After dark Saturday night, things looked bleak for Kentucky. Gonzaga secured its first double-digit lead at 24-14 with just over 11 minutes left in the first half. This was a danger zone for the Wildcats.

Thanks to an 8-0 run in the final five minutes before halftime, Mark Few’s team extended that lead to 16 points at halftime and took a 50-34 lead into the Climate Pledge Arena locker room. This is a specific area where the Zags simply don’t lose.

No one protects leads better than Few’s program.

That 175-game winning streak was broken in Seattle. Kentucky became the first team since the 2015-16 season to overcome a double-digit halftime deficit and beat Gonzaga. This team could be the second version of the Comeback Cats.

After falling behind by 18 points (52-34) early in the second half, Kentucky responded with a 21-6 run to cut the lead to one possession (58-55) with 12 minutes left in the second half. Gonzaga was able to extend the lead again to six points (65-59) with eight minutes left, but the Wildcats slowly closed the gap and finally tied the game with a minute to play on an Andrew Carr jumper in the middle of the post. That sent us to overtime, where a 7-0 blitz early in overtime was just enough to get Kentucky into the winner’s bracket with a 90-89 win.

Gonzaga was the best team in college basketball when it came to holding the lead. Kentucky handed Few’s team a rare defeat in the largest second-half comeback in program history. Pope’s first squad in Lexington is quickly becoming a second-half team.

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