It’s the battle for No. 1 in the SEC as No. 25 Kentucky travels down to Gainesville to take on No. 14 Florida in enemy territory, the Wildcats looking for a ninth win in ten outings. Find a way to take care of business and Mark Pope‘s group controls its own destiny for a regular season league championship, despite starting 0-2 to begin conference play.
To do it, though, they’ll have to slow down the best frontcourt in college basketball and a team that has won nine of ten itself. It’ll be UK’s toughest challenge yet in the ranked Valentine’s Day matchup.
KSR has everything you need to know about Saturday’s mid-afternoon contest inside the O’Dome.
No. 25 Kentucky vs. No. 14 Florida: How to Watch, Listen
Tipoff: Saturday, 3:00 p.m. ET
TV: ABC (Karl Ravech, Jimmy Dykes)
Local Radio: UK Sports Network (Tom Leach, Goose Givens)
AM: 840 WHAS, 630 WLAP
FM: 98.1 WBUL
Online: iHeart Radio
Sirius XM: 385
You can also follow along on the KSR LIVE BLOG, which will start a few hours before tipoff, and join the conversation on KSBoard.
Season Rewind
Kentucky: KenPom 27
11/4: 77-51 W vs. Nicholls
11/7: 107-59 W vs. Valparaiso
11/11: 96-88 L at No. 12 Louisville
11/14: 99-53 W vs. Eastern Illinois
11/18: 83-66 L vs. No. 17 Michigan State
11/21: 88-46 W vs. Loyola (Md.)
11/26: 104-54 W vs. Tennessee Tech
12/2: 67-64 L vs. No. 16 North Carolina
12/5: 94-59 L vs. No. 11 Gonzaga
12/9: 103-67 W vs. NC Central
12/13: 72-60 W vs. Indiana
12/20: 78-66 W vs. No. 22 St. John’s
12/23: 99-85 W vs. Bellarmine
1/3: 89-74 L at No. 14 Alabama
1/7: 73-68 L vs. Missouri
1/10: 92-68 W vs. Mississippi State
1/14: 75-74 W at LSU
1/17: 80-78 W at No. 24 Tennessee
1/21: 85-80 W vs. Texas
1/24: 72-63 W vs. Ole Miss
1/27: 80-55 L at No. 18 Vanderbilt
1/31: 85-77 W at No. 15 Arkansas
2/4: 94-78 W vs. Oklahoma
2/7: 74-71 W vs. No. 25 Tennessee
Florida: KenPom 5
11/3: 93–87 L vs. Arizona
11/6: 104–64 W vs. North Florida
11/11: 78–76 W vs. Florida St.
11/16: 82–68 W vs. Miami (FL)
11/21: 80–45 W vs. Merrimack
11/27: 84–80 L vs. TCU
11/28: 90–78 W vs. Providence
12/2: 67–66 L at Duke
12/9: 77–73 L at Connecticut
12/13: 80–70 W vs. George Washington
12/17: 102–61 W vs. Saint Francis
12/21: 90–60 W vs. Colgate
12/29: 94–72 W vs. Dartmouth
1/3: 76–74 L at Missouri
1/6: 92–77 W vs. Georgia
1/10: 91–67 W vs. Tennessee
1/13: 96–79 W at Oklahoma
1/17: 98–94 W at Vanderbilt
1/20: 79–61 W vs. LSU
1/24: 76–67 L vs. Auburn
1/28: 95–48 W at South Carolina
2/1: 100–77 W vs. Alabama
2/7: 86–67 W at Texas A&M
2/11: 86–66 W at Georgia
Series History
Kentucky leads the all-time series 111-42, including a 41-26 mark in Gainesville, last playing at the O’Dome in 2024 with no losses in the building since 2018 for six straight victories.
Pope went 1-0 against the Gators last year — that head-to-head battle among the best in college basketball all season, winning 106-100 inside Rupp Arena. Koby Brea caught fire in that one, going 7-9 from three for 23 points, followed by Lamont Butler with 19, Otega Oweh with 16, Amari Williams with 15 and Andrew Carr and Jaxson Robinson with 14 apiece. Walter Clayton and Alijah Martin combined for 59 in the losing effort for UF.
Todd Golden is 1-4 in his career against UK, his lone win coming in 2023-24, a 94-91 overtime victory against John Calipari’s final group in Lexington.
