Catching Up With Florida Since We Last Saw The Gators

The first time Kentucky and Florida played in 2024, the Wildcats snapped the Gators’ six-game winning streak with a thrilling come-from-behind win, considered a slight upset out in the desert. Kentucky spoiled the sold-out Orange-Out fun in the O’Dome, winning a tight one, 87-85, in the first SEC game on the schedule for both teams.

Kentucky’s Tre Mitchell had a double-double in that game with 12 points and 10 rebounds, all while losing 11 pounds of body weight during his 35 minutes played, according to John Calipari. Once Kentucky returned home from Gainesville, Mitchell narrated a cinematic recap of the win–and, hopefully, ate something.

Since then, Kentucky and Florida have identical 4-2 records, meaning Florida can even the score in the SEC standings with a win in tonight’s game. The Gators are hot, too. Let’s catch up on how they’ve been since they last saw the Kentucky Wildcats.

Loss at Ole Miss (Kentucky Hangover)

Deflated from the loss to Kentucky in its SEC home opener, Florida let one become two, losing at Ole Miss on the Wednesday after Kentucky disrupted the O’Dome. Walter Clayton Jr. scored 23 points for a second straight game, but the Gators needed a lot more than Clayton’s high-scoring night to take down the Rebels in Oxford.

Ole Miss crossed the 100-point mark, winning 103-85. Jaemyn Brakefield scored 28 points, and Matthew Murrell added 23 for Ole Miss in the victory. Jamarion Sharp blocked nine of Florida’s shots, a new school record.

Loss at Tennessee (Knecht’s 39)

Florida’s only other SEC loss came in Knoxville, a week after the trip to Oxford. There could be something about those midweek road trips. Let’s hope so.

At Tennessee, the Gators were never really in it as Dalton Knecht had a 39-point game in the 85-66 win for his Vols. Florida gave up Knecht’s career-high and another 19 to Jonas Aidoo, meaning the Gators were nearly outscored by those two Vols on their own. It didn’t help that Florida shot 29 percent from the field as a team in the loss.

Three Straight Wins (And Four Of Five)

Outside of the midweek road trip losses (we hope there is one more of those tonight), Florida has won its other SEC games, including the last three in a row and four of five since the Kentucky-Ole Miss stretch in early January.

	AWAY		HOME
Sat, Jan 6	(6) Kentucky	87	Florida	85
Wed, Jan 10	Florida	85	Ole Miss	103
Sat, Jan 13	Arkansas	68	Florida	90
Tues, Jan 16	Florida	66	(6) Tennessee	85
Sat, Jan 20	Florida	79	Missouri	67
Wed, Jan 24	Mississippi State	70	Florida	79
Sat, Jan 27	Georgia	98 (OT)	Florida	102 (OT)

However, as we addressed earlier, Florida’s last win streak ended when the Gators ran into Kentucky.

Handlogten Leads The SEC

Even though Kentucky won the first meeting, Florida’s Micah Handlogten was a problem on the glass, grabbing 12 rebounds for the Gators in the January 6 meeting. Handlogten has kept up that rebounding dominance with games of 13 and 17 rebounds since playing UK. In fact, he is the SEC’s leading rebounder in SEC play at 9.3 boards per game. Keeping Handlogten from second chances will be critical to the Cats’ game plan tonight.

On The Bubble

Florida has a lot to play for tonight. In the short term, a win would likely propel the Gators into next week’s Top 25 for the first time in three seasons. Looking further down the road, a win in Rupp Arena would be great for Florida’s NCAA Tournament resume. The Gators are a bubble team in the mock brackets, currently one of Joe Lunardi’s Next Four Out. Beating Kentucky in Lexington would give Florida its first Quad 1 win in seven tries.

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Kentucky at Florida: Box Score