LEXINGTON, Ky. — For 5-foot-8-inch Erving Walker, Kentucky was too tall of a test.
Against one of the nation’s longest and most athletic teams, Florida’s starting point guard was shut out for the first time since Dec. 30, 2008.
“It just wasn’t his night,” Kenny Boynton said.
Walker’s scoreless showing snapped a streak of 117 straight games with a point, a stretch that dates back to midway through his freshman season.
He missed all seven of his shot attempts, including four from beyond the arc, and tallied just one assist compared to two turnovers.
His primary matchup, Kentucky freshman Marquis Teague, scored 12 points on 4-of-6 shooting with 10 assists and five turnovers.
“That was a matchup [Tuesday] that probably really hurt us,” UF coach Billy Donovan said. “That was something that was a big difference in the game.”
Often drawing the 6-foot-2 Teague or 6-foot-4 Doron Lamb, Walker struggled to get around his defenders and complete passes over their long, athletic frames.
When Kentucky brought full-court pressure, Walker sometimes faced 6-foot-7 Michael Kidd-Gilchrist or 6-foot-8 Darius Miller, which only made matters worse.
“That’s one of the things that makes them very, very good is they have great length,” Donovan said. “Teague has got good speed and quickness and can pressure.”
Kentucky consistently recruits players with that skill set, and it has consistently given Walker fits during the last two years.
In Tuesday’s game and three matchups with Kentucky last season, Walker averaged 6.8 points per game on just 16.2 percent shooting with a combined 10 assists and eight turnovers.
Walker’s struggles Tuesday led to UF’s second-lowest offensive output of the season. The Gators’ only worse performance was a 56-point showing on the road against Tennessee on Jan. 7.
This mirrors the effect Walker’s struggles against the Wildcats had last year. In three games against Kentucky, Florida averaged eight points below its season average.
“It makes it tougher for all the other players to score because (opponents) start keying on other players,” Boynton said of Walker’s off nights. “We need everyone out there, all five guys, to score.”
History shows Florida is at its best when it has balanced scoring. The teams that won national championships in 2006 and 2007 had five players average double figures, and last year’s Elite Eight squad had five players average at least nine points per game.
Only three players scored more than seven points for UF on Tuesday, and those struggles took the offense out of rhythm.
“We were coming down, one pass, shot,” Boynton said, “instead of running our plays like we should have.”
Despite Tuesday’s performance, freshman Brad Beal said he has no concerns about Walker’s ability to bounce back.
With 131 career games under his belt, Florida’s lone senior has learned how to handle the ups and downs of good and bad nights.
Walker responded to his previous season low — a three-point showing in a Dec. 31 win against Yale — by exploding for a season-high 23 in Florida’s next game.
“Erv just has to keep playing,” Beal said. “He’s been in the battles before, he knows what to do. So he just has to stay confident and keep playing basketball. I’m really not worried about him.”
Contact Greg Luca at gluca@alligator.org.
