Kentucky forward and 2022 SEC Player of the Year favorite Oscar Tshiebwe (34)
Setup / Series / Last Meeting
Florida has won four straight, albeit against a light stretch on the schedule. Now comes an absolute paddle wheel of four games that represent the most difficult stretch of the season -- which is saying something, considering UF opened the Southeastern Conference slate against a trio of ranked foes in Alabama, at Auburn and LSU) -- starting with the annual road date at Kentucky. Facing, the Wildcats should be quite the contrast from Wednesday night's 72-63 home holding off of Georgia, which sits alone in last place in the SEC standing with a single conference win. UK has won five straight, including an 18-point road blowout of fifth-ranked Kansas, most recently winning Tuesday night at South Carolina 86-76, using a rapid-fire second-half charge to take control of the game. ... Kentucky leads the all-time series 105-41, including a 53-11 advantage at Lexington. One of those 11 victories, though, came when the two last squared off. Seven weeks after the Wildcats massacred the Gators 76-58 in Gainesville, the Gators returned the favor with a 71-67 win at Rupp on Feb. 27, 2021, behind sophomore guard Tre Mann's 21 points and eight rebounds over 35 minutes. Mann went seven of 11 from the floor, hit both his 3s, plus five of six free throws, including a pair with 10 seconds left to ice the win. As a team, UF shot 52 percent from the floor, 46 from distance and 87.5 from the free-throw line to get out of Rupp with a third win in the last 15 trips. ... The Gators are 4-8 against the Wildcats under Coach Mike White, including 2-4 on the road.
Tale of the Tape
Florida
2021-22 Stats
Kentucky
71.1
Scoring
81.4
.428
Field-goal percentage
.492
.307
3-point percentage
.355
63.9
Scoring defense
64.5
.433
Field-goal percentage defense
.402
.307
3-point percentage defense
.293
51st
KenPom.com overall ranking
3rd
58th
KenPom.com offensive efficiency
4th
55th
KenPom.com defensive efficiency
12th
248th
KenPom.com adjusted tempo
91st
48th
NCAA Evaluation Tool (NET) ranking
5th
209th
Overall strength of schedule ranking
90th
Team Snapshots
The Gators
Take your pick. Whether falling behind by double-digits or letting an opponent storm back from double digits, either scenario will not turn out kind to the Gators this time should they play to their pattern of the last several weeks. Fat halftime deficits against Oklahoma State, at Missouri and Ole Miss were overcome in the first three of the current four-game winning streak. A 14-point and lead inside eight minutes to go
Tyree Appleby (22)
Wednesday against Georgia became a one-possession game inside three minutes after the Bulldogs took advantage of an offensive lull and some turnovers to score 10 straight points in the blink of an eye. That can happen -- and often does -- in Lexington. Call 'em "Rupp Runs," and they usually end up lethal for the visitor. ... One of the best things that could have happened for the Gators appears in the works, with the fixing of reserve senior guard Myreon Jones' jumpshot. After hitting 41 percent of his 3s through November, Jones (9.5 ppg, 3.0 rpg) went into a 21-percent funk over the next two months, along the way fracturing the index finger in his non-shooting hand. The last five games, he's averaged 15.7 points. The last three games, he's at 16.3 per game and 14-for-23 from the 3-point line (.609). If he can get back in the neighborhood of his nearly 38-percent shooting eye from the arc, it will greatly help the Gators space the floor on offense. ... Forward Colin Castleton threw a scare into his team and fans when he had to leave the game after aggravating the left shoulder injury that sidelined him for six games. He returned a few minutes later and played the rest of the game, finishing with 13 points and nine rebounds and four blocks, just missing his seventh double-double of the season. ... Point guard Tyree Applebyhas made just four of his last 21 field-goal attempts the previous two games. He also had a couple careless turnovers (one late during UGA's rally), but the Gators need him on the floor. Actually, they need the best version of Appleby on the floor, because when he's in control and making sound decisions, the Florida offense looks much better. It looks great when he's at the free-throw, also. Appleby is 27-for-29 during the four-game winning streak (.931). .. Forward Anthony Duruji had seven points and five boards over 23 minutes, but also had five turnovers. That's the second time in the last five games Duruji had at least five. He had six in the loss at Tennessee on Jan. 26. ... In his fourth straight start (and ninth in the last 10 games), forward/guard Phlandrous Fleming Jr. scored eight points, grabbed six rebounds, had two assists (no turnovers) and four steals. Who wouldn't take that every night? ... Backup freshman wingKowacie Reeves (5.4 ppg) hit three of his five shots, two of his four 3s, and also had an energetic offensive rebound that he took back up for a dunk in the second half that fired up the O'Dome. Reeves has worked his way up to 36.8 percent from deep on the season. ... Backup guard Brandon McKissic is coming off his first scoreless game of the season. He missed both his shots, but also had two assists, no turnovers in 14 minutes and did his normal defensive thing when in the game. ... It was nice to see Niels Lane get in the scoring column with that drive-and-dunk on UF's second possession of the Georgia game. He also had two rebounds and a steal.
