{"id":182474,"date":"2026-03-07T21:29:12","date_gmt":"2026-03-07T21:29:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/182474\/"},"modified":"2026-03-07T21:29:12","modified_gmt":"2026-03-07T21:29:12","slug":"kentucky-vs-no-5-florida","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/182474\/","title":{"rendered":"Kentucky vs. No. 5 Florida"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The final game of the regular season is here, and it\u2019s a big one. KSR\u2019s LIVE BLOG will bring you all the sights and sounds from Rupp Arena as Kentucky hosts No. 5 Florida on Senior Day (4 p.m. ET, ESPN).<\/p>\n<p>The Gators beat the Cats 92-83 in the first meeting in Gainesville on Feb. 14. Since then, Florida is undefeated, clinching the SEC regular-season title earlier this week. The Gators have scored in triple digits in their last two wins, beating Mississippi State 108-74 and Arkansas 111-77. Leading scorer Thomas Haugh missed Tuesday\u2019s game vs. Mississippi State with a foot injury, but is available for today\u2019s game. The Gators are a 6.5-point favorite.<\/p>\n<p>Kentucky\u2019s SEC Tournament seed is still very much in flux. If the Cats beat the Gators, they will not have to play on Wednesday. Lose, and they could end up anywhere from No. 8 to No. 10 in the standings. <\/p>\n<p>Can Kentucky pull off a top-five upset in Otega Oweh, Denzel Aberdeen, Walker Horn, and Zach Tow\u2019s final game at Rupp Arena? Refresh the feed below for updates and KSR\u2019s takes on the game. You can also join the conversation on the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.on3.com\/boards\/forums\/ksboard.172\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">KSBoard Game Thread<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Proudly serving the Bluegrass region since 2008,\u00a0My Old Kentucky Home Repair\u00a0offers handyman services, home repairs, remodels and more. Head to their website,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.myoldkyhomerepair.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">www.myoldkyhomerepair.com\/<\/a>, to learn more or give them a call at 859-940-3376.\u00a0My Old Kentucky Home Repair is your partner for any home project.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"538\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/MOKHR-creative-1024x538.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-4294460\"  \/><\/p>\n<p>By:<a href=\"https:\/\/www.on3.com\/user\/jackpilgrim\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Jack Pilgrim<\/a>Vanderbilt upsets Tennessee to keep double-bye alive03\/07\/2026 03:24:03 PM<\/p>\n<p>Kentucky only needs to beat Florida to start its SEC Tournament run on Friday. Arkansas took care of business at Missouri earlier in the day, and now, Vanderbilt has done the same at Tennessee, opening the door to a double-bye for the Wildcats.<\/p>\n<p>The only issue? The Gators lead 11-3 over five minutes into this one as UK has gotten next to nothing going offensively. <\/p>\n<p>What\u2019s another double-digit comeback, right?<\/p>\n<p>By:<a href=\"https:\/\/www.on3.com\/user\/jackpilgrim\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Jack Pilgrim<\/a>So, uh, bad start for the Cats\u202603\/07\/2026 03:14:25 PM<\/p>\n<p>For those hoping for a stress-free effort for the good guys at Rupp Arena, that\u2019s not gonna happen, unfortunately. Kentucky is already down 11-0 just 2:36 into the game and nothing is coming easily for the Cats. <\/p>\n<p>The Gators have not missed a shot and the Wildcats haven\u2019t made a shot, obviously. Four different UF players are on the board.<\/p>\n<p>By:<a href=\"https:\/\/www.on3.com\/user\/jackpilgrim\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Jack Pilgrim<\/a>Starting on the ESPN App03\/07\/2026 03:12:14 PM<\/p>\n<p>As things wrap up between Vanderbilt and Tennessee in Knoxville, our game has been moved to the ESPN App. We\u2019re already a minute into the contest here at Rupp Arena.