Unranked Kentucky has one more shot in the regular season to make a strong impression on the Southeastern Conference when it hosts No. 5 Florida on Saturday afternoon in Lexington.
Locked in a four-way tie for fifth place, the Wildcats (19-11, 10-7 SEC) find themselves in a pack with Missouri, Texas A&M and No. 24 Vanderbilt, with each school hoping to move up to the fourth spot owned by No. 23 Tennessee (11-6 SEC).
The Volunteers’ home finale is Saturday afternoon against nearby rival Vanderbilt, which lost to Tennessee 69-65 two weeks ago.
If the Commodores even the series against their neighbors, Tennessee could still secure the double-bye with a Missouri loss to Arkansas and a Kentucky loss to Florida.
A loss by Kentucky to the juggernaut Gators (24-6, 15-2) would send the Wildcats to next week’s conference tourney with a 2-5 mark in the past seven games.
Coach Mark Pope’s bunch lost 96-85 at Texas A&M on Tuesday, and the coach’s postgame presser was highlighted by a word – “disappointed” — that may ultimately summarize the wildly inconsistent season journey.
“We’re disappointed with the outcome, disappointed with our effort,” said Pope, whose squad surrendered a 27-3 run to the Aggies at the end of the first half for an insurmountable 45-33 lead. “We had great focus and intensity for the first 14 minutes of the game … and we just lost our focus.
“We went through a stretch where we lost our minds.”
Leading scorer Otega Oweh (17.9 points per game) netted 24 with nine rebounds, five assists and three steals. Mouhamed Dioubate, who scores 8.5 ppg, produced 19 points and seven rebounds.
Everything has gone the reigning national champ’s way since its 76-67 home defeat to Auburn on Jan. 24.
Coach Todd Golden’s crew has reeled off 10 straight victories and appears in peak form to defend its championship.
On Senior Night before a 108-74 decimation of Mississippi State on Tuesday, the school honored reserve Micah Handlogten, one of two seniors along with first-year transfer guard Xaivian Lee.
A native of Lake Norman, N.C., Handlogten is petitioning the NCAA for an extra year of eligibility. The 7-foot-1 overcame a compound fracture and used up a redshirt to help the Gators to the national crown last season.
“I feel like he deserves the label as one of the most unselfish Gator athletes to ever play on this campus,” Golden said. “To do what he did last year, to help us win a national championship, I think people around the program appreciate that about him.”
On a frontcourt loaded with size, Handlogten comes off the bench and averages 4.3 points and six rebounds while making 65.2% of his shots, mostly from inside the paint.
Rueben Chinyelu leads the nation in rebounding by pulling down 11.7 per outing. The junior also averages 11.3 ppg and has 18th double-doubles this season.
Tuesday’s performance tied Chinyelu for the most double-doubles in a season for Florida with Bob Smyth, who achieved the feat in the 1975-76 campaign.
Thomas Haugh paces Florida with 17.1 points while Alex Condon scores 14.8.
On Valentine’s Day, the Gators topped the Wildcats 92-83 for their second win in the past three tries against their blue-clad ex-East Division rival.
However, Kentucky holds an 11-3 advantage in the past 14 contests.