The Wildcats
John Calipari is in his 13th season on the UK sidelines, with a 359-97 overall record and 68-52 mark in SEC play. Last year, the Wildcats posted their first losing season in 32 years and the Big Blue natives were awfully restless, but this is looking like "Coach Cal's" best team since that 2014-15 squad stormed unbeaten through the SEC and stood 38-0 before a shocking upset at the hands of
Kellen Grady (31)
Wisconsin in the NCAA semifinal. He hasn't totally abandoned the "one-and-done" business model, but this Kentucky squad has just one McDonald's All-America freshman and, instead, is getting tremendous production from transfers and players who have been in the program a couple years. Imagine that? ... UK opened the season with a loss to No. 10 Duke, reeled off seven straight wins before a neutral-site loss to Notre Dame, and has dropped road dates at LSU and Auburn thus far in league play. The Cats are 14-0 at home, 5-0 in conference, with their average margin of victory 17.0 points. That said, UK's last two home league opponents kept things close. Mississippi State took Kentucky to overtime, before losing 82-74, while Vanderbilt hung around before falling 77-70. ... The Cats lead the SEC in scoring, field-goal percentage and 3-point percentage. ... Forward Oscar Tshiebwe, who transferred midseason last year from West Virginia, is not only the leading candidate for SEC Player of the Year, but a likely first-team All American. He's shooting 60 percent from the floor (without attempting a 3), has 18 double-doubles and posted five games of at least 20 rebounds, including a staggering 28 against Western Kentucky. Tshiebwe has 120 offensive rebounds on the season (which is almost half of UF's season total of 272). He's not a shot-blocking rim-protector like Auburn's Walker Kessler (or even Castleton), what with 36 rejections on the year, but his length makes him a significant deterrent. ... Guard Kellen Grady averaged 17.4 points during a 115-game career at Davidson, where he scored 2,002 points over his four seasons. He's shooting 47.4 overall and 44.2 from deep, where he's attempted 156 3-balls. ... Guard TyTy Washington is UK's superstar freshman this season; really the only one. He was Arizona's Gatorade Player of the Year and now is the Cats' second-leading scorer. His 48.6 from the floor rates third on the team; his 35.2 from 3 ranks third, as do his 25 makes. Washington also has 93 assists, which actually ranks second on the team (for context: Appleby is far and away UF's assists leader with 95). That's because UK basically has two point guards, with Sahvir Wheeler, the transfer from Georgia, the SEC leader in assists with 159 to just 69 turnovers. Wheeler, who as Bulldog torched the Gators for a career-high 27 in a loss last year, is terrific at driving the ball, with an uncanny ability to finish despite his size. He's not much of a 3-point threat (.265), but he's accurate enough inside the arc (.440). ... Forward Keion Brooks Jr. has developed into an outstanding all-around player. Along with shooting nearly 50 percent from the floor, he's the Cats' second-leading rebounder and second on the squad in free-throw attempts, which he converts at 74 percent. ... Guard Davion Mintz (8.8 ppg, 2.4 rpg), now in his third season since transferring from Creighton, has 32 makes from 3, which is second-best on the team. He's in the conversation for SEC Sixth Man of the Year. ... ... Backup forward Jacob Toppin (5.9 ppg, 3.1 rpg) left Tuesday's win at South Carolina after rolling his ankle and did not return. His status is day to day.
Numbers of Note
Newspaper photograph from UF's historic first victory at Lexington. The Gators had lost their previous nine trips there, dating to 1927.
* .417 — 3-point shooting percentage for Reeves, the UF rookie, in SEC play, based on 15-for-36 marksmanship. That leads the team.
* 2 — SEC programs (Florida and Tennessee) that have won at least two road games at Kentucky since the 2015-16 season (White's first with the Gators).
* 5 — Kentucky starters shooting over 44 percent from the floor on the season.
* plus-29 — Lane's plus/minus number in his 77 minutes during the four-game winning streak.
* 1966 — The year the Gators got the program's first victory at Kentucky. UF defeated the reigning NCAA runner-up (the Wildcats famously lost the previous season's national championship game to Texas Western) 78-75 behind forward Gary Keller's 25 points and 15 rebounds, plus forward Gary McElroy's 14 points and 11 boards. The Cats got 25 points and 15 rebounds from a fella named Pat Riley.
Bottom Line
The way Kentucky is playing right now, and given the Florida limitations, this looks like a near-impossible task for the Gators. Yet, it's the next one on the schedule and a tremendous opportunity for a signature victory.
