Following No. 10 Kentucky men’s basketball’s overtime defeat to the Florida Gators 94-91, the Wildcats have now suffered two unranked losses at home this season.
The other upset at home came on Dec. 12, 2023, to UNC Wilmington when the Wildcats were ranked No. 12.
It’s true that Kentucky has still yet to play a single game this season with its full roster, but there is one common denominator between these two losses that may point to some explanation as to why the Cats did not come through with the win: D.J. Wagner.
Wagner has sat out just twice this season for injury-related reasons for Kentucky and both of those times the freshman has sat on the bench and watched his team fall short.
The New Jersey native is averaging 12 points, 1.9 rebounds and 3.7 assists per game – all while averaging 28 minutes of play on the court.
While Wagner may not be leading the Wildcats on paper, he provides something that head coach John Calipari made clear his team was missing and suffering from against Florida: relief.
“You know, it’s kind of like we got tired out, but there was not a whole lot of subs,” Calipari said. “It was like here’s who we have. Adou (Thiero) hurt his back and was giving us whatever he could.”
Thiero started for Kentucky, but ended up playing just 15 minutes as his back injury continued to cause him pain. It is the same injury that saw the sophomore sit out for seven consecutive games earlier this season.
“I’m owing it up to they were exhausted,” Calipari said. “Robert (Dillingham) even went back in with cramps.”
The freshman Dillingham clocked in 39 minutes at the end of the game and talked about how important it is for the team to make those easy plays during hard-fought battles.
Against the Gators the Wildcats were missing flow. Flow that Wagner provides.
“It’s definitely different, a lot different (when Wagner isn’t playing),” Dillingham said. “He brings a lot to the table when it comes to having the ball and moving the ball.”
Kentucky now finds itself with three losses in league play on a road that is only going to get tougher for the Wildcats.
The team will stay at home this weekend as it prepares to host No. 5 Tennessee, which will also be taking the court fresh off of its own unranked loss to South Carolina this week.
It’s more than likely that the outcome of this game could determine which team is falling out of the top 10.
The Wildcats and the Vols will battle it out on Saturday, Feb. 3, at 8:30 p.m. ET inside Rupp Arena. The game will be aired on ESPN.
