To Gators fans, Florida’s 76-66 loss to Kentucky probably felt like a slap in the face.
Saturday in Lexington, the Gators made more field goals, hit 10 three-pointers and had fewer than half as many turnovers as UK.
But the Wildcats shot 27 free throws while the Gators shot a season-low six.
A stat like that probably makes you angry. It sounds unfair.
It probably felt like being slapped in the face, shoving the guy that slapped you and then getting in trouble for shoving.
That’s definitely what it felt like for UF shooting guard KeVaughn Allen.
Kentucky point guard Isaiah Briscoe smacked Allen while calling a timeout in the final minutes, and Allen pushed him back.
The referees immediately whistled Allen for the blatant push, not having seen Briscoe swipe at him one second earlier.
For Gators fans, this exemplified the uneven nature of the officiating.
It looked like definitive proof that the referees were biased. Allen got slapped, reacted instinctively, and was going to be punished while Briscoe walked away clean.
In a game where the Gators were called for 22 personal fouls, the incident appeared to validate all the claims of fans who said the Gators got jobbed in Kentucky.
Except then the officials reviewed the video. And everyone watching the game saw Briscoe take a slow-mo swipe at Allen.
The referees issued double technical fouls, so neither team shot free throws as the fouls offset.
So maybe the game wasn’t rigged. But it’s fair to say that most of the game’s questionable calls went in favor of the Wildcats.
Multiple Gators even mentioned the glaring free-throw disparity after the game.
“I’d say the difference is they got to the free-throw line a lot,” Allen said.
“When you have a lot of players in foul trouble, there’s not really much you can do,” forward Justin Leon said.
“They were terrific at getting to the foul line 27 times,” coach Mike White said.
One reporter on Twitter implied he saw White carrying his laptop to the referees to show replays of the calls they’d missed.
But that probably didn’t happen. Because White understands that you can’t expect the refs to help you or even be neutral in a high-stakes game.
Complaining, even when you’re justified, isn’t going to make a difference.
A referee admitting a mistake won’t change the final score.
White knows complaining or even tracking a referee down and showing him replays is like talking to a wall or yelling into a vacuum.
White knows to expect challenges like these.
“We lost at Kentucky,” White said. “It’s OK. A lot of teams lose here.”
Contact Matt Brannon at mbrannon@alligator.org and follow him on Twitter @MattB_727.
UF coach Mike White points during Florida's 81-66 win over South Carolina on Feb. 21, 2017, in the O'Connell Center.
