Poor Florida. The Gators actually thought they had a chance to beat the Kentucky Wildcats this afternoon in Nashville at the SEC Tournament quarterfinals. The Gators had an early lead, stayed close through halftime, and threatened briefly in the second half before becoming Kentucky’s 32nd consecutive victim, 64-49.

Kentucky was by no means perfect. The Wildcats only shot 37.5 percent from the field and were a pedestrian 3-for-10 from three-point range. But they won on the glass (39-33), committing only seven turnovers (forcing 12), and played their trademark tough defense while only committing 11 total fouls to Florida’s 18.

A key thing that happens against Kentucky is that even when opponents have chances to either stay in the game or take control of it, they fail. Florida had chances to make it a one-possession game in the latter stages of the second half but had terrible possessions with bad shots or turnovers.

Once Kentucky sensed Florida not making the plays required to win the game, the Wildcats seized the initiative and closed the contest on a 14-4 run to win going away. Florida missed 10 of their last 12 shots over the final nine minutes. That says something else for the Wildcats’ defense in that the Gators only managed 12 looks at the basket in nearly a quarter of the game. Florida did get 56 shot attempts over the 40 minutes, same as Kentucky, but in crunch time, those chances were few and far between.

A team will have to play a near perfect game to beat this Kentucky team. Being able to hit three-point shots would help, especially open shooters who receive the ball off dribble penetration from point guards. Florida often got too deep into the lane, allowing Kentucky’s massive front line to converge and shut everything down. Teams trying to beat Kentucky will also need to get to the free-throw line and convert. Florida was just 3-for-5 in that regard.

The Wildcats have a perfect record, but they aren’t a perfect team. But whether a team can play close enough to perfect to beat Kentucky is another matter.

Ed Morgans is an ACC Basketball Writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @writered21 and add him to your network on Google.