LEXINGTON, Ky. — They didn’t storm the court at Rupp Arena.
Of course, they didn’t. They never do when Kentucky wins a basketball game, even against the No. 1-ranked Florida team they hammered Tuesday night.
The Gators spent less than 48 hours in celebration of their newfound status, losing 70-55 before a record 24,459 fans.
It had been suggested that Kentucky felt threatened by the emergence of their Southeastern Conference counterparts.
So much for that notion, as this game was over by halftime. Florida trailed by 23 points, having allowed a 15-0 run near the end of the half that left Coach Billy Donovan seated — yes, seated — at the end of Florida’s bench.
Donovan kept grinding his knuckles, as if he were trying to take the stain out of a Gators jersey that wasn’t there.
When Kentucky forward Erik Daniels scored on a layup as the buzzer sounded, Donovan jumped off the bench to reach the locker room first.
Feel fortunate that you were not present.
“He was mad because we lost to a team that wasn’t better than us,” freshman guard Anthony Roberson said.
“We made it look like we didn’t know what we were doing out there. It was embarrassing.”
Florida (18-3, 7-1 SEC) was drilled not because its freshmen struggled, but because three seniors seemed bothered by the significance of the situation and hostile, passionate fans.
“Our seniors were rattled,” Donovan said. “Our guys hung our heads when the shots weren’t falling. Our mind-set was too much on offense and scoring. They took us out of our game.”
Matt Bonner missed his first six shots and sat on the bench red-faced and with a discernable scowl. Justin Hamilton uncharacteristically panicked under pressure.
Brett Nelson came out firing but, as he has so often, struggled.
“At one point in the first half, Brett said to me, ‘My team is playing scared,’ ” Kentucky senior Keith Bogans said.
Some credit should be doled to No. 6 Kentucky (17-3, 7-0 SEC) and Coach Tubby Smith, whose team has won its past 11 games.
It has been said that fans in this state have Billy Envy, an insatiable desire to lure Donovan from the program he has built into a national power.
But perhaps they should appreciate the efforts of their own man, Smith, another Rick Pitino protege.
They say all Smith does is teach and preach defense, as if that’s a bad thing.
“I still say Florida is the best offensive team in the nation,” Kentucky guard Gerald Fitch said.
“But defense wins games.”
Kentucky smothered Florida’s vaunted shooters to a season-low 34 percent and smashed them on the boards. The Wildcats wanted Florida to remember their seven national championships.
They wanted Florida to remember they’ve won here only once in its past 13 visits to the Bluegrass. They wanted to prove a point.
“The best way to show you’re No. 1 is to beat No. 1,” Fitch said.
It was only one game, a game that snapped Florida’s 14-game victory streak, one that spanned more than two months.
But most concerning was not that Florida lost, but that it lost its composure in the first half.
At one point in the second half, freshman Matt Walsh sat on Florida’s bench, chewing on a white Gatorade towel. Walsh had said he would not cut his curly hair until Florida lost, so he can pay a visit to the barber today.
Walsh (15 points) and Roberson (18) were actually Florida’s most fearless players. And while they relished the atmosphere, UF’s seniors wilted, taking 21 shots and making only five.
Those players already knew about the mystique, pomp and circumstance that is Rupp Arena and Kentucky basketball tradition.
Despite their recent successes, the Gators still never have finished ahead of the Wildcats in the SEC East.
