Kentucky at Florida: Preview, Odds, How to Watch

It’s time to move past the non-conference schedule and turn our attention to SEC play, Kentucky set to take on Florida in Gainesville, the first matchup of 2024. It’s another quality opponent as the Wildcats look to build a strong postseason resume, this one a Quad 1 opportunity, a win pushing John Calipari’s squad to 2-1 in such games.

What do you need to know about the matchup? KSR’s got you covered.

How To Watch

No. 6 Kentucky (10-2) vs. Florida (10-3)
12:30 p.m. ET | Saturday, January 6 | Exactech Arena at Stephen C. O’Connell Center

• TV: ESPN (Jay Bilas, Dan Shulman)
• Streaming: WatchESPN
• Home Radio: UK Sports Network – 630 WLAP, iHeart Radio (Tom Leach, Goose Givens)
• Online Radio: iHeart
• Satellite Radio: Sirius 161 or 191
• Live Stats: StatBroadcast

Team Records

No. 6 Kentucky: 10-2 (KenPom: 19)

• 11/6: 86-46 W vs. New Mexico State
• 11/10: 81-61 W vs. Texas A&M-Commerce (Wildcat Challenge)
• 11/14: 89-84 L vs. No. 1 Kansas
• 11/17: 101-67 W vs. Stonehill (Wildcat Challenge)
• 11/20: 96-88 OT W vs. Saint Joseph’s (Wildcat Challenge)
• 11/24: 118-82 W vs. Marshall
• 11/28: 95-73 W vs. No. 8 Miami (FL)
• 12/2: 80-73 L vs. UNC-Wilmington
• 12/9: 81-66 W vs. Penn
• 12/16: 87-83 W vs. No. 9 North Carolina
• 12/21: 95-76 W at Louisville
• 12/29: 96-70 W vs. Illinois State

Florida: 10-3 (KenPom: 35)

• 11/6: 93-73 W vs. Loyola Maryland
• 11/10: 73-70 L vs. Virginia
• 11/14: 89-68 W vs. Florida A&M
• 11/17: 89-68 W vs. Florida State
• 11/22: 86-71 W vs. Pittsburgh
• 11/24: 95-91 L vs. No. 13 Baylor
• 11/29: 82-71 L at Wake Forest
• 12/5: 77-57 W vs. Merrimack
• 12/9: 87-76 W vs. Richmond
• 12/14: 70-65 W vs. East Carolina
• 12/19: 106-102 W (2OT) vs. Michigan
• 12/22: 96-57 W vs. Grambling
• 12/30: 97-72 W vs. Quinnipiac

Series History

Kentucky leads the all-time series vs. Florida 109-41, with John Calipari an impressive 24-9 overall against the Gators, including 2-0 against Todd Golden. The Wildcats currently hold a four-game winning streak in the series, a victory potentially moving the team to 12-3 in SEC openers and 327-65 overall in unranked competition under Coach Cal.

UK defeated UF 72-67 at home on Feb. 4 last season, Cason Wallace leading the way with 20 points in the win. That followed with an 82-74 victory in Gainesville on Feb. 22, Oscar Tshiebwe pacing the Cats with 25 points with Chris Livingston going for 10 points and 15 rebounds.

Kentucky at Florida Odds via FanDuel

Spread: Florida -1.5
Total: 168.5

Kentucky Projected Starters

(Starting lineup based on the last game)

#21 – DJ Wagner
6-4 • 192 • GUARD • FRESHMAN
11.9 PPG, 3.5 APG

#12 – Antonio Reeves
6-6 • 195 • GUARD • SENIOR
19.0 PPG, 4.3 RPG

#1 – Justin Edwards
6-8 • 203 • FORWARD • FRESHMAN
9.8 PPG, 4.6 RPG

#4 – Tre Mitchell
6-9 • 231 • FORWARD • GRADUATE STUDENT
12.8 PPG, 7.1 RPG, 3.5 APG