Kentucky at Florida Odds
The Wildcats have opened as 11.5-point underdogs with the over/under set at 152.5 and a projected score of 82.5-70.5.
That aligns with the computers, which unanimously like the Gators — and by a lot — starting with KenPom giving the Cats just a 17 percent chance to pull off the upset and a projected score of 81-70. Elsewhere, Bart Torvik really doesn’t like Kentucky in the O-Dome, giving Mark Pope’s team just a 10 percent shot to win with a projected score of 83-68. At least ESPN’s Matchup Predictor isn’t totally counting out UK with the road team given a 20.5 percent chance.
Kentucky Potential Starters
#1 – Denzel Aberdeen
6-5 – 195 – GUARD – SENIOR
12.3 PPG, 2.5 RPG, 3.2 APG
#5 – Collin Chandler
6-5 – 205 – GUARD – SOPHOMORE
9.4 PPG, 3.0 RPG, 2.2 APG
#00 – Otega Oweh
6-4 – 215 – GUARD – SENIOR
17.1 PPG, 4.4 RPG, 2.5 APG
#4 – Andrija Jelavic
6-11 – 225 – FORWARD – JUNIOR
5.7 PPG, 4.1 RPG, 0.7 APG
#24 – Malachi Moreno
7-0 – 250 – CENTER – FRESHMAN
8.4 PPG, 6.3 RPG, 1.8 APG
Florida Potential Starters
#0 – Boogie Fland
6-3 – 185 – GUARD – SOPHOMORE
11.4 PPG, 3.8 APG, 2.5 RPG
#1 – Xaivian Lee
6-4 – 180 – GUARD – SENIOR
11.0 PPG, 3.5 APG, 3.9 RPG
#10 – Thomas Haugh
6-9 – 215 – FORWARD – JUNIOR
17.5 PPG, 2.1 APG, 6.3 RPG
#21 – Alex Condon
6-11 – 230 – FORWARD – JUNIOR
13.3 PPG, 3.6 APG, 7.9 RPG
#9 – Rueben Chinyelu
6-10 – 260 – CENTER – JUNIOR
11.8 PPG, 11.8 RPG, 1.1 BPG
Statistical Comparison
(via Kentucky’s game notes)
Fun stats from UK’s game notes:
Kentucky earned its fifth double-digit comeback effort of the season vs. No. 25 Tennessee, rallying back from down 14 at the break for the largest Rupp Arena halftime deficit and win in history.
Otega Oweh has scored in double figures in all 24 games for Kentucky this season and has now reached double figures in 57 of his 60 games as a Wildcat. He is one of 12 players in DI to reach double figures in each of his team’s games this year. He needs just five points to hit the 1,000-point mark at UK — potentially one of five transfers in history to reach the milestone.
The Wildcats have won eight of nine and 12 of 15. Since Pope’s arrival in 2024-25, they have racked up 17 Quad 1 victories and 12 against top 25 competition.
UK has played just 10 of 60 games (17%) with a full roster and just five of 45 games (11%) against high-major opponents under Pope. 10 different players have missed at least one game due to injury in the last two seasons.
Pregame Storylines
A BATTLE FOR NO. 1 IN THE SEC
No storyline is more important than what’s on the line for both teams, a win solidifying the No. 1 spot in the SEC with just six regular season games to go and four weeks until Nashville. As things stand currently, the Gators are at the top of the standings at 9-2 in the league, followed by the Wildcats and Arkansas Razorbacks at 8-3. A win for Kentucky would give Mark Pope’s squad the head-to-head advantage against both other competitors, allowing UK to control its destiny for a regular season title in the SEC.
Should the Cats leave with a loss, though, it’s hard to see the Gators giving up that top spot the rest of the way with two Quad 3 games and one Quad 2 matchup to go. They can still earn a double-bye in the SEC Tournament either way, but if they’re serious about winning the league, they need to win in Gainesville.
SLOWING DOWN THE THREE-HEADED MONSTER IN THE FRONTCOURT
If the Wildcats are going to do it, they’re going to have to neutralize one of the best three-man groups in the country, making up the entire frontcourt for the Gators. Thomas Haugh leads the way with 17.5 PPG, 6.3 RPG, 2.1 APG and 1.0 SPG, followed by Alex Condon with 13.3 PPG, 7.9 RPG, 3.6 APG and 1.5 BPG and Rueben Chinyelu with 11.8 PPG, 11.8 RPG and 1.1 BPG — their leading scorers being their three, four and five, respectively.
