Kentucky was bullied by Florida on the glass but still won. How can UK get more physical?

For all of the overwhelming positives that came from Kentucky basketball’s introduction to SEC play — an entertaining 106-100 home win over previously unbeaten Florida at Rupp Arena — there was at least one area of concern to emerge from the Wildcats’ performance against the Gators.

UK got off to a winning start in league play despite lagging behind Florida in rebounding and second-chance points.

Florida — which entered Saturday’s game as the second-best team in the nation in offensive rebounding percentage (41.4%) — had its way with UK on the glass at both ends of the floor.

The Gators outrebounded the Wildcats 38-30 overall and enjoyed a 15-9 advantage on the offensive end. Todd Golden’s team turned that into a decisive advantage in second-chance points as well: Florida had 31 of those compared to just 12 for Kentucky.

“We hung in there, is probably the best way we can say it. We really hung in there,” Kentucky coach Mark Pope remarked Saturday, while searching for a way to sum up his team’s showing on the glass.

Obviously, the end result going in Kentucky’s favor — and in the process securing UK a third win over an AP top-10 opponent this season — is what matters most to Pope and his team as conference play begins.

But in a league filled with rough and tumble teams, it will be imperative for the Wildcats to make progress when it comes to their rebounding.

“We learned that we’ve got to get a lot more physical,” Pope said. “It’s going to be like a life-or-death fight on the boards every single night.”

Florida’s performance on the glass Saturday would do well to serve as a wake-up call for a Kentucky team that, largely, had held its own this season when it came to rebounding and second-chance points.

In games against high-major opponents, UK has twice gathered more total and offensive rebounds than its opponent. Those occasions were the win over Gonzaga (43-42 overall rebounding and 16-15 offensive rebounding advantages for UK), the win over Louisville (a 41-31 overall rebounding advantage for UK) and the loss to Ohio State (a 13-7 offensive rebounding advantage for UK).

In UK’s first loss of the season at Clemson, the Tigers and Wildcats each grabbed 44 total rebounds and 15 offensive boards.

In all other contests, Kentucky has come up on the short end of rebounding battles.

Duke grabbed more overall rebounds (44-43) and offensive rebounds (11-10) compared to Kentucky. Louisville had 10 offensive boards compared to just seven for UK in last month’s edition of the rivalry series. In Ohio State’s crushing 20-point win over UK late last month in New York City, the Buckeyes enjoyed a 35-32 overall rebounding edge over the Wildcats.

Then came Saturday’s contest against Florida, where the Gators did what they do best in terms of gathering loose balls and generating offense from them.

“We had a plus-8 rebounding advantage, which is great on the road against a team that’s as physical and big (as UK),” Golden said afterward, highlighting the fact that his team played well enough in this area to win.

“It was crazy,” UK fifth-year big Amari Williams added about the physicality in the game. “I’ve never gone against a rebounder (Florida sophomore Rueben Chinyelu) like that. Credit to him. He got low. Lots of swim moves. But I feel like over the course of the game we got better. (Chinyelu) still got a few, but I feel like we rebounded more as a team.”

Williams led UK with eight rebounds, which matched Chinyelu’s total. The Gators were actually led in rebounding by sophomore forward Alex Condon, who had 10 boards.

Statistically, the Florida outcome when it came to second-chance points reads as an anomaly for Kentucky this season. In three of its games against high-major opponents, Kentucky had the edge in second-chance points.

UK held a 13-10 advantage over Clemson, a 16-9 advantage over Gonzaga and a 15-8 advantage over Ohio State. Duke edged UK 10-9 in this category. Louisville and UK each had eight second-chance points in their meeting.

So, how concerned should Kentucky actually be with the cavernous 31-12 gap in second-chance points compared to Florida?

Just take a look at the upcoming schedule.

Seven of the top 30 teams in the country in offensive rebounding percentage reside in the SEC. And Kentucky’s next four games are all against teams on that list.

Tuesday night brings a trip to Georgia (39%, 11th in the country), followed by next Saturday’s road contest at Mississippi State (36.1%, 29th in the country). Then, it’s a Jan. 14 home date against Texas A&M (44.3%, the top mark in the country), followed by another home contest on Jan. 18 against Alabama (38.1%, 15th in the country).

For context, Kentucky’s offensive rebounding percentage of 31% ranks 158th in the nation, which is middle of the road.

“This league is going to needle any space where you’re not the best in the country,” Pope surmised Saturday. “… You want to go against the biggest challenge. You want to go against the best teams … It just makes you get better.”

So how do the Wildcats plan on addressing rebounding, especially during the flow of what promises to be a grueling SEC season with 17 games still to go?

“Just trying to hit early, making sure we’re not hitting second,” Williams said. “Just making sure it’s legal, too, and not called a foul and they get the ball back.”

“We’ve got to continue to get a hit,” fifth-year guard Lamont Butler added. “Everyone needs to find a body every time. And then even when your man doesn’t crash, you need to go down there and help in with the rebounds. I think that’s a team effort thing.”

For his part, the Kentucky coach offered a three-pronged potential solution.

“First, we’re going to get in the training room, try and get healed up. Then, we get in the weight room and then we get in the film room, and try and figure out some different things schematically and habit wise that we can do,” Pope said. “The one thing I’m not worried about is our guys’ fight.”

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