A short bench led to defensive breakdowns against Florida: "They were exhausted."

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Leading up to Wednesday night’s game against Florida, it felt like Kentucky was finally on the cusp of playing with a full roster for the first time all season. But less than an hour before tipoff, it was revealed that freshmen DJ Wagner and Justin Edwards would sit out with nagging injuries.

That’s two rotational pieces missing before the game even started. Add on the fact that Adou Thiero was dealing with back issues and was clearly laboring throughout the game, and Kentucky’s bench was shorter than it already had been. Even Rob Dillingham, who sat out the previous game due to an illness, was spotted limping on the court against the Gators.

John Calipari didn’t have much of a choice but to ride with the best available options. Granted, those options are still pretty spectacular, but the heavy load of minutes quickly added up. Throw in an overtime period and it’s no wonder Kentucky struggled down the stretch, especially on defense.

“We just needed a couple of subs and we didn’t have them,” Calipari said after the Wildcats’ 94-91 overtime loss at home. “But let’s put it to played too many minutes. I had no choice. I had to.”

Freshman Reed Sheppard played all 45 minutes for Kentucky. Dillingham, Antonio Reeves, and Tre Mitchell all saw at least 37 minutes. Ugonna Onyenso wasn’t far behind with 33 minutes of his own — a career-high for the 7-foot big man. The only other player to register double-figures in minutes was Thiero with 15.

Calipari tried to dip into his bench to help give the main five a break. He sent out Aaron Bradshaw and Zvonimir Ivisic for a combined 15 minutes, but those two only managed to contribute a total of three points and two rebounds. Due to some foul trouble, Jordan Burks saw his first in-game action since Jan. 13 against Texas A&M — just two minutes before getting pulled.

“We needed a full roster in this kind of game,” Calipari added. “You can’t be shorthanded.”

But the five-man group of Sheppard, Dillingham, Reeves, Mitchell, and Onyenso was working — at least for the majority of the game. Kentucky led for over 28 minutes in regulation. There wasn’t an abundance of turnovers or bad shot attempts by any means. The defense wasn’t always pretty, but the offense had more than enough juice.

The tired legs caught up to Kentucky though. It came at the worst times, too.

In particular, a defensive breakdown near the end of regulation allowed Florida to send the game into overtime. Walter Clayton Jr. popped open for a three-pointer that tied the game a few seconds before the buzzer. Sheppard, who owned up to the mistake post-game, sagged off Clayton too far on the perimeter and bit on the pump fake. Calipari chalked it up to Sheppard not getting a single second of rest all game.

“He did good,” Calipari said of Sheppard. “There were some breakdowns, like why did you do that kind of breakdowns. And I’m owning it up to they were exhausted. Like the last three (from Clayton), why did you leave that guy? We were guarding the three-point line and he stopped in the lane and you left your man. Why did you do that? Well, he’s probably exhausted. But we didn’t — you know, who are you going to take out and who are you going to put in? Robert even went back in with cramps.”

That excuse can work both ways though. Florida battled the same problem, albeit to a slightly lesser extent. No Gator player was on the floor for all 45 minutes, but one did reach 41. Three others played over 30 minutes. Kentucky rolled with a six-man lineup for most of the game while Florida went with seven.

Regardless, a complete roster would have greatly benefitted Kentucky. Wagner soaks up over 28 minutes per game on average. For all of Edwards’ shortcomings this season, he could have at least allowed a teammate to get a breather if he was fully healthy. Thiero hasn’t quite rounded back into form just yet in what was just his second game back since going out in late December.

“We just have to get healthy and have a full roster,” Calipari said. “In these wars like this, you are going to play a 45-minute game, 45 minutes, and some of the guys played 45 minutes. If Antonio didn’t get in foul trouble, he would have probably played 42 minutes of the game.”

Kentucky only has a few days to rest and recover for an even tougher opponent this weekend. No. 5 Tennessee comes to Rupp Arena on Saturday. Will Calipari finally have a full roster by then?