Tshiebwe, Toppin, Livingston Spearhead Kentucky's 82-74 Road Victory Over Florida

The Wildcats got massive help from their forwards on Wednesday night in Gainesville.

Kentucky basketball encapsulated its entire 2022-23 season on Wednesday night inside the O'Connell Center in Gainesville, Fla. 

The Wildcats embarked on another 40-minute rollercoaster ride, showcasing what they look like both at their best and their worst on the way to an 82-74 win over the staggering Florida Gators, who fought despite being without their best player, Colin Castleton. 

UK (19-9, 10-5 SEC) center Oscar Tshiebwe took advantage of not having to face Castleton in the paint, as the reigning National Player of the Year dominated the Gators offensively, leading the Cats with 25 points. 

When Tshiebwe took on Florida (14-14, 7-8) earlier this season on Feb. 4, he managed just four points, mostly due to the man who was defending him back in Lexington. He did, however, acquire 15 rebounds in that game. 

On Wednesday, though, he was out-rebounded by two of his teammates, totaling just four boards, as he stayed focus on filling the cup. That paid dividends for UK early, as the beginning of the game appeared to be one that was going to witness the Wildcats steamroll to victory. 

That was far from the case, as coach John Calipari's team once again failed to land a knockout punch early. 

Tshiebwe already had 11 points with 7:55 to play in the first half, as the Cats led 30-15. Energy in the Swamp was low, while Kentucky had the appearance of an energized team that was solely in town to take care of business on the court. 

That feeling was quickly flipped on its head, as the Gators rattled off a 13-0 run while UK went nearly four minutes without scoring. It tried to regain the mojo it found out of the gate, but it was instead met with a 9-0 UF run to close out the half, capped off by back-to-back Riley Kugel 3-pointers. 

In a flash, the Gators dashed to the locker room with a 37-36 lead at halftime. Calipari knew it was coming, too. 

"I didn't like to start the game because I knew we would then relax, and we did," he said postgame. "They kept coming and they made plays and all of a sudden we're down at half."

Kentucky was also shorthanded — as has become common towards the end of the year. Guards Sahvir Wheeler and CJ Fredrick again both didn't play for the fourth game in a row as they continue to nurse injuries. 

Calipari's light group has learned how handle the additional workload, and that was apparent down the stretch of the second half, as all five starters played the final 20 minutes. 

"I just went with the five guys because I was trying to win the game," he explained.

Senior forward Jacob Toppin notched his sixth double-double of the season with 19 points and 11 rebounds while freshman forward Chris Livingston fought for his second straight double-double with 10 points and a game-high 15 rebounds. It's the second game in a row that he's led UK on the glass. 

As a team, Kentucky out-rebounded Florida 40-21. It's the second-largest rebound margin for the Wildcats in a true SEC road game under Calipari, per statistician Corey Price. 

"Chris Livingston was ridiculous today. But he's been ridiculous for the last couple of weeks," Calipari said. "His stuff is that energy — diving on the floor, going after offensive rebounds because he attempts them, then rebounding defensively with two hands. He's been a monster."

"(Livingston) took all my rebounds, we're gonna have to fight," Tshiebwe joked. "I love that, because now the team is really focusing on me, they're sending people ... so that opens up for Jacob and Chris to get every rebound. I don't mind. As long as we're winning, i'm good."

Shooting guard Antonio Reeves made six baskets en route to a 16-point night to go along with four assists. Freshman point guard Cason Wallace had a game-high six dimes. 

UF's Kugel and Kowacie Reeves did more than enough to fill the gaps left on the offensive end from Castleton's absence, as the pair totaled 40 points, canning six 3-pointers along the way. The 6-foot-5 freshman Kugel headlined with a career-high 21. 

With less than nine minutes to go, K. Reeves knocked down one of the aforementioned treys to tie things up, 59-59. 

The shots that the Wildcats made in the first few minutes of the first half once again began to fall. None felt more dagger-worthy than the combo of Toppin's second 3-pointer of the game, leading to a fastbreak alley-oop jam for the forward, putting Kentucky up 74-63 with less than four minutes to play. 

After opening the season abysmal from behind the arc, Toppin is now shooting 52.6 percent (10-19) from 3-point range. 

"Those threes really help us. We need them," Tshiebwe said. "I just told Jacob, 'let's keep it up. Let's keep it up.' He has been helping us so much."

"Honestly, not worrying about it has made me a better shooter. In the beginning of the year, I was focused too much on shooting threes, when I'm not that type of player. I'm a downhill player," Toppin said. "Threes are just extra to my game. And I'm just happy that I've found my confidence back."

Once again, the Gators were rocked, but the Cats couldn't find the uppercut, instead hitting themselves in the face. Four gifted free throws and a 3-pointer from Will Richard helped UF creep up to a 4-point deficit.

Kentucky shot itself in the foot again with 1:17 to go, as Wallace traveled after an inbound pass. Two more freebies pulled the Gators within a basket with less than a minute to go. 

It would be Livingston that saved the day, as after Wallace missed a 3-pointer, the forward made a patented "tough as nails" play, collecting the miss and making a putback plus a foul. He made the free throw to put UK up by five. 

Florida failed to find one final gasp, as free throws finished off the Wildcats' fifth Quadrant 1 win of the season. UK shot 53.3 percent as a team from the floor and 12-16 from the free-throw line. 

Up next for the Cats is a home bout against the teetering Auburn Tigers. Tipoff inside Rupp Arena on Saturday, Feb. 25 is set for 4 p.m. EST and will air on CBS. 

"This has been a grind to get this to where you know, we're comfortable, and we're still not there," Calipari said. 

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