In another cruel twist of how the 2020-21 season has gone for Kentucky, the Wildcats appeared to have finally conquered their late-game woes with a valiant comeback vs. Arkansas only to see another game slip through their fingers in heart-wrenching fashion.
UK rallied from 12 points down with just over six minutes to go and took a one-point lead on a Davion Mintz 3-pointer with 12.3 seconds left, but Arkansas guard Jalen Tate grabbed an offensive rebound on the next possession and was fouled on the put-back attempt. He sank both free throws with 4.3 seconds left, and Olivier Sarr‘s pass at midcourt was picked off to seal an 81-80 win for the Razorbacks on Tuesday at Rupp Arena.
“That ball was supposed to go to Olivier and then one of the guards and then we kind of didn’t get quite open,” UK head coach John Calipari said of the last play. “But, we were also going to look at BJ (Brandon Boston Jr.), who was open, and we passed him up, if you know what I’m saying. If you look at it, it was supposed to go to either BJ. If he’s open, throw it. He was open. We didn’t, which is OK.
