Here we are, yet again, with the Kentucky Wildcats facing a game that feels like one they need to win. The game at Arkansas was viewed as one where either result would determine how the rest of the season would go for the Wildcats. They won that game, igniting a three-game winning streak that put them in position to maybe make a run at the SEC regular-season title.
Since then, though, they’re 2-4 in their last six games. The loss at Florida on Feb. 14th was a game many of us came away from thinking
the Cats could compete with and beat any team in the SEC or country. Now, they have to beat Florida in the rematch on Saturday just to avoid having to play on Wednesday in the SEC Tournament.
This is March. Now is not the time to still be having issues like turning the ball over and not defending the three-point line well. Sure, Kentucky is a resilient team. They’ve been that way all season.
Over the last six games, the Wildcats haven’t lost because of a lack of effort or just not being a good team. They’ve lost because they have been making the same mistakes over the last six games that have led them from a sure-fire bye team to now having to play on Wednesday of the SEC Tournament. This is not Kentucky. The Wildcats should be getting ready for a deep run in March.
Now, there’s a real chance they’re playing on the first day of the SEC Tournament.
The crazy thing is that it wouldn’t be shocking to see the Cats beat No. 5 Florida on Saturday. Every time Mark Pope and the Cats have needed a gut-check win over the last two seasons, they’ve gotten it. Duke, Gonzaga, Florida, and Tennessee twice last season. St. John’s, Tennessee twice, Arkansas, and Vanderbilt this season.
Playing at home on Senior Day on Saturday against the No. 5 team in the country, which has already wrapped up the SEC regular-season title, Kentucky will be up for this game. Add in the news that Kam Williams is returning to practice Thursday, and it would not be shocking to see Kentucky come out firing Saturday afternoon. They may be seething after Tuesday night in College Station.
Florida has won 10 straight and 15 out of 16, so maybe they’re due for a slip-up. Thomas Haugh, their leading scorer, didn’t even play Tuesday night for the Gators. If he’s not 100 percent or out for this game, that’s a big storyline going into this game.
Forget that the SEC and NCAA Tournaments are still a week and two weeks away, respectively. The Postseason starts now for Kentucky. They have to win Saturday to generate some momentum and put themselves in position for a more favorable seed in the SEC Tournament. Kentucky doesn’t play on the first day in Nashville. They put themselves in a position where they don’t have to play until Friday. Win this game, and the latter will be the reality.
Players to watch on Florida
Florida is an elite team. They are now a front-runner to win the NCAA Tournament, which would be a repeat national title. They are relentless, and they have eight high-impact players.
Todd Golden has established a culture of relentlessness, toughness, physicality, and togetherness. In just three-plus seasons, he has the Gators back at the top of the college basketball world. Now, they have their eyes on a repeat national championship.
1. No. 10: Thomas Haugh — 6-9, 215 lbs. Jr. Forward; NEW OXFORD, Pa.
Stats: 17.1 pts, 6 rebs/gm., 46.9 FG%, 33.8 3-PT FG%, 75.6 FT%, 33.3 mpg
Feb. 14 vs. Kentucky: 17 pts (5-12 FG, 1-5 3-PT FG), 6-10 FT, 8 rebs, 34 mins
Haugh missed Florida’s game Tuesday night against Mississippi State, and his injury status wasn’t made known at the time this story was sent to the press.
Over his last four games, Haugh has had two games scoring 20+ points. He’s also attempted 10+ shots twice, and he’s 15-17 from the free-throw line.
Haugh was Florida’s sixth man last year on the Gators’ national championship team, and he was the only player to score in every game last season for the Gators. A member of the NCAA Tournament’s All-West Region Team, Haugh made two crucial three-pointers in the final three minutes to vault Florida’s comeback against Texas Tech in the Elite Eight. In four games in the West Region, Haugh averaged 13.3 points and 7.5 rebounds. Haugh had 20 points and 11 rebounds in the Elite Eight against the Red Raiders. It was also his fast-break and-one dunk with 12 minutes remaining that changed the entire second half of the national championship against Houston.
2. No. 21: Alex Condon — 6-11, 236 lbs. Jr. Forward/Center; PERTH, Australia
Stats: 14.8 pts, 7.7 rebs, 41 blk, 54% FG, 15.7 3-PT FG%, 65.5 FT%, 30.6 mpg
Feb. 14 vs. Kentucky: 14 pts (4-9 FG) 6-9 FT, 11 rebs, 35 mins
Condon has been on a tear since the last time these two teams played. In his last five games, Condon has four games with 20+ points, including a season-high 26 points against Mississippi State Tuesday night. He’s attempted at least 12 shots in each of his last five games, shooting over 50 percent in all five of them.
