Kentucky had another big game on its hands after the tough road loss to Clemson, traveling to Seattle to face No. 7 Gonzaga, and it wasn’t a disappointment. The Wildcats had a lot of trouble in the first half with Gonzaga’s physicality and scoring opportunities on offense and lack of rhythm on offense. Despite all of this, Kentuck fought back from a 16-point halftime deficit to claim a 90-89 overtime win.

The Wildcats secured a big top-10 win over the Zags, and it was those second-half adjustments that gave them the big win. tough win. Let’s take a look at some takeaways.

Trailing by 16 points at halftime, it was truly glaring that Kentucky was missing its leading point guard, Lamont Butler, who was sidelined with an ankle injury. Physicality, rebounding, points in the paint and passes off screens killed them. The Wildcats made some massive adjustments in the second half to get back in the game and it started with runs. Kentucky moved into a zone to stop Gonzaga’s success with pick-and-roll passes down the court, and it paid off. This has happened to this Kentucky team many times this season, but the adjustments in the second half on Saturday that made the comeback possible were incredible. They really turned defense into offense.

Ultimately, it was a big team effort to pull off the comeback, but both Andrew Carr and Jaxson Robinson helped Kentucky keep up tremendously by making big plays down the stretch, even in overtime. Robinson had some big hits and Carr made some big little plays that had a big impact. Especially at the end of overtime, Carr missed his free throws, but then fended off Gonzaga’s Dusty Stromer, who could have won the ball for the Zags in the final seconds. It’s the little things for Carr that make him so impactful. He scored 19 points on 8-12 shooting, 7 rebounds and 3 assists. For Robinson, Kerr Kriisa left late in the second half, forcing him to move to point guard. Man, did he feel comfortable there? He was great with great shots and even had some assists. He finished the game with 18 points on 7-15 shooting, 5 assists and 3 rebounds. Great players made big plays when it mattered most, and that’s exactly what these two did.

Kentucky responded well after the loss at Clemson and defeating the No. 7 team in the country without their leading point guard is a very impressive statement. The adjustments in the second half tell the story of the evening.