No. 4 Kentucky faced a number of obstacles on Sunday night. The Cats were taking on one of the nation’s best teams, second-ranked Gonzaga, in a hostile environment after having traveled about as far as they could travel within the 48 contiguous states.
The Cats, as might be expected, got off to a slow start in the game before rallying in the second half. But in the end, it was not enough as Gonzaga beat Kentucky 88-72 at Spokane Arena.
Kentucky (3-2) struggled to get its offense going in the first half. The Cats hit just eight of 32 (25 percent) from the floor in the first half, including missing all 10 of its three-point shots. Meanwhile, Gonzaga was playing like the nation’s second-ranked team. The Zags would build an 18-point lead in the first half and would lead 41-25 at the half.
The second half was a totally different story. The shots that were not falling for the Cats in the first half started to go in early in the second 20 minutes. Gonzaga’s big lead started to dwindle. In fact, the Cats would go on a 20-6 run to cut an 18-point deficit down to just four, 49-45.