Another vital part of Florida’s national championship team, Condon dove on the loose ball as the clock expired to win the national championship for the Gators. It was the culmination of a game where Condon had 12 points, seven rebounds, and four steals. In addition, Condon’s 103 offensive rebounds last season were the third-most in a single season in program history.
3. No. 9: Rueben Chinyelu — 6-10, 265 lbs. Jr. Center; ENUGWU-AGIDI, Nigeria (Washington State Transfer)
Stats: 11.3 pts, 11.8 rebs, 58.6 FG%, 0-2 3-PT FG, 70.2 FT%, 24.6 mpg
Feb. 14 vs. Kentucky: 10 pts (4-8 FG), 2-2 FT, 12 rebs, 23 mpg
If there’s a word that does justice to describe Chinyelu, I’d use it. Needless to say, he’s a tank. Kentucky needs to be ready to throw the kitchen sink at him.
Chinyelu is built like a behemoth. A guy like him is someone you can only hope to contain.
With 18 double-doubles on the season, including three in his last five games, Chinyelu can impact the game at a high rate. He has 16 rebounds in each of his last two games, and he has 17 rebounds against South Carolina in the game following Kentucky’s game in Gainesville three weeks ago.
4. No. 0: Boogie Fland — 6-3, 185 lbs. So. Guard; BRONX, N.Y. (Arkansas Transfer)
Stats: 11.5 pts, 2.6 rebs, 57 stl, 43.9 FG%, 22% 3-PT FG, 72.6 FT%, 29.7 mpg
Feb. 14 vs. Kentucky: 8 pts (2-10 FG), 4-6 FT, 4 rebs, 3 stl, 26 mins
Fland is the Gators’ most consistent offensive player, but he is still really good. On the defensive end, he’s quick and attacks the ball. Offensively, he plays hard, even if it doesn’t result in points or made shots. He’s made multiple three-pointers, though, in two of his last five games and is 15-21 overall from the floor.
5. No. 1: Xaivian Lee — 6-4, 180 lbs. Sr. Guard; TORONTO (Princeton Transfer)
Stats: 11.7 pts, 3.7 rebs, 124 ast.-52 TO, 41.7 FG%, 27.6 3-PT FG%, 80.3 FT%, 27 mpg
Feb. 14 vs. Kentucky: 22 pts (7-12 FG, 4-7 3-PT FG), 4-4 FT, 3 ast., 25 mins
All five starters for Florida average double-digit points. Lee is probably the one you know the least about, but he’s still a really good player. He’s also one of the Gators’ most reliable three-point shooters.
Lee made four three-pointers against Kentucky the last time these two teams played. He has scored in double figures in each of his last four games, with 37 assists in that stretch.
Coming over from Princeton, where he scored over 1,000 points and was a unanimous selection on the 2025 All-Ivy League First Team, Lee set a single-season Princeton school record with 165 assists and scored over 1,100 points in three seasons with the Tigers.
Don’t lose sight of Lee with all of the other towering players in the Gators’ front-court. Lee must be accounted for if the Gators kick the ball back out to the perimeter off offensive rebounds.
6. No. 7: Urban Klavzar — 6-1, 190 lbs. Jr. Guard; DOMZALE, Slovenia (Real Madrid Transfer)
Stats: 10.2 pts, 1.5 rebs, 43.9 FG%, 40.5 3-PT FG%, 91.1 FT%, 21.4 mpg
Feb. 14 vs. Kentucky: 19 pts (7-13 FG, 5-11 3-PT FG), 29 mins
Like Lee, Klavzar must be accounted for. He comes off the bench, but he can shoot from beyond the arc. In fact, he’s the Gators’ leader in three-point field goal percentage.
Klavzar made five three-pointers against Kentucky three weeks ago. He’s 12-25 from three-point range in his last five games. Needless to say, the Cats must have a plan to defend Klavzar from beyond the arc.
7. No. 20: Isaiah Brown — 6-4, 220 lbs. So. Guard; ORLANDO, Fla.
Stats: 5.6 pts, 2.5 rebs, 49.6 FG%, 39% 3-PT FG, 75% FT, 12.5 mpg
Feb. 14 vs. Kentucky: 2 ast., 2 stl, 11 mins
Brown is another capable three-point shooter who doesn’t have many off nights from the field. He comes off the bench, but he’s efficient in getting his points. Over his last five games, he’s averaging just a tick under eight points per game.