#2 – Aaron Bradshaw
7-1 • 226 • FORWARD • FRESHMAN
7.1 PPG, 4.2 RPG, 1.2 BPG

Head Coach: John Calipari (32nd season, 15th at UK) – 842-255 overall, 397-115 at UK

Florida Projected Starters

(Starting lineup based on the last game)

#1 – Walter Clayton Jr.
6-2 • 195 • GUARD • JUNIOR
15.2 PPG, 3.8 RPG, 3.3 APG

#0 – Zyon Pullin
6-4 • 206 • GUARD • GRAD SENIOR
14.1 PPG, 3.5 RPG, 5.0 APG

#5 – Will Richard
6-4 • 206 • GUARD • JUNIOR
11.8 PPG, 3.8 RPG, 1.5 APG

#4 – Tyrese Samuel
6-10 • 239 • FORWARD • GRAD SENIOR
14.3 PPG, 8.8 RPG

#3 – Micah Handlogten
7-1 • 235 • CENTER • SOPHOMORE
6.8 PPG, 7.1 RPG

Head Coach: Todd Golden (2nd season at Florida, 5th overall): 26-20 at UF, 83-56 overall

Statistical Comparison

(via Kentucky’s game notes)

Fun stats from UK’s game notes:

• Kentucky is 69-20 all-time in SEC openers. The Wildcats have never opened against Florida under John Calipari and it is the first time UK will open vs. the Gators since the 1998-99 season
• Kentucky is averaging 10.6 made 3-pointers per game (12th in the country) and making them at a 41.6% rate, which ranks third in the country. Antonio Reeves is hitting 2.83 per game at a 45.9% clip
• The Wildcats own a 2.06 assist-to-turnover ratio which is third-best in the country. Four players (Dillingham, Mitchell, Sheppard, Wagner) have a 2.60 rate or better and all rank in the top 70 in the country.

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Pregame Storylines

FLORIDA IS A REBOUNDING MACHINE

The Gators thrive where the Cats struggle most, entering the matchup ranked No. 1 overall in rebounds per game (45.4), No. 4 in offensive rebounds (16.2) and No. 13 in rebound margin (11). Kentucky comes in at No. 113 (38.3), No. 245 (9.9) and No. 172 (1) in those categories. And Florida is balanced on the glass, too, eight players pulling down at least three boards per contest, three with at least six. UK has seven players hauling in three-plus rebounds per game, but only one with at least six (Tre Mitchell, 7.1 RPG).

THE GATORS ARE HOT

Florida enters SEC play on a six-game winning streak, its longest in two years. It also has an undefeated 6-0 home record compiled during non-conference action. The Gators hope to push the streak to seven games for the first time since 2017 — a nine-game winning streak at the time. Kentucky, meanwhile, has a pair of four-game streaks this season, a loss to UNC Wilmington breaking up a potential nine-gamer on Dec. 2.

KENTUCKY CRUSHES OFFENSIVELY

The rebounding numbers aren’t pretty and the Cats have a real battle on their hands in that area. Offensive numbers, though, firmly favor the road team in this one. Kentucky has the advantage in scoring offense, scoring margin, field-goal percentage, 3-point percentage, 3-point field goals made per game, free-throw percentage, assists, turnovers, turnover margin and assist-to-turnover ratio — every major category. UK even tops UF in a few key defensive categories, too, highlighted by scoring defense, 3-point defense, steals and blocked shots. If the Cats can hold the Gators off the glass, they’ve got them beat just about everywhere else.

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Join The Discussion on KSBoard

For the first time in over a decade, KSR will be without its in-game live blogs, a longtime tradition here on the blog. Unfortunately, the company that hosted the KSR live blogs no longer exists, so we are without the machine that made it all possible.

If you still want to interact with the KSR crew, consider joining the conversation on KSBoard. New members can try 1 month for $1.

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Rapid Reaction on the KSR YouTube Channel

Miss the game? KSR’s got you covered with Rapid Reactions on the KSR YouTube Channel. We’ll also have wall-to-wall postgame coverage on the website, including highlights, comments from John Calipari and the players, stats, and takeaways.

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