Malik Monk is a flawed college basketball player -- mostly because he’s a top-shelf athlete who doesn’t consistently use his unique gifts to do much more than score on jumpers. It’s often maddening to watch. And the first half of Saturday’s SEC showdown with Florida provided a perfect example.

Monk took five shots in the first half, three of which were launched from beyond the arc. He missed all but one and finished the opening 20 minutes with three points, one rebound, one assist and five turnovers. It was so bad that a reporter who covers Kentucky, my buddy Kyle Tucker, suggested Monk should be benched.

And that tweet was liked 62 times.

So, yeah, Malik Monk is a flawed college basketball player.

But he’s also invaluable.

When he gets going there’s nobody else like him. He can get hot and single-handedly carry Kentucky to wins over quality opponents. He did it in December against No. 8 North Carolina with a 47-point effort that lifted the Wilccats to a 103-100 victory. He did it again Saturday against No. 13 Florida with a 33-point effort that lifted the Wildcats to a 76-66 victory that has Kentucky just one more win (or Florida loss) away from securing a third straight SEC title.

Monk took 13 shots in the second half.

He made eight of them.

Thirty of his 33 points came in the final 20 minutes.

“He took the game over,” said Florida coach Michael White. “He was amazing.”

That Kentucky overcame a 12-point deficit to beat a top-five KenPom team is impressive independent of the details. But the fact that the Wildcats did it without DeAaron Fox, who missed the game with a bruised knee, is especially great.

Again, credit Monk.

And though I don’t like that Kentucky so regularly needs him to be otherworldly to win, I love that he’s more capable than anybody else in the country of being otherworldly and creating a win after looking terrible minutes earlier. Because in most deep NCAA Tournament runs, teams need somebody to go big and carry them for at least a stretch. Monk can do it for an entire half. Maybe longer. And it’s among the reasons why anybody counting the Wildcats out of the national title picture until they’re actually eliminated from the NCAA Tournament is crazy.

Sure, I wish Kentucky shot better from the perimeter. And, yeah, I’d prefer the Wildcats guard more consistently. But they’re uniquely talented, off-the-charts athletic, deep and led by a bouncy freshman who can shoot them to wins whenever.

Ideally, he won’t have to do it too much going forward.

But he can.

And on Saturday, he did.