LEXINGTON, Ky. (WDRB) – The University of Kentucky basketball student section, with the help of school officials, went political on Saturday, with convention-type signs pushing Wildcats big man Nick Richards for All-American honors.
It’s possible that the winner of that primary in Lexington, however, is still in question.
No. 10 Kentucky wouldn't have beaten Florida and further exerted its dominance over the Southeastern Conference if Immanuel Quickley hadn’t played his best offensive game in a long stretch of great offensive games in SEC play.
The sophomore guard scored 14 straight points early in the second half, including three straight triples, to key a 19-4 run that took Kentucky from 7 points down to 8 up and propelled the Wildcats to a 65-59 victory in Rupp Arena.
Quickley matched his career-high with 26 points, and Tyrese Maxey added 13 for the Wildcats, who improved to 22-5, 12-2 in the SEC, remaining two games up on the field. He had 22 points in the second half, and has averaged 15.5 second-half points per game in UK's six-game winning streak.
"Yeah," Calipari said. "He needs to have his (campaign). Are you ready? 'I'm with IQ.' Man, he's playing. He's playing."
Yes, he was. After the third of his three straight 3-pointers, he sprinted to the other end of the court, screaming into the crowd. Even John Wall, the former Wildcat great, shot up out of his seat to applaud Quickley's burst.
"When he gets like that, man," Maxey said, shaking his head.
Quickley became the fifth Kentucky player to score at least 25 points in a game this season, and reached the 20-point mark for the seventh time in his past 15 games.
"He was the best player on the floor," Florida coach Mark White said. "I thought he did a great job finding space, searching. And they did a good job finding him. He hit huge shots and complemented that with terrific defense on the perimeter."
Calipari and the Kentucky staff got on Quickley throughout the first half -- and at halftime -- for driving the lane but not taking shots.
"They were on me," Quickley said. "One of them was yelling shooting the (bleeping) ball."
In the second half, he shot the (bleeping) ball.
"He dribbled past three or four shots and I grabbled him and said, if you don't shoot open shots I'm putting Johnny (Juzang) in, because I know he'll shoot every shot," Calipari said. ". . . We can't be a team that wants to play deep into March and have guys passing up wide open shots to try a tough shot because they want it to look harder in case they miss."
The win, however, wasn’t without drama.
Kentucky led by 8 with 1:34 to play, then Florida took advantage of three Kentucky turnovers to cut is deficit to 61-59 with 15.9 seconds left.
Calipari took responsibility, saying he was going to have to come up with a new strategy against the press late in games.
"The baseline out of bounds (issues) are on me," he said. "We've got to come up with some other stuff. I've used that (set) for 30 years, but it ain't working with this group. . . . So now, let me coach a little bit and figure some stuff out."
Still, Kentucky got a pair of free throws from Maxey, then two more from Quickley, to finish the game out.
"Him making those two free throws (at the end), that's the first time this year he's done that," Calipari said. "Listen, he's either missed or gone one of two. He hasn't made two. Believe me, I'm watching every game. He made them this game. Big step for him."
Kentucky came into the game with injury concerns for Ashton Hagans (bruised thigh) and Richards (ankle). Richards started and had nine points and six rebounds in 30 minutes. Hagans came of the bench and had 7 points and 4 rebounds in 34 minutes -- but his six turnovers drew the coach's ire.
"It was dangerous what I did with Ashton, because if he got hit right on that spot he's probably out three games," Calipari said. "Not real smart. But he said, 'I can do this. I'll play.' I didn't start him either half, but he performed. Still, six turnovers. Come on. And one at the end where he is dribbling into two or three guys. What are you doing? So we've got to clean some things up."
Next up for Kentucky is a trip to Texas A&M on Tuesday.
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