Cross posted at a perpetual state of bliss

On what should have been a complete domination by Florida given the stats, UK was able to make it respectable for the majority of the game, only to fall short 64-61

What can we take from the game?

First of all, to all the people who constantly criticize Tubby Smith, this loss does not fall on his shoulders.  This, however, does not mean that Tubby is without blame.  Early in the first half, Tubby had a questionable five of Woo, Perry, Thomas, Bradley, and Meeks.  A lineup like that produces two potential scorers at best, and it was at this time that Florida began its run to catapult themselves out to a 16 point lead.  No, the fault was not on Tubby, but falls squarely on the shoulders of the players.

Bobby Perry shot 1-7 from the field.  Joe Crawford was 3-12.  Sheray Thomas was 0-3.  Ramel Bradley was 7-17.  Randolph Morris was the only quasi-consistent one at a respectable 7-13.   Those stats do not even encapsulate what was truly perhaps one of the worst offensive performances in recent memory.  A team that previously was shooting 35% from three point land, was "held", and I mean this in the loosest way possible, to 13% shooting.  A team that shoots 68% from the free throw line, shot only 61%, with the conference leader Ramel Bradley shooting only  3-8.

Despite all of these facts, Kentucky still somehow managed to keep this game relatively close.  To the Tubby Smith naysayers, it was Tubby Smith's system that outrebounded Florida's superior frontline 40-33.  
It was Tubby Smith's system that shutdown Noah, Horford, Green, and Humphrey.  It was Tubby Smith's system that kickstarted the defensive intensity.  Unfortunately, it was the players who couldn't make the open shots, and lord knows we had them, and now, UK fans like myself must try to find the silver lining in another loss to another ranked team.

What this team has shown is that they can play with virtually any team in the country.  Is this good enough?  Well it certainly won't bode well with the majority of the fanbase, myself included.  It always seems that we start off so tight in the big games, only to fall behind early and attempt a heroic comeback only to come up short.  This game hurts, but not for the reasons set forth by the Tubby bashers.  We played hard, played defense even harder.  Tubby outcoached the wonderchild Billy Donovan in virtually every aspect of the game.  What was the difference maker was solely a lack of focus in the early minutes, and a lack of execution throughout the entire game.  When Noah and Horford were sidelined for early foul trouble, we took the ball into Morris to get the game close.  Towards the end, we vacated that idea and hoisted three after three, when none of those shots had fallen all game.  We scored virtually at will when we took the ball inside, yet we forgot how to do that or even that we could do that in the closing minutes.  

Now what is left is a game against a newly energized Tennessee team that spanked Vanderbilt.  I think JL Blue said it succinctly:

Gotta make shots. Not that complicated.