LIVE BLOG: Kentucky vs. Florida
Kentucky starts SEC play today in a very big way. KSR’s LIVE BLOG will bring you all the sights and sounds from Rupp Arena as the No. 10 Wildcats host the No. 6 Florida Gators (11 a.m. ET, ESPN).
This is the second straight year Kentucky has opened SEC play vs. Florida, but this time feels a little different. This is the first time in the history of the AP Poll that Kentucky starts conference play with a top-10 matchup. No. 6 Florida is 13-0, one of three undefeated teams remaining in the country (the other two are Oklahoma and Tennessee). The Gators rank in the top ten nationally in several statistical categories and boast one of the best backcourts in the country with seniors Walter Clayton Jr, Alijah Martin, and Will Richard. They also know what it’s like to win in Rupp Arena, beating the Cats 94-91 in overtime in last year’s game at Rupp.
How will the Cats fare in their first SEC test? Refresh the feed below for updates and our takes on the game, from both Rupp Arena and the couch. You can also join the conversation on the KSBoard Game Thread or by texting your observations to 859-587-3828 (standard messaging rates apply).
Rare air for Mark Pope
01/04/2025 12:32:22 PMKentucky is now 3-0 vs. ranked opponents, which keeps Mark Pope on pace with Adolph Rupp, who won his first seven against AP Top 25 teams from 1948-51. Gonna be hard for Pope to top that, especially in this league this season, but it’s just more proof of what a great start he’s off to.
FINAL: No. 10 Kentucky 106, No. 6 Florida 100
01/04/2025 12:21:46 PMWhat a way to start SEC play! Kentucky just beat the Florida Gators 106-100 to move to 12-2, 1-0 in conference play. Six Kentucky players finished in double figures, led by Koby Brea with 23, including a career-high seven threes. Kentucky is now 3-0 in its first three games against ranked opponents, which ties Mark Pope with Adolph Rupp. Rupp won his first seven games against AP Top 25 foes from 1948-51.
Just an absolutely massive win for Kentucky, one that could prove pivotal come March both on the resume and in the SEC standings.
Score Update: 12.6 2H – Kentucky 104, Florida 98
01/04/2025 12:18:50 PMJaxson Robinson is headed to the free-throw line with 12.6 seconds remaining. Kentucky leads 104-98.
Andrew Carr hits two huge FTs
01/04/2025 12:15:31 PMAndrew Carr had missed all three of his free throws before heading to the free throw line with 32 seconds left. Thankfully, he hit both of them to put Kentucky up 102-95.
Score Update: 35.7 2H – Kentucky 100, Florida 95
01/04/2025 12:12:42 PMKentucky crossed the century mark with a free throw by Lamont Butler. Unfortunately, Florida followed it up with a bucket by Will Richard that cut the Cats’ lead to five with 35.7 to go.
Andrew Carr THREE!
01/04/2025 12:09:37 PMMark Pope has been challenging Andrew Carr to shoot more threes and he just did, sinking a massive bucket as the shot clock wound down to put Kentucky up 99-91 with 1:25 to play!
Score Update: 1:57 2H – Kentucky 96, Florida 91
01/04/2025 12:07:33 PMThis one may come down to the final play. Kentucky leads by five, 96-91, after another free throw by Alex Condon. Florida’s been to the line a lot today, shooting 22-33 free throws to Kentucky’s 11-16.
Brandon Garrison fouls out
01/04/2025 12:05:12 PMFlorida’s Alex Condon cut Kentucky’s lead to four, 94-90, at the free-throw line after a foul on Brandon Garrison. It was Garrison’s fifth, so he’s on the bench for the remainder of the game. 2:36 to go.
Big three by Lamont Butler
01/04/2025 12:03:07 PMKentucky needed a big bucket on the possession coming out of the final media timeout and Lamont Butler provided it, hitting a three to push the lead back to five. After a foul on Walter Clayton Jr., Butler hit two free throws to make the lead seven, 94-87 with 3:25 remaining.
Score Update: 4:16 2H – Kentucky 89, Florida 87
01/04/2025 11:58:14 AMWalter Clayton Jr. is keeping Florida in this game. The senior guard hit a three to make it a four-point game. He just hit two more free throws to make it a two-point game, 89-87, with 4:16 remaining. Clayton has 29 points so far.
