Kentucky Basketball has a few natural rivalries: Tennessee, Louisville, and Indiana. And then there are the rivals we gained along the way: Duke, UNC, and Florida.
Kentucky and Florida had the most SEC
victories from 2000 to 2020. It’s almost always a game both fanbases circle, and last year was purely electric. The undefeated Gators rolled into Lexington on a 13-game winning streak and left taking that “L” back to Gainesville, 106–100, in one of the best—if not the best—college basketball games last year.
Now the two get ready to tangle again, with just as much up for grabs. The Gators are currently No. 1 in the SEC; Kentucky is No. 2. Win, and you are in first place. Pretty simple. Winning in the O’Dome is something Kentucky has done pretty well in recent years.
Overall, Kentucky is 41–26 down in Gainesville. In fact, the last time Florida beat Kentucky in Gainesville was when Chris Chiozza and Jalen Hudson were leading them on March 3, 2018. They will be hungry for a home win. You can guarantee that.
Florida is looking more like the defending national champion and less like the team that started the season 5–4. Here is what their front court is averaging in the last 2 weeks (prior to Wednesday’s game at Georgia):
Rueben Chinyelu 12 points, 14 rebounds, 2 blocks
Thomas Haugh 20 points, 5 rebounds
Alex Condon 13 points, 7 rebounds, 6 assists
And not to be outshone, the backcourt has come to life after struggling through the first part of the year. Combined Boogie Fland and Xaivian Lee: 18 points, 10 assists, and 6 rebounds a game, 5 steals, and 2 turnovers. Touch to beat a team that averages better than a 5-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio.
Keys to the game
- Florida is averaging just 7 turnovers a game during the last 2 weeks, 43 rebounds, and almost 94 points per game. They are playing ELITE basketball. So, the Cats absolutely cannot afford to come out slow. If they do, it will look an awful lot like Vanderbilt.
- Kentucky has to make their 3s. During SEC play, the Cats are shooting it at a 36% clip on 7 makes a game. That will need to be in the teens in this game to try to offset some of the firepower Florida has on the offensive end.
- With Florida being so dominant on the glass, Malachi Moreno is going to have to play big time down low. He is averaging 6 rebounds a game in SEC play. It is probably going to need to be in the double digits for the Cats to win this game.
How to watch Kentucky Basketball vs. Florida Gators
- Game time: 3:00 PM EST on February 14
- TV Channel: ABC
- Location: Gainesville, Florida (Stephen C. O’Connell Center)
- Online Stream: WatchESPN, Hulu + Live TV, YouTube TV, FuboTV, Sling TV (Blue & Orange Plan)
- Replay: WatchESPN and the ESPN family of networks (check local listings)
- Radio: Tom Leach and Jack Givens will have the call on the UK Sports Radio Network and on iHeartRadio via WLAP 630.
Local FM/AM Stations:
Lexington: 98.1 FM / 630 WLAP
Louisville: 840 AM WHAS
London: 103.9 FM WWEL
Hazard/Pikeville: 101.1 WSGS
Madisonville: 93.9 FM WKTG
Odds: FanDuel Sportsbook does not have an official spread yet, so check back later for those. KenPom (18%), EvanMiya (13.9%), and BartTorvik (10%) all see Kentucky as big underdogs in this one.
Predictions: Haslametrics (79-69), KenPom (81-71), EvanMiya (84-72), and BartTorvik (84-69) all have Florida winning. While the Wildcats are playing better, playing at Florida might just end up being their biggest challenge of the season. Give me the Gators to win 85-77.
Will the Cats walk away with a big win on the road? Tune in on Valentine’s Day and find out. And send us your predictions in the comments section!
Go CATS!
