Stuffing: Florida at Kentucky (Saturday, 4 pm)

FLORIDA at KENTUCKY

When: Saturday, 4 p.m. (EST)
Where: Rupp Arena, Lexington, Ky.
Records: Florida (12-6, 8-5); Kentucky (8-13, 7-7)
TV: CBS (Brad Nessler and Clark Kellog)
Radio: Gator IMG Sports Network (Mick Hubert and Lee Humphrey)

THE BASICS

Aerial shot of the University of Kentucky campus library.

Good luck predicting how this Southeastern Conference showdown goes. If it plays out the way the two teams have performed of late, Florida figures to have its hands full against a Kentucky squad that is dealing with a very unKentucky-like season, but is taking steps to the right the ship. Is it too late? It's never too late in the world of conference tournaments, especially for teams playing their best at the end of the season. UK appears to be doing that. ... The Gators have won two straight against a pair of below-.500 teams, and have not looked particularly sharp in doing so. But they've been better than the version that lost the first two games of the month (one before a COVID pause that wiped out three games, one after). UF beat Georgia last weekend, despite some sloppy late turnovers that allowed the Bulldogs to get back in the game. On Tuesday, the Gators smashed Auburn on the road 74-57, but the Tigers were minus standout freshman point guard Sharife Cooper and looked completely out of sync from the tip. As for the Wildcats, two weeks ago they sat at 5-13, but won a couple close games (at Auburn and home against Vanderbilt), then blasted No. 19 Tennessee on the road 70-55 last weekend and suddenly have a different vibe about them. That's tough timing for UF, to say the least, especially given what the Cats did to the Gators last month. ... Kentucky leads the all-time series 104-40, including a daunting 10-52 record at Lexington. The Wildcats have beaten the Gators five straight times, with sweeps of their regular-season series each of the last two years, now looking for three straight years. Thye came to Gainesville on Jan. 9 and dominated the Gators 78-56, handing UF its most lopsided home loss in three years. In that one, UK led by six at halftime and opened the second half on a 16-4 run and led by as many as 25 on the way to shooting 67 percent and going 11-for-11 from the free-throw line for the period. The backcourt duo of Brandon Boston Jr. and Davion Mintz had 13 points each, while guard Keon Brooks Jr. had 12 points, six rebounds and four assists off the bench. Florida, led by forward Anthony Duruji's 15 points, shot just 35.5 percent for the game and had 16 turnovers. ... UF is 3-8 against Kentucky under Coach Mike White, including 1-4 on the road.

STARTERS (Probable Lineups)

Florida	Pos.	Ht.	Wt.	Class	Per Game
Anthony Duruji	F	6-7	220	R-Junior	5.9 pts / 4.2 reb
Colin Castleton	F	6-11	231	Junior	12.9 pts / 5.9 reb
Tyree Appleby	G	6-1	180	R-Junior	10.8 pts / 3.1 reb
Noah Locke	G	6-3	203	Junior	10.8 pts / 2.5 reb
Tre Mann	G	6-5	190	Sophomore	14.3 pts / 5.7 reb / 3.6 ast

Kentucky	Pos.	Ht.	Wt.	Class	Per Game
Isaiah Jackson	F	6-10	206	Freshman	8.0 pts / 6.9 reb / 2.7 blx
Oliver Sarr	F	7-0	237	G-Transfer	10.5 pts / 5.5 reb
Brandon Boston	G	6-7	185	Freshman	11.9 pts / 4.8 reb
Davion Mintz	G	6-3	196	G-Transfer	10.5 pts / 3.2 reb
Devin Askew	G	6-3	198	Freshman	7.4 pts / 2.7 reb / 4.0 ast

ONE TO WATCH

Kentucky's three-game winning streak has coincided with increased minutes for long, lithe and head-banded forward **Isaiah Jackson** (23), the 6-foot-10, 206-pound freshman center from Pontiac, Mich., where was a three-time finalist for Michigan state player of the year and four-time defensive player of the year in his prep conference. Jackson's season's numbers show 8.0 points and 6.9 rebounds per game. Decent for a rookie, right. Jackson, though, wasn't promoted to starter until five games ago, and during the Wildcats' mini-run the last three games he's averaged 16.3 points on 61-percent shooting, grabbed 9.0 rebounds, knocked down 21 of 26 free throws (nearly 81 percent), blocked 2.0 shots per game and altered/deterred a bunch more with his prototypical Kentucky length. He's totaled a big chunk of those numbers despite playing in four trouble, picking up at least four fouls (and fouling out twice) in three of the last four games. In two of those games, Jackson had helped the Cats to a big enough lead that his exit didn't matter. He's their best player, right now.

