LEXINGTON, Ky. – At the end of the final media timeout, Florida and Kentucky broke their huddles. The Wildcats, up just two with less than four minutes to play, were set to inbound from their baseline with three seconds on the shot clock. Here was the moment the UF defense, flummoxed throughout Saturday’s Southeastern Conference opener and bedeviled by the Wildcats’ 3-point shooting, had its chance for a potential game-altering stop after fighting to get back in the game.
Point guard Lamont Butler took the ball from the official and tossed it in to forward Andrew Carr. Butler, like he’d surely been taught since middle school, immediately slid into an open spot in the corner. Carr, like he’s surely been taught since middle school, made the easy pass to the inbounder, always the most dangerous player in that situation.
Butler, left wide open, set his feet for an unguarded corner 3. Bang. Wildcats back up five.
“I think we got a little lost,” UF coach Todd Golden said later. “They just made a simple play.”
It was that kind of day for the sixth-ranked Gators, whose defense was carved up inside and bombed over from outside by the 10th-ranked Wildcats, who shot nearly 58 percent for the game, drained 14 3-pointers and had a half-dozen players finish in double-figure scoring on the way to a 106-100 victory in the Southeastern Conference opener for both teams at sold-out Rupp Arena.
Reserve fifth-year guard Koby Brea…
Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at Florida Gators…