Make it SEVEN threes for Koby Brea!
01/04/2025 11:53:31 AMOn Thursday, Todd Golden joked that if Florida let Koby Brea take eight threes, it probably wasn’t a recipe for success. Well, Brea has shot eight and made seven so far, a career-high. The latest put Kentucky up 9, 89-90 with 5:33 to go.
Score Update: 7:49 2H – Kentucky 83, Florida 74
01/04/2025 11:45:23 AMThank goodness for Koby Brea. Florida had cut Kentucky’s lead to six, but Brea just nailed his fifth three of the day to push it back to nine, 83-74, with 7:49 to go. The Gators are headed back to the free-throw line after this timeout though after a foul on Brandon Garrison.
If this dunk by Otega Oweh had gone in…
01/04/2025 11:38:00 AMOtega Oweh almost had the dunk of the season. Unfortunately, he was fouled by Chinyelu, so it did not, but my goodness. Oweh hit both free throws to put Kentucky up 74-69 with 11:12 to go.
Jaxson Robinson joins the 1,000-point club
01/04/2025 11:34:45 AMJaxson Robinson needed ten points today to reach 1,000 in his college career. He reached that mark with a three-pointer at the 17:58 mark of the second half. Seven players on Kentucky’s roster now have 1,000 points in their careers: Robinson, Koby Brea, Kerr Kriisa, Ansley Almonor, Lamont Butler, Andrew Carr, and Amari Williams. Congrats, Jax!
Score Update: 12:05 2H – Kentucky 70, Florida 69
01/04/2025 11:31:11 AMWe knew rebounding would play a huge part in today’s game. The Gators are outrebounding the Cats 30-20 so far, 9-2 in the second half. Twelve of Florida’s rebounds are on the offensive glass, leading to 24 second-chance points. Ouch. Two of those came on a bucket by Alijah Martin to cut Kentucky’s lead to 1, 67-66, with 12:48 to go. After a three-point play by Amari Williams, Martin hit a three to keep the Gators within one, 70-69, with 12:05 to go. Martin has 21 points, 15 in the second half.
Travis Perry three!
01/04/2025 11:23:27 AMAfter playing a season-high 13 minutes vs. Brown, Travis Perry said he was determined to make every minute he played during the SEC schedule count. He is so far, hitting a three to put Kentucky up 8, 63-55, with 15:35 to go.
Today’s Y: Anthony Epps
01/04/2025 11:21:18 AMAnthony Epps knows a thing or two about Florida. During his career at Kentucky, he beat the Gators ten times. That’s why it’s very appropriate that he is today’s Y.
Score Update: 15:48 2H – Kentucky 60, Florida 55
01/04/2025 11:18:32 AMFlorida’s battling back. The lead is down to five and could be narrowed to three soon. A foul on Travis Perry will send the Gators to the free-throw line after the timeout. So far this half, Florida is outscoring Kentucky 13-8 and outrebounding the Cats 6-1.
Florida hits back-to-back threes to start the half
01/04/2025 11:12:27 AMYou knew Florida wasn’t going to go away quietly. The Gators started the second half with back-to-back threes by Alijah Martin and Walter Clayton Jr. Lamont Butler pushed the lead back up to six with a layup.
We got the Jay Bilas ice cream bit over with
01/04/2025 11:10:49 AMIf Jay Bilas is calling a game at Rupp Arena, you know he’s going to talk about the ice cream. Thankfully, we got that bit over with right before the second half, as Bilas and Shulman discussed some key stats from the first half. A big one: points off turnovers. Kentucky had 15, Florida 0.
Halftime praise for the Cats
01/04/2025 10:57:35 AMThis is the first game on a huge day of college hoops. As such, a lot of pundits are tuning in. Like us, they’re impressed with Kentucky’s response in the first half.
HALF: Kentucky 52, Florida 42
01/04/2025 10:53:57 AMPhew. After 20 minutes of play, No. 10 Kentucky leads No. 6 Florida by 10, 52-42. The Gators started the game strong, leading by 11 at the 11:13 mark, but the Cats, responded, outscoring Florida 37-16 the rest of the half. Koby Brea and Otega Oweh played a large part in that, combining for 24 points.
