SEC college basketball final: Florida 94, Kentucky 91 in overtime
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Game day: Florida 94, No. 10 Kentucky 91 (OT)
Click below for more of the Herald-Leader and Kentucky.com’s coverage of Wednesday’s men’s basketball game between Kentucky and Florida at Rupp Arena in Lexington.
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After splitting a pair of road games last week, Kentucky men’s basketball returns home to face the Florida Gators in an SEC contest on Wednesday night. Tipoff is scheduled for 8 p.m.
ESPN has the television coverage with Dan Shulman, Jay Bilas and Marty Smith.
Ben Roberts, Cameron Drummond, Mark Story and yours truly will be providing updates from Rupp. You can follow us individually on Twitter/X at @BenRobertsHL, @cdrummond97, @markcstory and @johnclayiv.
Or you can follow a dedicated Twitter/X list by clicking here.
Final: Florida 94, Kentucky 91 in overtime
▪ Kentucky dropped to 15-5 overall and 5-3 in the SEC.
▪ Florida improved to 15-6 overall and 5-3 in the SEC.
▪ The two teams split the regular season series with UK winning 87-85 in Gainesville and Florida winning in Lexington.
▪ After a 1-3 SEC start, Florida has won four straight games.
▪ After a 4-1 SEC start, Kentucky has lost two of its last three.
▪ Florida guard Walton Clayton finished with 23 points on seven made three-pointers (7-of-13) and two made free throws (2-for-2).
▪ Florida is 3-0 in overtime games with wins over Michigan 106-102 in double overtime, Georgia 102-98 last Saturday and now Kentucky.
▪ Kentucky is 1-2 in overtime games with a 96-88 win over Saint Joseph’s, a 96-92 loss at Texas A&M and the home loss to Florida.
▪ Kentucky was led by Reed Sheppard with 24 points.
▪ UK center Ugonna Onyenso earned his first career-double with 13 points and 16 rebounds.
Pregame notes
▪ Officials for Kentucky-Florida are Don Daily, Keith Kimble and Tony Chiazza.
▪ Kentucky is 15-4 overall and 5-2 in the SEC after last Saturday’s 63-57 win over Arkansas in Fayetteville.
▪ Florida is 14-6 overall and 4-3 in the SEC after a 102-98 overtime win over Georgia last Saturday in Gainesville. The Gators blew a 21-point lead in the second half as the Bulldogs forced overtime.
▪ UK rallied from an eight-point halftime deficit to win the first meeting between the two teams, 87-85 in Gainesville on Jan. 6. Antonio Reeves scored 19 points to lead the Cats. Reed Sheppard made six free throws in the final 19.3 seconds to seal the win.
▪ UK shot 45.6% from the floor and made 5 of 20 3-pointers in the first meeting. Florida shot 42.% and was 9-of-31 from 3-point range.
▪ Florida’s guard tandem of Walter Clayton and Zyon Pullin each scored 23 points in the first meeting.
▪ Kentucky is 21st in adjusted overall efficiency, according to kenpom. UK is ninth in offensive efficiency and 75th in defensive efficiency.
▪ Florida is 36th in adjusted overall efficiency, according to kenpom. The Gators are 14th in offensive efficiency and 96th in defensive efficiency.
▪ Florida is No. 2 nationally in offensive rebound percentage at 40.7%. The Gators’ 7-foot-1 center Micah Handlogten scored 23 points with 17 rebounds in Florida’s win over Georgia. Seven of his rebounds came on the offensive end.
▪ Kentucky is 21st in the latest NCAA NET rankings. The Cats are 2-3 in Quad 1 games. Florida is 41st in the NET rankings. The Gators are 0-6 in Quad 1 games.
This story was originally published January 31, 2024 at 7:00 PM.
