SEC basketball final: No. 10 Kentucky 106, No. 6 Florida 100
READ MORE
Game day: No. 10 Kentucky 106, No. 6 Florida 100
Click below for more of the Herald-Leader and Kentucky.com’s coverage of Saturday’s men’s basketball game between Kentucky and Florida in Rupp Arena.
Expand All
Kentucky men’s basketball, ranked No. 10 in the AP Top 25, opens its SEC schedule against the No. 6 Florida Gators on Saturday morning at Rupp Arena. Tipoff is set for 11 a.m. on ESPN.
Ben Roberts, Cameron Drummond, Mark Story, Ryan Hermens and yours truly will be at Rupp to chronicle the action. You can follow Ben on Bluesky at @benrobertshl. You can follow the rest of us on X/Twitter at @markcstory, @cdrummond97, @ryanhermens and @johnclayiv.
Follow a dedicated Kentucky men’s basketball X/Twitter list featuring updates from various sources.
Scouting report: Florida
At 13-0, coach Todd Golden’s Gators are one of three undefeated teams in the nation, along with fellow SEC members Tennessee and Oklahoma. Florida is No. 4 in the NET rankings and No. 6 in KenPom’s adjusted overall efficiency rankings. The Gators are No. 9 in adjusted offensive efficiency and No. 16 in adjusted defensive efficiency. Florida ranks second nationally in offensive rebound percentage (41.4), second in 3-point defense (26.7), third in effective field goal defense (41.7) and 10th in two-point defense (42.7).
The Gators boast an excellent guard trio in Walter Clayton (17.2 points per game), Alijah Martin (15.2) and Will Richard (14.2). Clayton scored 23 points in Florida’s 94-91 overtime win at Rupp Arena on Jan. 31, 2024. His 3-pointer with 1:38 left in overtime put Florida ahead for good 89-87. Clayton scored 20 or more points in five games this season. He’s also made five 3-pointers in five games.
Florida men’s basketball roster
Florida’s men’s basketball results
Scouting report: Kentucky
Mark Pope’s Wildcats improved to 11-2 on the season with an 88-54 win over Brown on New Year’s Eve. UK is currently 21st in adjusted overall efficiency, according to KenPom. The Cats are 11th in adjusted offensive efficiency but 58th in adjusted defensive efficiency. They are second nationally in turnover percentage (12.8). They are 91st in 3-point shooting at 35.5%.
Kentucky had won five straight over Florida before that loss at Rupp last season. It is 3-1 versus Golden. While the head coach at BYU, Pope went 4-3 versus San Francisco when Golden was the head coach of the Dons. Kentucky has not lost back-to-back games to Florida since the 2017-18 season. It has not lost successive home games to Florida since falling 79-64 on March 5, 2006, and 64-61 on Feb. 10, 2007.
Kentucky men’s basketball roster
Kentucky men’s basketball results
This story was originally published January 4, 2025 at 9:00 AM.
