Ashton Hagans celebrates Kentucky’s win over Florida

After winning the SEC last Saturday, Kentucky’s stock was soaring heading into the postseason. However, things took a drastic turn this week and nearly turned into a disastrous one that centered around Ashton Hagans.

On Tuesday, the Wildcats blew a 17-point after Hagans refused to enter the game in the second half during a bench argument with John Calipari.

Then came word that Hagans did not travel to Gainesville for the Wildcats’ Saturday matchup with the Florida Gators, as he decided to take a few days off due to personal reasons.

Without Hagans, the Wildcats found themselves trailing 59-41 at Florida with 12 minutes left in the second half and were on the verge of losing back-to-back SEC games for the first time since 2018.

But throughout the day, Hagans was posting supportive messages on Instagram for his teammates, who would go on to rally for a wild 71-70 win over the Gators.

After the game, Hagans shared his excitement on Instagram Live:

I’d expect Hagans to be back in the starting lineup next Friday when the Wildcats open SEC Tournament play. As fun as today was, Kentucky probably isn’t going to win the SEC Tournament or make a deep run in the NCAA Tournament without him playing at a high level.

Hopefully, this time off will allow Hagans to get recharged and back to playing at the high level he was early in conference play when he was one of the best point guard in all of college basketball.

March on.