serves not only as a trial of play before these athletes disperse to their own respective rosters this fall and next, but for Johnson, as a preview of what it’s like to play under Coach Pope. If his current success is any indicator, Kentucky fans may be in for something special when the pair tackle opposing teams together for the blue and white.

In similar noteworthy news, also attending the event are Taylen Kinney and Tyran Stokes, two Kentucky-born athletes with ties to Kentucky that the program is heavily recruiting. Jasper’s strong performance, combined with Coach Pope’s presence, can only help the Wildcats’ chances on that front, too.

To say the least, Mark Pope has found a way to facilitate Kentucky’s influence far beyond the boundaries of Lexington. He and Johnson, for the time being, will continue to press turn heads on the national stage, and it’s very likely that fans aren’t the only ones paying attention.

Men's Basketball

Archie Goodwin and Kahlil Whitney Set to Join La Familia This Summer

La Familia continues to add more firepower to the 2025 roster.

Published

2 days ago

June 19, 2025

Kai McClelland

James Crisp (Left), Adam Hunger (Right) | Associated Press

As the start of the 2025 TBT Tournament inches closer, La Familia has been slowly but surely adding star Wildcats to the roster.

Usually, we see announcements for new additions to the squad roll out on social media in some form, whether it be a post from La Familia’s official accounts or in form of Ansley Almonor’s announcement, which took place on BBN Tonight.

However, this time, Archie Goodwin and Kahlil “The Dragon” Whitney were added to the roster on the TBT website without any announcement, surprising Big Blue Nation as the news leaked and began to circulate.

They were removed from the website afterwards, but as of Thursday, June 19, appear on the website as listed members of the roster.

Goodwin has been an active member for years, highlighted by his semifinals appearance last year where he averaged 13.8 points per game en route.

Whitney is a name that may cause some to shed a tear, with so much potential surrounding the former five-star leading up to his debut. Ultimately, he left the program after appearing in just 18 games for Kentucky.

La Familia is competitive as all get out, shown by chippy play with guys who have nothing to lose but everything to win for the place they call home. Goodwin and Whitney, now added to that list of guys, will look to redeem themselves with one goal in mind. Win.

The official La Familia roster as of June 19:

– Willie Cauley-Stein (2012-15)

– Doron Lamb (2010-12)

– DeAndre Liggins (2008-11)

– Aaron Harrison (2013-15)

– Andrew Harrison (2013-15)

– Ansley Almonor (2024-25)

– Archie Goodwin (2012-13)

– Kahlil Whitney (2019-20)