Florida Gators

FLORIDA vs No. 7 KENTUCKY 

When: Saturday, 4 p.m. (EST)
Where: Exactech Arena/O'Connell Center, Gainesville, Fla.   
Records: Florida (12-8, 4-3); Kentucky (17-3, 6-1)  
TV: SEC Network (Jason Benetti and Dan Dakich) 
Radio: Gator IMG Sports Network (Mick Hubert and Mark Wise) 



STAKES (The Setup)  After a run of losses in close games against quality opponents, Florida got its biggest victory of the season Wednesday in beating a good Ole Miss team 90-86 in overtime at the O'Dome. In the big picture, of course, a win over the Rebels -- even one as dramatic as that one -- isn't going to get a whole lot of attention, but everyone in the Southeastern Conference and beyond would take notice if the Gators were able to hold serve at home against seventh-ranked Kentucky, one of the hottest clubs in the nation right now. UF has won three straight league games, but the Wildcats have won seven straight overall, six in SEC play, with the other a convincing 71-63 defeat of No. 9 Kansas in the SEC/Big 12 Challenge. The Cats' last outing was an 87-52 road drubbing of Vanderbilt. If that final 35-point margin of victory is daunting, consider UK was up 30 at halftime. ... Kentucky leads the all-time series 40-100, but Florida has won three of the previous four meetings, including just the fifth regular-season series sweep of the Cats since the two became charter SEC members in 1933. ... UF and UK last met March 3, 2018, with the Gators winning 80-67 behind 22 points from junior guard Jalen Hudson and 16 from senior forward Egor Koulechov. The game was also the final home appearance of point guard Chris Chiozza, who had nine points and four assists, the first of which came on a 3-pointer by Keith Stone and gave "Cheez" the all-time UF assists record, appropriately enough, on his "Senior Day." Six weeks earlier, Florida defeated Kentucky 66-64 at Rupp Arena. ... UF is 3-3 against UK under Coach Mike White. 
 

Florida	Pos.	Ht.	Wt.	Class	Per Game
Keyontae Johnson	F	6-5	225	Freshman	6.7 pts / 5.2 reb
Kevarrius Hayes	F	6-9	227	Senior	7.0 pts / 6.3 reb
Noah Locke	G	6-3	205	Freshman	11.7 pts / 2.3 reb
KeVaughn Allen	G	6-2	193	Senior	13.2 pts / 2.6 reb
Andrew Nembhard	PG	6-5	191	Freshman	7.3 pts / 2.9 reb / 6.0 ast

Kentucky	Pos.	Ht.	Wt.	Class	Per Game
Reid Travis	F	6-8	238	Graduate	12.3 pts / 6.8 reb
PJ Washington	G/F	6-8	228	Sophomore	13.4 pts / 8.3 reb
Ashton Hagans	G	6-3	192	Freshman	7.6 pts / 2.4 reb / 4.4 ast
Keldon Johnson	G	6-6	211	Freshman	14.4 pts / 5.1 reb
Tyler Herro	G	6-5	195	Freshman	13.3 pts / 4.3 reb / 2.3 ast

STANDING OUT (One to Watch) 
STUFF (Need-to-Know Info)  ABOUT THE GATORS: Despite giving up 86 points the last time out, Florida remains among the top in the SEC in key defensive categories, including points per game (62.7) and field-goal percentage allowed (.411). Despite scoring 90 the last time, the Gators still rank at the bottom of the league in key offensive categories,

including points per game (69.8) and overall shooting percentage (.424). After the Ole Miss game, White said the team had taken a positive step with the offense, in terms of passing, creating open shots and aggression, despite starting slowly (as the Gators often do). The 90 points were the most the team had scored against an SEC opponent this season, but the Gators also got 14 of those points in an overtime forced when guard KeVaughn Allen drilled a 3-pointer with 2.7 seconds remaining. UF did, however, shoot 49.2 percent for the game and 56 percent in the second half. Conversely, the Gators allowed the Rebels far too many straight-line drives to the basket and easy shots in surrendering 59.3 percent after the break. Similar defensive generosity against Kentucky will not end well. ... Allen is averaging 18.3 points per game and shooting nearly 46 percent overall and 48 percent from the arc in league play, despite going just 6-for-19 from the floor and 1-for-7 from deep against the Rebels. He's also at 93.5 percent from the line. ... Guard Noah Locke is at 16.3 points per game, nearly 43 percent from deep and making just shy of four 3s per game vs. the SEC. ... UF is unbeaten in three conference games since forward Keyontae Johnson was rolled into the starting lineup four games ago. He earned that right with a solid effort in a road loss at Mississippi State. Over the last five games, Johnson has averaged 28 minutes, hit 19 of his 37 shots (51 percent), gone 5-for-9 from distance (55.5 percent) and grabbed 6.8 rebounds. Some of UF worst spells in second halves, on both ends, have come when Johnson was on the bench in foul trouble or banged up. ... Center Kevarrius Hayes, making just 61.7 percent of his free throws this season, went 3-for-3 from the line against Ole Miss, all in regulation. The Gators, obviously, needed all three of those points. Hayes also is averaging seven rebounds over the last six SEC games. ... Point guard Andrew Nembhard is fifth in the SEC in assists and has made five of his last seven 3s over two games, including a huge one in overtime against the Rebels. ... As February hits, it would seem the UF rotation has crystallized into a seven-man deal, as the five starters, plus fifth-year senior wing Jalen Hudson (6.2 ppg) and third-year sophomore Dontay Bassett (3.1 ppg, 2.7 rpg). Those two were the lone reserves to play double-digit minutes in an Ole Miss game that offered 25 extra minutes. The other three reserves combined for two points, two rebounds, four fouls and five turnovers in 22 minutes. ... ABOUT THE WILDCATS: Here come the red-hot Cats, with their annual buffet of McDonald's All-Americans (five total, including three freshmen) and/or "one-and-done" prospects. This is their 10th season under Coach John Calipari (292-67) and the team is well on its way to its average of 30.5 wins per season under the current regime. ... Kentucky ranks fourth in the SEC in scoring (79.9 pg) and second in field-goal percentage (.484), but the