<\/p>\n<p>By:<a href=\"https:\/\/www.on3.com\/user\/jackpilgrim\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Jack Pilgrim<\/a>Oweh, Aberdeen, Horn and Tow honored on Senior Day03\/07\/2026 03:07:01 PM<\/p>\n<p>The senior Wildcats got their final Rupp Arena sendoff with loved ones joining them after jumping through the paper hoop, soaking in one last roar from Big Blue Nation. KSR got all of the footage for you to enjoy before things tip off against the Gators:<\/p>\n<p>Oweh:<\/p>\n<p>Aberdeen:<\/p>\n<p>Horn and Tow:<\/p>\n<p>Nothing better than that. Now, let\u2019s earn a big-time win and lock up the double-bye in Nashville.<\/p>\n<p>By:<a href=\"https:\/\/www.on3.com\/user\/tylerthompson\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Tyler Thompson<\/a>Tip time pushed to 4:10 p.m.03\/07\/2026 02:57:06 PM<\/p>\n<p class=\"event-item-description\">With Vandy vs. Tennessee still wrapping up, tip time of Kentucky vs. Florida has been pushed to 4:10 p.m. ET. Prepare to switch to a different channel if the Vols vs. the \u2018Dores runs over that.<\/p>\n<p>By:<a href=\"https:\/\/www.on3.com\/user\/tylerthompson\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Tyler Thompson<\/a>Starting Lineups03\/07\/2026 02:56:56 PM<\/p>\n<p class=\"event-item-description\">Walker Horn and Zach Tow will not start on Senior Day. Kentucky is going with its usual five in the season finale vs. No. 5 Florida. Thomas Haugh is not only available for the Gators, but will start after missing Tuesday\u2019s game vs. Mississippi State.<\/p>\n<p>Kentucky Starters<\/p>\n<p>00 Otega Oweh<\/p>\n<p>1 Denzel Aberdeen<\/p>\n<p>5 Collin Chandler<\/p>\n<p>4 Andrija Jelavic<\/p>\n<p>24 Malachi Moreno<\/p>\n<p>Florida Starters<\/p>\n<p>0 Boogie Fland<\/p>\n<p>1 Xaivian Lee<\/p>\n<p>10 Thomas Haugh<\/p>\n<p>21 Alex Condon<\/p>\n<p>9 Rueben Chinyelu<\/p>\n<p>By:<a href=\"https:\/\/www.on3.com\/user\/tylerthompson\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Tyler Thompson<\/a>Kam Williams update03\/07\/2026 02:34:35 PM<\/p>\n<p class=\"event-item-description\">Mark Pope just wrapped up his pregame conversation with Tom Leach, which included an update on Kam Williams, who returned to practice on Thursday as he works his way back from foot surgery. Even though he won\u2019t play today, there is a chance he could return for the SEC Tournament or NCAA Tournament.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe was good. He had limited reps. He was pretty sore after, so we\u2019re just in the process. It\u2019s exactly what you would expect it to be, as he tries to recover.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>By:<a href=\"https:\/\/www.on3.com\/user\/tylerthompson\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Tyler Thompson<\/a>Today\u2019s officials03\/07\/2026 02:12:34 PM<\/p>\n<p class=\"event-item-description\">The big three (Doug Shows, Pat Adams, Courtney Green) are not in the building today. The officials for Kentucky vs. Florida are Joe Lindsay, Vladimir Voyard Tadal, and Jeb Hartness. Joe Lindsay is the most well-known of the group. Coming into this season, Kentucky was 89-27 in games he\u2019s called. <\/p>\n<p>By:<a href=\"https:\/\/www.on3.com\/user\/tylerthompson\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Tyler Thompson<\/a>One last Walk and Talk outside Rupp Arena03\/07\/2026 02:01:07 PM<\/p>\n<p class=\"event-item-description\">It\u2019s almost that time. Check out the scene outside Rupp Arena ahead of Kentucky vs. No. 5 Florida, thanks to our friends at Parlour Pizza.<\/p>\n<p>By:<a href=\"https:\/\/www.on3.com\/user\/tylerthompson\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Tyler Thompson<\/a>Arkansas keeps Kentucky\u2019s double-bye dream alive03\/07\/2026 01:50:47 PM<\/p>\n<p class=\"event-item-description\">We don\u2019t give shoutouts to John Calipari\u2019s Razorbacks often, but we will today. Arkansas just beat Missouri in overtime, which keeps the path to the double bye in the SEC Tournament open for Kentucky. Now, the Cats just need to beat Florida and for Vanderbilt to beat Tennessee. The latter is looking good so far, the Commodores up 32-22 with a minute to go in the first half.