Kentucky Basketball: Wildcats take control of SEC without De’Aaron Fox

Malik Monk goes off in the second half to lead Kentucky basketball to a marquee victory over Florida.

After losing to Florida by 22 in Gainsville earlier in conference play, Kentucky was searching for revenge at Rupp Arena on Saturday afternoon without point guard De’Aaron Fox (knee) in the lineup.

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Thanks to Malik Monk’s dominant second half performance, the Wildcats did indeed get pay back on Michael White’s Gators, winning 76-66 to take the outright lead in the SEC standings. Monk scored 30 of his 33 points in the second 20 minutes, making shots from the perimeter, drilling mid-range jumpers off screens and getting to the free throw line at will.

Monk wasn’t nearly as good as he was in Kentucky’s thrilling win over North Carolina in Vegas, but his 33 points on 9-of-18 shooting (5-of-7 from beyond the arc) were one of the main reasons UK pulled out their 24th win of the season.

The Wildcats were also able to take advantage of the loss of John Egbunu as Edrice ‘Bam’ Adebayo finished with 18 points on 7-of-11 shooting and 15 rebounds. In fact, John Calipari’s squad out-rebounded Florida by 18 despite getting beat on the glass by 25 in their last meeting.

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Even though Monk and Adebayo were the only Wildcats in double figures, Isaiah Briscoe had a solid floor game, manning the point guard position with Fox out, and Derek Willis helped spark the Wildcats off the bench. He scored only five points, but the threat of him knocking down three’s, freed up more space for Monk to operate in the half court.

Overall, the Wildcats shot 45 percent from the floor and 43 percent from three. They overcame 16 turnovers by making plays in transition and relying heavily on Monk.

But Kentucky’s defense was also impressive. They limited Florida to 66 points and other than KeVaughn Allen (24 points on 9-of-17 shooting) and Justin Leon (13 points), the Gators had no other players who scored in double figures. Yes, they got a little burst of energy from Devin Robinson and Chris Chiozza, but there was no consistency other than their two top scorers. Credit Kentucky for their improvements on that end of the floor.

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Looking into the big picture, this is an impressive victory for the Wildcats. They have struggled in recent weeks — they barely beat Georgia twice and looked poor against a bad Missouri team — but the ‘Cats have still won six straight games and beat one of the top teams in the SEC by 10 without their most important player. If Kentucky can continue to play stellar defense, they have a shot to make a run in the Big Dance because of their talent, in particular, Monk, who can win a game by himself.