8. No. 3: Micah Handlogten — 7-1, 260 lbs. Sr. Center; LAKE NORMAN, N.C. (Marshall Transfer)
Stats: 4.3 pts, 6 rebs/gm., 65.2 FG%, 0-1 3-PT FG, 37% FT, 15 mpg
Feb. 14 vs. Kentucky: 2 pts (1-1 FG), 5 rebs, 2 stl, 17 mins
Averaging over six rebounds per game over his last five games, Handlogten must be treated like Condon and Chinyelu on the glass. He can rebound, with four games pulling down 10+ boards on the season. He had 10 points and nine rebounds on Tuesday against Mississippi State.
Handlogten illustrates how deep the Gators are. He’s their eighth-leading scorer, but he averages six rebounds per game. Last season, he initially planned to take a redshirt to rehab from a leg injury, but with seven games left in the regular season decided to forego the redshirt after Florida suffered a pair of frontcourt injuries. It made a huge difference. Handlogten is only two seasons removed from having 108 offensive rebounds, the second-most in a single season in Gators history. In addition, Handlogten was the 2023 Sun Belt Conference Freshman of the Year at Marshall, starting all 32 games during his freshman season and averaging 7.6 points, 9.8 rebounds, 2.3 blocked shots, 1.3 steals, and 1.2 assists while shooting .662 from the field (.720 in conference play). He ranked 11th in the nation in blocked shots per game.
Head Coach: Todd Golden (4th Season, 99-39; 7th Season Overall, 156-75) — 40 years old
Todd Golden is a terrific head coach. I said last year, before the NCAA Tournament, that he’s Billy Donovan 2.0. Then, he led the Gators to a national championship, their third in school history and third in the last 20 years. At age 39, he became the youngest head coach to win a national championship since Jim Valvano in 1983. Florida won 12 straight games to end the season, including nine wins over top 25 teams and eight wins against teams in the top 12.
Now, he’s led the Gators to an outright regular-season SEC title, in a season where the Gators started just 9-5 and 0-1 in SEC play. Florida has won 15 of its last 16 games.
Golden spent three seasons as the head coach at San Francisco prior to coming to Florida, leading the Dons to the NCAA Tournament in 2022. It was their first NCAA Tournament appearance since 1998.
In his playing days, Golden starred for Saint Mary’s. As a senior point guard, he ranked second in the nation with a 3.68 assists-to-turnovers ratio and led the West Coast Conference with a .574 3-point field goal percentage. The lone captain of Saint Mary’s 2007-08 team, Golden finished his career as the Gaels’ all-time leader in free-throw percentage (.852) and eighth with 269 career assists. Todd’s wife, Megan, was a four-year volleyball standout at Saint Mary’s and the WCC’s Co-Freshman of the Year in 2007.
Feb. 14 at Florida: Gators 92, Wildcats 83
Florida led for the entire game, making 10 three-pointers and out-rebounding Kentucky 46-37 in a win that pulled the Gators away from Kentucky in the SEC standings. Klavzar was ridiculous from beyond the arc, making five three-pointers.
Despite four players in double figures and Collin Chandler making five three-pointers, Kentucky was not able to overcome a 15-point deficit late. The loss snapped a three-game winning streak and a stretch in which the Cats were 8-1 in their previous nine games.
Keys to the Game
1. Taking care of the ball
This goes without saying. The Wildcats have made way too many turnovers over their last five games. They need to take better care of the ball, especially against a Gators team that’s rolling the way they are offensively.
2. Three-point defense
Another maddening development over the last five games. I don’t know if Florida got it into their heads the last time these two teams played, but they have to be better at defending the perimeter. This team is good defensively, but the Cats can reach another level if they can take away opponents’ dagger shots from three-point range.
3. Rebounding
To beat the Gators, you have to compete with them on the boards. There’s no way around it. The Cats have to find a way to match Alex Condon, Rueben Chinyelu, and Micah Handlogten on the boards Saturday afternoon.
4. Getting out in transition and making the crowd a factor
It’s Senior Day and the last game of the regular season. Play a brand of basketball that gets Rupp Arena rocking. Throw a punch in the mouth early like an Otega Oweh transition dunk, and made Big Blue Nation a factor like they were last season when the Gators came to Lexington,
Score Prediction: Wildcats 96, Gators 94
I believe Otega Oweh and Denzel Aberdeen will be ready to go scorched Earth in this game. Collin Chandler will also step up in a big way from beyond the arc. Kentucky throws the kitchen sink at Florida and wins on an Aberdeen game-winning jumper to, at least, guarantee themselves a single bye in the SEC Tournament and have a shot to earn a double bye. Either way, winning this game will definitely give this team a jolt of momentum at a time they really need it. The Cats answer the bell again Saturday afternoon for their signature win of the season.
