National Basketball Association
Kentucky 74, Florida 59
When: 12:00 PM ET, Sunday, March 4, 2012
Where: Stephen C. O'Connell Center, Gainesville, Florida
Officials:
# Doug Shows, # Tony Green, # Doug Sirmons
Attendance:
12113
By SportsDirect Inc.
No. 1 Kentucky 74, No. 13 Florida 59: Anthony Davis scored 22 points, grabbed 12 rebounds and blocked six shots, as the visiting Wildcats capped a perfect season in SEC play.
Terrence Jones added 19 points with three blocks for Kentucky (30-1, 16-0 SEC), which finished unbeaten in SEC competition for the first time since 2003. The top-ranked Wildcats, who have won 22 straight, open play in the SEC tournament on Friday in New Orleans.
The Gators (22-9, 10-6 SEC) lost for the fifth time in eight games, and will open the conference tournament Friday as the fourth seed. Patric Young led Florida with 21 points on 10-for-15 shooting.
Down 40-32 at halftime, the Gators pulled to 59-55 on Young’s jumper with 9:03 remaining. The Wildcats scored the next nine points and Davis’ layup with 6:09 to go gave the Wildcats a 68-55 advantage.
Kentucky’s defense suffocated the Gators’ perimeter game. Erving Walker, Bradley Beal and Kenny Boynton combined to shoot six-for-29 and score 20 points. Florida, which leads the nation in 3-pointers, finished six-for-22 from 3-point range.
Marquis Teague added 12 points for the Wildcats, who shot 52.5 percent from the field.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Kentucky set a school record for most wins in the regular season… Boynton, the SEC’s third-leading scorer at 17.1 points, did not start after reporting late to a team meeting… Kentucky scored 12 consecutive points in the first half to take a 25-14 lead… Florida trailed by 16 points with four minutes left in the first half, but cut the deficit in half by intermission… Both the Wildcats and Gators earned first-round byes for the conference tournament.
Top Game Performances
Kentucky |
|
Florida |
Anthony Davis 22 |
Scoring |
Patric Young 21 |
Michael Kidd-Gilchrist 4 |
Assists |
Erving Walker 5 |
Anthony Davis 12 |
Rebounds |
Patric Young 9 |
Anthony Davis 3 |
Free Throws Made |
Erik Murphy 4 |
Terrence Jones 2 |
Steals |
Bradley Beal 2 |
Anthony Davis 6 |
Blocks |
Bradley Beal 1 |
Team Stats Summary
Team |
Points |
FG% |
3PM-3PA |
FTM-FTA |
Assists |
Rebounds |
Blocks |
Steals |
Turnovers |
Kentucky
|
74 |
52.5 |
5-12 |
7-11 |
11 |
30 |
9 |
7 |
6 |
Florida
|
59 |
38.2 |
6-22 |
11-11 |
14 |
28 |
2 |
3 |
7 |