Cats Set to Host Gators on Unique Senior Day
Senior Day for the Kentucky basketball team is one of the greatest traditions in all of college basketball. The pageantry, the adulation, My Old Kentucky Home and even the shedding of tears have all been a part of this long-standing tradition over the years.
Senior Day in 2021 will be unlike any other UK Senior Day for a number of reasons. First, rather than having more then 20,000 fans inside Rupp Arena applauding for, and giving thanks to, the UK seniors, it will be a crowd of about 3,000 that says goodbye to Davion Mintz, Olivier Sarr and Riley Welch on Saturday as Kentucky hosts Florida.
And that’s another thing that’s different about Senior Day 2021. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the NCAA has granted players an extra year of eligibility. That means that any or all of the three seniors could return to UK and play another season. That’s something that has not yet been decided by any of the three Kentucky seniors.
“No decisions have been made. Absolutely not,” Mintz said. “I think it’s important that I go through this Senior Day. I felt a lot of pain last year, sitting out, a cast on my foot during senior day at Creighton. Those emotions I felt, I just didn’t want to do that again. I felt it was important for me to go through it and have a little ceremony regardless of my decision.”
Sarr has yet to make a decision at this point.
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| Kentucky vs. Florida | ||
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Sat., Feb. 27 – 4 p.m. ET |
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| Coverage | ||
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TV: CBS |
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| UK | Stats | UF |
| 8-13 | Record | 12-6 |
| 7-7 | Conference Record | 8-5 |
| 69.9 | PPG | 76.2 |
| 70.2 | Opp PPG | 70.1 |
| .415 | FG% | .465 |
| .405 | Opp FG% | .420 |
| 39.1 | RPG | 36.3 |
| .332 | 3PT FG% | .355 |
| .307 | Opp 3PT FG% | .312 |
| 12.1 | APG | 12.3 |
| 6.4 | SPG | 7.7 |
| 6.2 | BPG | 6.2 |
“Honestly my mind is on the end of the season and trying to be the best version of myself every night, every game,” Sarr said. “I think that’s a good question. That’s a question that I think about. I don’t have the answer yet, but I’m just glad to be here and happy to finish the season.”
Welch was the most definite of the three, although he didn’t totally close the door to returning.
“To be honest, I don’t think I’m coming back as a player next year,” Welch said. “It’s not a conversation Coach Calipari and I have had. I’m older, so if Coach Calipari asked me to come back and return in the position, I, mean, it would be hard to say no. But if not, I’m ready for whatever lies ahead.”
As for the game itself, Saturday’s contest is a very important one in the SEC standings. Both Florida and Kentucky are trying to get into the top four in the conference standings in order to get the double bye in the SEC Tournament. Florida enters Saturday’s game at 8-5 in league play, while Kentucky is 7-7.
These two teams met in Gainesville on Jan. 9, with Kentucky claiming a 76-58 win at the O’Connell Center. It was one of the best performances for the team all season, as they took a six-point lead at the half then outscored the Gators 41-29 in the second 20 minutes. Brandon Boston Jr. and Davion Mintz led a balanced UK scoring effort with 13 points apiece in that game.
Sarr believes the Gators are better now than they were then.
“I think they’re playing better. I think they’re definitely playing better than earlier in the season,” Sarr said. “It’s going to be a challenge for us, but also we are also playing better. I think it’s going to be a great game. It’s going to be a start to get us going and keep in that winning streak. Hopefully we will compete and play hard and fight.”
It will be a Senior Day unlike any before it at Kentucky. But the Cats also need to keep their focus on this important game against the Gators on Saturday.
Kentucky Tops No. 19/20 Tennessee in Knoxville for First Win vs. Ranked Opponent
It’s taken a long time, but Kentucky is getting better. Just in time for the postseason, too.
A season full of frustration is finally coming into focus. The Wildcats won their third straight game last Saturday, topping No. 19 Tennessee 70-55.
Isaiah Jackson scored 16 points and Davion Mintz had 15 in going 5-for-5 on 3s in the first half as Kentucky (8-13, 7-7 SEC) matched its longest winning streak of the season.
Keion Brooks Jr. had 10 points and 12 rebounds and Olivier Sarr scored 10 for a team that’s always considered a lock for the NCAA tourney.
“Even when we were playing bad (this season), I still believed in them,” Kentucky coach John Calipari said. “They’re kids. You keep working with them, but you hold them accountable when they’re not doing it right.”
Victor Bailey led the Volunteers (15-6, 8-6) with 18 points. Keion Johnson scored 15 and Yves Pons had 10.
“That we were beaten by just 15 (points) is a surprise,” Tennessee coach Rick Barnes said. ”We were that bad. We got stagnant (on offense). We play better when we move it and get going.”
Early in the game, Kentucky had a 15-0 run that made it 23-10. Mintz had two 3-pointers in that burst and Jacob Toppin had a pair of baskets.
Up 15 at the break, Kentucky got the lead to 60-40 midway through the second half.
“We’re a good defensive team,” Calipari said. “We knew this was going to be hand-to-hand combat. (Tennessee has) a chance to be in the Final Four. We came in here and did it. They weren’t at their best today. We were at our best.
“I don’t even know our record. I just coach them to get better,” he said.
Both teams combined for just 13 baskets in the entire second half. Kentucky was 6 of 29 (21%) from the field and Tennessee was 7 of 26 (27%).
“We were still able to guard well and rebound,” Calipari said. “We did some good stuff.”
Tennessee freshmen Johnson and Jaden Springer combined for 57 points in the first meeting with the Wildcats, an 82-71 Vols victory. This time they had 19.
“We tried to crowd the court on them,” Calipari said. “We did a better job. We’re playing team defense. We’re becoming a team.”
And the Winner is … Kentucky!
Kentucky has dominated the weekly Southeastern Conference awards under John Calipari. UK has won more SEC honors (110) than any school during the Calipari era, including 85 SEC Freshman of the Week honors and 25 SEC Player of the Week awards.
After helping lead the Kentucky men’s basketball team to a pair of Southeastern Conference road victories, freshman Isaiah Jackson was named the league’s Freshman of the Week on Monday. It is the first such honor of Jackson’s career.
Jackson averaged 15.5 points, 8.0 rebounds and 2.0 blocks per game in wins at Vanderbilt and in an upset of No. 19/20 Tennessee. Against Vanderbilt, the Pontiac, Michigan, native poured in 15 points and narrowly missed on a double-double with nine rebounds. He also was a perfect 5 for 5 from the field against the Commodores.
The 6-foot-10 forward had a team-high 16 points and added seven rebounds and a pair of rejections against the Volunteers.
The win over Tennessee was the first over an Associated Press Top 25 opponent this season for the Wildcats. The 15-point margin of victory also matched the largest win over a ranked team on the road under John Calipari.
Jackson and Dontaie Allen are the two Wildcats to win either award this season.
