By Nick Gray | UK basketball beat writer

[email protected]

UK’s last regular season game presented an opportunity to find some salvation in an otherwise rocky campaign.

That opportunity fell by the wayside before the O’Connell Center’s first half clock struck zero.

UK’s problems of the last two weeks were magnified on Saturday in a 84-65 loss to No. 1 University of Florida on the Gators’ Senior Day. The Cats fell behind by a large margin only to chomp into the deficit in the second half, where a comeback was too much to ask for against the nation’s top-ranked team.

“It was the No. 1 team in the country at home on Senior Night, and the team that came out a little timid is going to be down 20 or 25 points,” UK head coach John Calipari said. “They are that good, and if you don’t come out and play, you’re going to get smashed.”

Florida (29-2, 18-0 SEC) completed the season sweep of UK and finished the conference season undefeated for the first time in program history.

Florida took control of the game after UK freshman guard James Young’s 3-pointer cut the Gators’ lead to 20-16 halfway through the first half. The Gators went on a 11-0 run highlighted by UK’s three turnovers and four Florida scores in four trips to their offensive end of the floor.

The run was briefly stopped, but the poor defensive execution and sagging offense continued. By the time UK trotted into the locker room, its second-half mountain climb totaled 21 points, which was the largest halftime deficit it had faced all season.

“Keep fighting,” UK freshman forward Julius Randle said about the mindset at halftime. “There was a lot of game to be played, and teams go on runs.”

The comeback was furious six minutes into the second half, as UK scored in eight of nine possessions between 17:02 and 12:27 left in the game. But as he did in Lexington, Florida senior guard Scottie Wilbekin righted the Gators’ ship after a timeout by Florida head coach Billy Donovan.

Wilbekin’s 3-pointer stopped the Cats’ run, and nine of his 13 points came after UK’s stretch.

“He does that. He has done that all year,” Calipari said.

UK’s offense could not keep up after Wilbekin’s shot, taking what Calipari called “two of the worst shots we’ve taken all year.”

Both came with UK down 10, and both came on wild shots in the paint by freshmen (Randle and Aaron Harrison) that did not fall.

“We can win this game against the No. 1 team in the country on the road. You’re never supposed to be in the game. You’ve got your chance,” Calipari said of the opportunity before the two shots.

Calipari’s frustrations also continued from the two-game losing streak from a week ago. He spoke on Friday about hoping the light turns on for his team. With the opportunity on the road now gone, UK will have to look elsewhere, starting with an SEC Tournament quarterfinal at 7 p.m. at Georgia Dome in Atlanta.

“What we’re doing with 10 minutes left in the game and 12 minutes in the game – let’s do it for 40 minutes,” Calipari said. “It’s time. Let’s do this.”