Love the energy on offense and defense right now, but there’s still an entire half to go. Florida will respond. Gotta keep swinging.
How about this steal by Lamont Butler?
01/04/2025 10:51:27 AMJaxson Robinson may have started Kentucky’s 10-0 run, but Lamont Butler’s steal and score were also huge, leading to some “MVP” and “Go Big Blue” chants in Rupp.
Score Update: 1:35 1H – Kentucky 48, Florida 40
01/04/2025 10:49:46 AMJaxson Robinson has been in a bit of a shooting slump from the outside lately, but he just sparked an 8-0 Kentucky run to give the Cats a 48-40 lead with 1:35 to go. Florida tied the game at 40 when Robinson hit a massive three to put the Cats back on top.
Amari Williams picks up his 3rd foul
01/04/2025 10:46:00 AMAmari Williams is headed to the bench after picking up his third foul with 2:54 remaining. Thankfully, Florida missed the free throw. Andrew Carr is about to go to the free throw line on the other end after a foul by Thomas Haugh, his second.
Kentucky 40, Florida 38 2:24 1H
Rupp Arena looks like a fun time
01/04/2025 10:44:42 AMEleven a.m. tip? No problem. The atmosphere at Rupp looks awesome on TV and I’m sure is even better in person.
Score Update: 3:46 1H – Kentucky 38, Florida 34
01/04/2025 10:41:06 AMWalter Clayton Jr. cut Kentucky’s lead to two, but Koby Brea pushed it back up to four with a jumper. He’s up to a team-high 14 points already on 5-7 from the floor, 4-5 from three. He and Oweh have been huge so far.
Thanks to Brea and Oweh, Kentucky is starting to find its rhythm on the offensive end. There has been some beautiful passing on the last few possessions.
Score Update: 4:53 1H – Kentucky 36, Florida 31
01/04/2025 10:39:06 AMKoby Brea is up to four threes, his latest putting Kentucky up by five, 36-31.
This is the energy we’ve been waiting to see
01/04/2025 10:36:55 AMThe highlights of Kentucky’s big run to take the lead are great, but so was the celebration going into the Under-8 timeout. That’s the energy we’ve been waiting for.
Score Update: 7:15 1H – Kentucky 31, Florida 26
01/04/2025 10:31:19 AMKENTUCKY LEADS! Otega Oweh spearheaded Kentucky’s 16-0 run, scoring 10 of the 16 himself, Koby Brea responsible for the other six. For the first time all day, it feels like the Cats have the momentum. Florida has missed its last six shots and hasn’t scored in almost four minutes.
Keep it up, Cats!
Koby Brea ties it up!
01/04/2025 10:29:22 AMAnd just like that, it’s a tied game. Kentucky is on an 11-0 run thanks to five points by Otega Oweh and a three by Koby Brea.
Score Update: 10:29 1H – Florida 26, Kentucky 18
01/04/2025 10:21:36 AMThe good news? Koby Brea just hit another three. The bad news? Kentucky still trails by eight. Back-to-back buckets by Amari Williams narrowed Florida’s lead to five but Walter Clayton Jr. and Thomas Haugh hit back-to-back threes to push it to double digits. Thankfully, Brea’s heating up.
Florida’s still dominating Kentucky on the boards 13-4 while shooting 58.8% from the floor. Cats have to get some stops.
Save us, Koby Brea!
01/04/2025 10:17:22 AMFlorida’s in control of the game, winning the battle of the boards 12-2 and slicing Kentucky up with ball screens (sound familiar?). At least Koby Brea hit a three. We’ll need more of those to keep up. With 12:50 to go, it’s Florida 20, Kentucky 11.
The KSR Text Machine is starting to light up. You can share your observations by texting 859-587-3828 (standard messaging rates apply).
Score Update: 15:45 1H – Florida 10, Kentucky 5
01/04/2025 10:10:01 AMNot the greatest start for the Cats so far, but the tide may be turning. Florida jumped out to an 8-3 lead but Kentucky just showed some life ahead of the first media timeout, with Jaxson Robinson hitting a jumper and Otega Oweh getting a steal. The Cats will have the ball coming out of the timeout.
