Florida upsets No. 10 Kentucky 94-91 in overtime

Florida guard Walter Clayton Jr. scored seven 3-pointers, including one in the final seconds of regulation, to defeat No. 10 Kentucky 94-91 in overtime inside Rupp Arena on Wednesday.

The win doubles as Florida’s first win over an AP top-10 since 2003, and the Gators improve to 5-3 in SEC play and are now tied with the Wildcats in fourth place in the current conference standings.

Fellow guard Zyon Pullin scored 21 points and contributed seven assists and seven rebounds during the contest, while forward Tyrese Samuel finished the game with a 22-point, 13-rebound double-double against the Wildcats.

Coincidentally, Clayton Jr. also scored 23 points against the Wildcats during their first meeting earlier this month and did the same in the following game against Ole Miss. He’s finished scoring in the single digits just three times this season and has scored at least 15 points in all but one game for the Gators since the beginning of the new calendar year.

They helped stave off a game-high 24 points from Kentucky’s Reed Sheppard. Rob Dillingham and Antonio Reeves scored 20 and 19 points, respectively while Ugonna Onyenso had a career night by scoring 13 points, 16 rebounds and recording eight blocks during the contest.

Kentucky was also without two former McDonald’s All-Americans in starters DJ Wagner and Justin Edwards for the contest.

Ultimately, both teams split the season series in 2024. Kentucky earned an 87-85 win over Florida in Gainesville and UF one-upped the Wildcats on their home court as well. The next time these two teams could face off will be in the 2024 SEC Tournament.

Now that they’ve finished off Kentucky, Florida has now rattled off four consecutive wins, and has come at the perfect time as their next stretch, which began at Kentucky on Wednesday, could make-or-break their ultimate finish in the SEC this year. Taking care of business in Lexington, the Gators travel to Texas A&M this Saturday and will host No. 16 Auburn the following weekend.

All three games would qualify as a Quad 1 win for Florida — and with one already checked off in the left-hand column, the Gators are sitting pretty heading into February. If it can survive the next two games, Florida will likely be favored in all but one game (Feb. 21 at Alabama) for the entire month.

Before they can look that far, however, they’ll have to face another tough SEC road environment inside Reed Arena against the Aggies. Tip-off is scheduled for Saturday at 4 p.m. ET.