team's overriding strength -- and what Calipari is stressing with this group -- is defense and rebounding. UK is second in the conference to UF in points allowed (66.5 pg), rates fifth in field-goal percentage defense (.410) and is a runaway No. 1 in rebounding margin at plus-9.2 (with the next closest team being Georgia at plus-6.0). That latter figure represents a huge challenge for the undersized and rebounding-challenged Gators. ... Kentucky's 3-point defense, though, surrenders 36 percent, so there could be opportunities for UF, assuming perimeter players can get shots off against UK's length. ... Guard Keldon Johnson, one of of those freshman McDonald's kids, leads the Cats in scoring. Despite playing on the perimeter, he's hitting 51.1 percent of his overall shots compared to 33 from the arc. That's because Johnson is a driver and finisher. If Florida allows Johnson, already projected as a lottery pick in the 2019 NBA Draft, to probe the paint as easily as it did the Rebels guards that will spell big trouble. ... Forward Reid Travis is a rare Kentucky upperclassmen, but not because he went through the normal UK process. He's a graduate transfer from Stanford, where he was a two-time first-team All-Pac 12 selection and one of just three players in school history to amass at least 1,400 point and 700 rebounds in less than 100 games. Travis can shoot it too, having once drilled 11 3-pointers in a game against Arizona State. He had 18 points and 12 boards against Kansas last weekend. Travis went for 23 points and 11 rebounds against Florida last season, but the Gators defeated his Stanford team 108-87 in the PK80 Invitational at Portland, Ore. ... Guard Tyler Herro tops UK in league scoring at 14.1 points per game and nearly 38 percent from distance. ... Point guard Ashton Hagans probably would have been a McDonald's All-American this year, but he reclassified, graduated earlier and his play-making and defense are now huge reasons the Cats are playing at such a high level. Hagans has 25 assists over the last three games and earlier this season had eight steals in a blowout win against North Carolina. ... Kentucky has six players averaging at least three rebounds per game. Florida has three. 


STATS (Some Numbers of Note)  
* minus-1.0 — UF's average rebounding margin after getting blasted on the boards, 41-27, by Ole Miss. That's a full 10 rebounds per game less than UK.

* 1.000 — Herro's free-throw shooting percentage in SEC play, based on 22-for-22 from the line. 

* 1 — UF McDonald's All-Americans who will be at the O'Dome Saturday, but 2019 selection Scottie Lewis, the 6-6 forward from Colts Neck, N.J., will be attending as a fan. 

* 2 — Games that Florida has had two players score at least 20 points, both of which occurred in the last two SEC games (Texas A&M and Ole Miss), both of which courtesy of Allen (31 and 20, respectively) and Locke (26 and 22).  

* 11 — Points needed by Allen to pass Eugene McDowell (1981-85) and Matt Bonner (1999-2003) and move into Florida's top 10 all-time scoring list.  

* 40 — Consecutive free throws made by Allen at the O'Dome, a streak that dates more than a year, to Jan. 24, 2018, when the then-junior missed the second of two free throws with 40 seconds left in an eventual loss to South Carolina. Allen was 8-for-8 from the line at home Wednesday. 

* 92 — Years Florida and Kentucky have been playing basketball, dating to their first meeting, a 44-33 home win for the Cats in Lexington, Ky., on Jan. 3, 1927.


STATEMENT (Random thought) 

If the Gators can (somehow) hold serve at home against the Cats, the tenor of the season (and what the team can make of it) will take on a significant change.