TEAM BREAKDOWNS

Forward **Anthony Duruji** (4) flushes a transition lob in Tuesday's win at Auburn, where he had seven points and six rebounds.

ABOUT THE GATORS: No one in the UF basketball building is thinking they've figured anything out. Nor should be. The back-to-back wins certainly were much needed, but the Gators know they were far from at their best in wins against team in the bottom third of the league. ... The latest KenPom.com metrics place UF at No. 27 overall, 33rd in offense, 28th in defense and 135th in pace of play. The Gators score 76.2 points per game, shoot 46.5 percent overall (2nd in the SEC) and 35.5 percent from the arc (3rd). On defense, they give up 70.1 points, 42 percent and

31.2 from deep. ... The sophomore tandem of Tre Mann and Scottie Lewis were outstanding in the win at Auburn, with easily the best combined performance by the two 2019 McDonald's All-America teammates since their time together at Florida. Both players impacted the game from the jump, with Mann tallying 16 of his team-high 19 points in the first half and Lewis netting 14 of his 16 before the break. Mann also was a man on the glass, clearing a career-high 13 in his first career double-double, while Lewis also had five steals. If Mann will stay aggressive (as he was against the Tigers) and Lewis can stay out of foul trouble (like he did for the first time this month), the Gators have a much better chance to be the best version of themselves. ... Forward Colin Castleton was just two of six from the floor and scored seven points last game, but he had eight rebounds. It was a positive sign for UF that it could win a game convincingly without much offense from its 6-11 post man. The Gators probably would take a similar offensive game from Castleton at UK, provided he brings his best defense against Jackson, who helped limit him to just six points and three boards at Gainesville. ... Forward Anthony Duruji tallied 15 rebounds the last two games, with six on the offensive end. Need more of that. ... Guards Noah Locke and Tyree Appleby, as well as Mann and Lewis, have missed some wide-open 3s of late. Locke is just six of 20 the last three games, with his misses (many in rhythm or in space in transition) a bit surprising. ... After failing to score (or even attempt a shot) and grabbing just one rebound in 18 minutes against Georgia, forward Omar Payne was a little better (4 points, 4 rebounds in 19 minutes) at Auburn. Last year, Payne was completely neutralized by UK's front line when forced to take injured Kerry Blackshear Jr.'s minutes. This Kentucky team, while big and long, is not as formidable up front as that one. Payne is a year older and needs to play like it, and in an assertive way. ... Appleby went to Auburn with 12 combined turnovers his previous two games. He had one against the Tigers

ABOUT THE WILDCATS: It's a dozen seasons in for John Calipari (with a record of 338-90), but this one has been a season like no other for Big Blue Nation's version of P.T. Barnum, and not because of COVID, either. With three regular-season games remaining, UK is staring down the potential for its first losing season in 32 years. To avoid missing the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2013 (and only the second time since 1991), the Wildcats will have to win four games at the SEC Tournament next month to earn the league's automatic bid. That said, the way they're playing right now, can't rule it out. UK has the talent and, as the program has been known to do under the Calipari's one-and-done