With the unique combination of size, skill and versatility, Florida ranks No. 1 in rebounding margin, average and on the offensive glass while also sitting at No. 5 in defensive two-point field goal percentage with the No. 5 overall defense and No. 14 offense in adjusted efficiency. They’re just No. 349 in three-point shooting, but that’s been no problem, thanks to the frontcourt dominance.
“I don’t know if they’re the biggest frontline in the country, but they’re definitely the most experienced and tenured and have the most winning under their belts,” Pope said. “They know exactly who they are. They know exactly how they do this. They’re a dominant force.”
DENZEL ABERDEEN RETURNS HOME
It was an ugly breakup coming off Florida’s national championship run with Aberdeen expected to take over as a starter after paying his dues off the bench, only to enter the transfer portal when negotiations went south. Now, he’s PG1 at Kentucky, returning to Gainesville for the first time after spending his first three seasons of college basketball there under Golden. To take it a step further, the 6-5 senior is a native of Orlando, just 111 miles away from campus — meaning he’ll have plenty of friends and family in attendance.
Aberdeen isn’t expecting Valentine’s Day cards and chocolates upon his arrival, but he’s ready for the challenge.
“It might not be that much love on that day, for sure. It’s going to be a battle for sure,” he said.
He’s averaging 13.0 points and 3.1 assists during SEC play while shooting 39.1 percent from deep, six games with 15-plus dating back to January 10. Pope expects his primary ball-handler to continue to thrive, no matter the stage, opponent or who is sitting in the stands. This is what he does.
“He’s a competitor, competitor, competitor. The brighter the lights, the more excited he gets, the more capable he gets,” his new head coach said. “He functions well there.”
DON’T FORGET ABOUT BOOGIE FLAND
Remember Boogie? He signed with Kentucky out of high school and was John Calipari’s point guard of the future in Lexington — until he wasn’t.
The former five-star followed Coach Cal to Arkansas and had a solid freshman campaign, averaging 13.5 points, 5.1 assists, 3.2 rebounds and 1.5 steals in 31.7 minutes per contest. He was limited to just 21 games played due to injury, though, before deciding to find a new home this past offseason, leading him to Gainesville under Golden.
There, he’s averaging 11.4 points, 3.8 assists, 2.5 rebounds and 2.0 steals with shooting splits of 43/19/72. The former Wildcat pledge has shined in big moments, but inconsistency has limited him from truly breaking through as the potential first-round pick he was thought to be out of high school. He’ll certainly bring his A-game against the program he was once expected to call home.
THE O’DOME HAS BEEN GOOD TO THE CATS
On paper, this is a scary matchup for Kentucky — and the reason the Wildcats enter this one as a double-digit underdog. Florida is rolling and will have a serious frontcourt advantage, along with the rowdy fans inside the O’Connell Center helping the Gators in their push for No. 1 in the SEC.
The good news for BBN? UK has won six straight in that building dating back to 2018, last taking down UF on the road in 2024. It was an 87-85 win in that one, led by Antonio Reeves with 19 and four others in double figures. Before that, Oscar Tshiebwe had 25 with Jacob Toppin (19) , Reeves (16) and Chris Livingston (10 and 15) chipping in to earn the 82-74. Other wins include a 71-63 final in 2022, 76-58 blowout in 2021, EJ Montgomery’s tip-in for the 71-70 win in 2020 and a 65-54 rock fight in 2019.
It’ll be a hostile environment as an Orange Out/t-shirt game, but Kentucky is used to all of that by now. We’ll see if the streak continues.
Join The Discussion on KSBoard
Want to interact with the KSR crew during the game? Consider joining the conversation on KSBoard, where we’ll be sharing live updates from Rupp Arena while also answering questions and providing real-time analysis (and probably complaining about the officiating).
Rapid Reaction on the KSR YouTube Channel
Miss the game? KSR’s got you covered with a Rapid Reaction immediately after the game in Lexington, live on the KSR YouTube Channel. We’ll also have wall-to-wall postgame coverage on the website, including highlights, comments from Mark Pope and the players, stats, and takeaways.