Kentucky has been cold so far, hitting just 2-8 from the field. It was an especially bad start for Amari Williams, who is now on the bench after missing three defensive rebounding opportunities and turning the ball over. Florida is outrebounding Kentucky 8-2 so far.
Florida strikes first
01/04/2025 10:06:02 AMThe Gators got out to a 5-0 lead but Amari Williams just cut that to 5-3 with an and-one.
Ron DeSantis is at the game
01/04/2025 09:59:49 AMThings I did not expect to type today: Ron DeSantis is at Rupp Arena. Florida’s governor is sitting with Joe and Kelly Craft courtside. I wonder if they have a friendly wager on the outcome.
Your starters to open the SEC schedule
01/04/2025 09:57:31 AMIt’s the usual five for Kentucky in the SEC opener vs. Florida. Lamont Butler, Otega Oweh, Jaxson Robinson, Andrew Carr and Amari Williams will get us rolling against the Gators.
Here come your Cats!
01/04/2025 09:55:02 AMWe’re just minutes away from tip-off and the Cats are ready to roll. They were hitting all of their shots during pregame warmups — and they’re gonna need all of them to pull off the win to open SEC play.
Anthony Thompson is in the house
01/04/2025 09:51:35 AMTop-15 recruit Anthony Thompson, one of Kentucky’s top targets in 2026, is in the house for Cats vs. Gators. 6-7 wing out of Western Reserve (Lebanon, OH). He’s taken multiple trips to Lexington this season — certainly a name to watch for the ’26 class.
He’s in the usual VIP visitor spot on the baseline.
Watching Olivier Rioux never gets old
01/04/2025 09:39:27 AMFlorida’s 7’9″ center Olivier Rioux is redshirting this season, but even watching him in warmups is entertaining.
Mark Pope on embracing SEC play
01/04/2025 09:37:15 AMIn his pregame conversation with Tom Leach, Mark Pope touched on a topic he’s discussed a lot this week: embracing the challenge of playing in a historically strong SEC. Pope said there’s no other conference Kentucky would rather play in because playing the best of the best will only help them down the line.
It might be cold, but the fans don’t care
01/04/2025 08:59:58 AMThe crowd at Rupp today is shaping up to be an awesome one. The 11:00 AM start time doesn’t seem to be turning away any fans as we’re now just an hour away from tipoff. With the students still out of town for the holiday break, their usual sections are already being filled up. The 20-degree weather is helping keep everyone awake on their way into the building. Vibes are very high, BBN.
Lamont Butler is the first player out for warm-ups
01/04/2025 08:59:36 AMLamont Butler vs. Walter Clayton Jr. is the biggest matchup of the game. Butler was the first player out for warm-ups, with Kerr Kriisa joining him on crutches. Maybe to try to distract him while he practices free throws?
Earliest start for a Kentucky home game ever?
01/04/2025 08:26:43 AMThe 11 a.m. start is odd. Jon Scott of BigBlueHistory.net, the preeminent Kentucky Basketball historian, has been reviewing the archives and believes it’s the earliest tip time for a Kentucky home game in Lexington.
Two videos to get you ready
01/04/2025 08:15:14 AMNeed something stronger than coffee to get you moving this morning? Kentucky’s video staff dropped their hype video this morning. Start with that and then move on to Daniel Hager’s supercut of Kentucky vs. Florida highlights, featuring one play from every win over the Gators going back to 1995.
Kentucky is up to a 4-point favorite
01/04/2025 08:02:52 AMLooking for a reason for optimism? Kentucky opened as a 1.5-point favorite late Thursday night. The Cats are up to 3.5-point (FanDuel) or 4-point (DraftKings) favorite with a few hours to go until tip. On FanDuel, the total is 166.5 points, with Kentucky’s team total set at 85.5 points.
Fans started lining up at 6:30 a.m.
01/04/2025 08:09:44 AMIt’s imperative that Kentucky gets off to a good start today. A rowdy Rupp Arena would help. The 11 a.m. tipoff could make that challenging, but fans started lining up to get into the eRupption Zone at 6:30 a.m. ET, a good sign.
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