Florida bested Kentucky in their first meeting earlier this year; the rematch, however, carries added significance for Golden’s team. After securing the regular-season conference title, the Gators<\/a> have their sights set on a potential top seed<\/a> in the upcoming NCAA tournament.<\/p>\n “I don’t think we played our best, but we played well enough to win,” Golden said<\/a> following the 92-83 triumph in Gainesville. It was the first home victory over Kentucky in eight years, and the Gators had to fight for every inch. It was the narrowest margin of victory during their current 10-game unbeaten streak. Perimeter defense and transition offense helped Florida build the nine-point edge, turning 14 Wildcat turnovers into 25 points.<\/p>\n Xaivian Lee was a central character in writing the first chapter of this year’s series, finding his advantage and exploiting Kentucky’s defense with regularity. The guard scored 22 points on 7-for-12 shooting and nailed four 3-pointers.<\/p>\n “He gave us a big lift,” Golden said of his senior point guard. Florida will need more of the same from Lee and their dynamic backcourt platoon as Kentucky struggled to spread attention between the Gators’ interior offense and their floor-spacing shooters. Lee and company will seek to capitalize on the team’s inside-outside balance again on Saturday.<\/p>\n Need a news break? Check out the all new PLAY hub with puzzles, games and more!<\/a><\/p>\n Following their loss to Missouri, the defending national champions have swept the remainder of their regular-season conference schedule thus far. No. 5 seeded Florida must carry their dominant rebounding and rim protection to Lexington in order to keep hopes of a March Madness No. 1 seed alive. Golden added Friday that \u201cI do think our guys are committed to being competitive regardless of the circumstance.<\/p>\n Florida is sure to be a heavy favorite in the upcoming SEC tournament, where they can further fortify their case.<\/p>\n Follow us@GatorsWire<\/a>\u00a0on X, formerly known as Twitter, as well asBluesky<\/a>, and like our page onFacebook<\/a>\u00a0to follow ongoing coverage of\u00a0Florida Gators<\/a>\u00a0news, notes and opinions.<\/p>\n![\"\"\/](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/1772908627_370_82604684007-20250322-t-011042-z-779806020-mt-1-usatoday-25734617-rtrmadp-3-ncaabasketballncaatournam.webp\")