<\/p>\n<p>For more on Kentucky\u2019s SEC Tournament seeding scenarios, I\u2019ll direct you to our <a href=\"https:\/\/www.on3.com\/teams\/kentucky-wildcats\/news\/live-blog-kentucky-sec-tournament-scenarios\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">live blog<\/a> dedicated to just that.<\/p>\n<p>By:<a href=\"https:\/\/www.on3.com\/user\/tylerthompson\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Tyler Thompson<\/a>Thomas Haugh is available03\/07\/2026 01:02:48 PM<\/p>\n<p class=\"event-item-description\">Thomas Haugh, Florida\u2019s leading scorer at 17.1 points per game, missed the Gators\u2019 game vs. Mississippi State on Tuesday with a foot injury. He was listed as probable on the SEC Availability Report last night, but is not in the final update, meaning he\u2019ll be available today. Of course.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Screenshot-2026-03-07-at-1.01.58\u202fPM.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-4307122\"\/><\/p>\n<p>By:<a href=\"https:\/\/www.on3.com\/user\/tylerthompson\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Tyler Thompson<\/a>Florida still playing for a No. 1 seed 03\/07\/2026 12:38:34 PM<\/p>\n<p class=\"event-item-description\">Florida already clinched the SEC regular-season title and, in turn, the No. 1 seed in the SEC Tournament; however, the Gators still have a lot to play for. Florida is a No. 2 seed in the latest NCAA Tournament projections. The Gators are the top No. 2 seed in Joe Lunardi\u2019s Friday Bracketology update. A win over Kentucky could help them get a No. 1 seed, with Lunardi listing today\u2019s game as <a href=\"https:\/\/www.espn.com\/mens-college-basketball\/story\/_\/id\/47204818\/mens-college-basketball-joe-lunardi-bracketology-watch-guide-2026-march-madness\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">one that could affect the bracket<\/a> just over a week from Selection Sunday.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"612\" height=\"792\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/HCxhLLqacAAX5bZ.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-4307031\"  \/><\/p>\n<p>By:<a href=\"https:\/\/www.on3.com\/user\/tylerthompson\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Tyler Thompson<\/a>How to Watch, Listen03\/07\/2026 08:07:46 AM<\/p>\n<p class=\"event-item-description\">Dickie V is back at Rupp Arena, baby! Vitale will be on the call for today\u2019s game alongside Karl Ravech and Jimmy Dykes. He called the North Carolina game with the duo earlier this year and the Indiana game with Charles Barkley a few weeks later. Hopefully, this game goes like the latter, not the former.<\/p>\n<p>Tipoff: 4:00 p.m. ET<\/p>\n<p>TV: ESPN (Karl Ravech, Jimmy Dykes, Dick Vitale)<\/p>\n<p>Local Radio: UK Sports Network (Tom Leach, Goose Givens)<\/p>\n<p>AM: 840 WHAS, 630 WLAP<\/p>\n<p>FM: 98.1 WBUL<\/p>\n<p>Online:\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.iheart.com\/live\/newsradio-630-wlap-965\/?autoplay=true\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">iHeart Radio<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Sirius XM: 84<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The final game of the regular season is here, and it\u2019s a big one. KSR\u2019s LIVE BLOG will&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":182475,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[28,30,29],"class_list":["post-182474","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-florida","tag-florida","tag-florida-headlines","tag-florida-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/182474","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=182474"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/182474\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/182475"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=182474"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=182474"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=182474"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}