TyTy Washington Injured in Chippy 78-57 Kentucky Win over Florida
The Kentucky-Florida rivalry was reignited Saturday afternoon at Rupp Arena. Florida responded to explosive runs by Kentucky, who played on edge after TyTy Washington suffered a lower leg injury. The Gators’ pushing and shoving was ultimately no match for the Wildcats, who ran away with a 78-57 win to improve to 21-4 this season. The 21-point win is the Wildcats’ largest margin of victory over Florida at Rupp Arena since 1999.
Hot Start for Kentucky
The ball was tipped and the Wildcats could do no wrong. Kellan Grady hit his first three three-pointers to bring Rupp Arena to life. Despite shooting 0-for-17 over the last three games, Sahvir Wheeler got in on the action, draining one from downtown. Kentucky was rocking, rolling and running, sprinting out to a 20-6 lead.
Momentum Swing Without Wheeler
The game completely changed once the Kentucky point guard picked up his second foul with just over 13 minutes remaining in the first half. Instead of running in transition, the Wildcats were stymied by Florida’s zone defense. Over the next seven minutes Kentucky made just 1-of-8 field goals, allowing the Gators to go on a 15-2 run to cut the UK lead to one.
Kentucky did not relinquish the lead. The Wildcats went on an 8-0 run, with six points coming from Oscar Tshiebwe, to give the Wildcats a little bit of breathing room, leading Florida 33-28 at the half.
Hot Second Half Start
Whatever message was sent to TyTy Washington at half, it was well received. Just 1-of-8 in the first 20 minutes, the freshman guard drained a three in the opening minute of the second half. He followed that up with a bucket in the paint, then drilled one more from long-range. Washington capped off Kentucky’s 10-0 run over just 1:36 by throwing a lob to Tshiebwe in transition. Just like the first six minutes of the game, the Wildcats were running the floor, dominating the pace to control the game, this time taking a 16-point lead.
Another Lower Leg Injury
Kentucky can’t play a basketball game without a player rolling an ankle. This time TyTy Washington got rolled up on by Florida’s Brandon McKissic, who dove after a “loose ball” that TyTy appeared to have already corralled. He hopped up as quickly as possible, but Washington, who previously injured his ankle, went straight to the locker room and did not return. Jacob Toppin did not play after he suffered an ankle injury Tuesday at South Carolina.
Tshiebwe Wins Battle with Castleton
Kentucky vs. Florida was destined to be decided by the matchup between two of the SEC’s best big men, Oscar Tshiebwe and Colin Castleton. The latter scored his fair share of points, but he could not keep up with the National Player of the Year frontrunner. The Gators’ center had 18 points, seven rebounds and four turnovers.
Tshiebwe was a man possessed in the paint, even more so than usual. Oscar had 27 points, 19 rebounds and three steals. It’s Tshiebwe’s 12th straight game with 10 or more rebounds, surpassing a school record previously held by Dan Issel. He now has 19 double-doubles in just 25 games this season.
Kentucky vs. Florida Box Score
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