business model, has figured some things out, albeit a little later in the season than normal. ... Kentucky's KenPom numbers show UK at No. 49 overall, 92nd in offensive efficiency, 25th on the defensive end and playing at a tempo that is 203rd nationally. The Cats average 69.8 points (12th in the league), but that number is 78.0 over the last three games. For the season, they're shooting 41.5 from the floor and 33.2 from distance, but have hit at least seven 3s in each of the last three games, including 11 in the win at Auburn. ... When the two teams last met, the status of a pair of hot-shot freshmen, forward Terrance Clarke (injured) and guard Cam'Ron Fletcher (suspended), was still very much an ongoing storyline, but neither has played since and won't against the Gators. ... With Jackson thriving down low, the perimeter productivity of freshman Brandon Boston Jr., the McDonald's All American, has picked up. He wasn't great in the road rout of Tennessee (6 points), but had 17 in each of the previous two games and has been better in the second half of the SEC season. Boston is shooting 36.2 percent from the floor and just shy of 28 from deep, but 78.6 from the free-throw line. ... Backup 6-7 guard Keion Brooks Jr. (10.7 ppg, 6.9 rpg) killed UF in the first meeting and has evolved into one of his team's most reliable perimeter shooters at 43.4 percent. He might also be the Cats' best pound-for-pound rebounder. ... Grad-transfer Davion Mintz, by way of Creighton, has taken a team-high 113 shots from distance and stands at 36.3 percent. He'll drive it too and, like Boston, makes his free throws (77.4 percent). ... Forward Oliver Sarr, the grad-transfer from Wake Forest, doesn't shoot a lot of 3s, but he cannot be ignored while floating or pick-and-popping at the arc. He's at 47.5 percent overall and 9-for-19 from deep (47.4). He's active around the bucket too and gets to the line, where he converts (77.0 percent). ... Point guard Devin Askew, who was No. 1-ranked player at his position for next year's prep class but reclassified to 2020, has improved over the last month, but no one is going to confuse him with John Wall or De'Arron Fox. He's not the dynamic type the Cats usually have as their top playmake, but he's been more efficient and less turnover prone the last few weeks. Like most of the front-line Cats, he hits his free throws (80.4 percent). ... Reserve guard and home-state product Dontaie Allen (5.3 ppg) has seen his playing time cut significantly, with just two minutes in each of the last two games, without getting a shot off. Allen entered SEC play as the team's top 3-point threat and made seven in UK's league-opening win at Mississippi State. He's still at nearly 42 percent on the season, but opponents are extending and closing on him better (and he's not a driver, nor a great passer). ... Backup 6-9 forward Jacob Toppin (5.3 ppg, 3.7 rpg) is a transfer from Rhode Island and younger brother of Obi Toppin, the 2020 NCAA Player of the Year from Dayton and lottery pick of the New York Knicks. ... Freshman forward Lance Ware (2.0 ppg, 2.9 rpg) is another lengthy 6-9 reserve the Cats can roll out.

NUMBERS WORTH NOTING

* .161 — Florida's all-time winning percentage at Lexington, based on the aforementioned 10-52 record. The Gators' last successful trip to Lexington was a 66-64 victory on Jan. 20, 2018, which is also their last sweep of the season series. Before that, UF's previous win at Rupp came in 2014. Before that, it was 2007.

* 2 — 3-pointers made by UK's Allen over the previous six games on just 10 attempts

* 44.7 — Allen's percentage from the 3-point line through UK's first eight conference games, based on 21-for-44 precision from out there. Now, he's basically not playing.

* 120 — Victories at Florida for White, whose winning percentage of .628 is tied for third in the league during his six seasons, while his winning percentage of .602 in SEC play ranks second only to Kentucky.

* 2015 — The last year a UF player posted at least 15 points and five steals in a game, something two Gators -- Mann (19 points, 5 steals) in the season opener vs Army; Lewis in Tuesday's win at Auburn) have done this season. The last to do so was Michael Frazier II, who had 21 points and six steals on Feb. 3, 2015 in a 67-61 loss at Vanderbilt.

LAST WORD

Kentucky is playing much better, but still not Kentucky-level good. The Gators may actually have taken the Cats lightly (if that's even possible) when the two teams played at the O'Dome (UK was 3-6) at the time and paid the price. They need to go to Rupp with a healthier respect for the opponent, as well as a willingness to box out, be in tune to pick-and-roll lobs and show urgency in defensive transition.

Gators Calendar

Stuffing: Florida at Kentucky (Saturday, 4 pm)

Players Mentioned

Tyree Appleby

Kerry Blackshear Jr.

Colin Castleton

Anthony Duruji

Scottie Lewis

Noah Locke

Tre Mann

Omar Payne

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Stuffing: Florida at Kentucky (Saturday, 4 pm)

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Players Mentioned

Tyree Appleby

Kerry Blackshear Jr.

Colin Castleton

Anthony Duruji

Scottie Lewis

Noah Locke

Tre Mann

Omar Payne

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