Kentucky's first 11 a.m. game was no problem for the Big Blue Nation

Good morning, Big Blue Nation. It’s not nearly as good as yesterday morning when Kentucky and Florida tipped off the Southeastern Conference slate with a 106-100 finish in Rupp Arena. Still, good morning to you on this first Sunday of 2025.

Now, back to yesterday. It was actually a great morning in Lexington on Saturday, when many wondered how the Wildcats and the fan base would respond to the first 11 a.m. basketball game in school history. A game before noon? Will the crowd be awake? Will the teams be awake? Yes, yes, and yes.

Playing the first top-10 matchup in an SEC opener, Kentucky and Florida scored a combined 206 points in front of a raucous crowd in Lexington. Fans filled every seat and every bleacher, including high-profile guests like Anthony Epps, who was the celebrity Y; Florida governor Ron DeSantis, who sat courtside with the Crafts; and this guy with the wild sunglasses they kept showing in the crowd, who was electric:

A star is born pic.twitter.com/glgX4JJ31C

— Drew Franklin (@DrewFranklinKSR) January 4, 2025

Before the game, KSBar and Grille had a full restaurant by 9 a.m., two hours before tip-off, for the KSR Pregame Show. When Rupp Arena opened its doors, an early-arriving crowd made its presence known with that big-game energy throughout the building before tip-off. Once the game started, it was apparent that we were in for another one of those memorable run-ins with the Gators, whatever the outcome.

Then, when Kentucky’s 16-0 run flipped the scoreboard for the first and only time in the game, Rupp reached a level not many places in college basketball can get. The excitement continued until the final horn and beyond. Did you hear the crowd singing “Ref You Suck” in the second half? I’m not sure the BBN choir has been more harmonious.

Older fans likened the atmosphere to vintage SEC rivalry games of the 1990s. Tom Leach even asked Mark Pope if he felt like he was playing in one of the old Kentucky-Arkansas games from Pope’s playing days. Facing the home crowd (another massive turnout) for his postgame interview, Pope told the fans, “YOU GUYS reminded me of what this gym used to feel like in the 90s, man. BBN was incredible. You guys were magic.”

As a kid, I was too young, too broke, and too far away to attend the classics that Mark Pope remembers, but I haven’t missed more than a handful of Kentucky’s home games in the last 15 years, plus a good run in the eRupption Zone during the Tubby Smith era, and I think the Kentucky-Florida atmosphere belongs in the conversation with some of the best. Nick Calathes’ trip to the line in ’09 is still the loudest single moment of a Florida game, and the ’03 blowout of No. 1 Florida is hard to top for the best game against the Gators. Saturday’s 2025 SEC opener is on that list, too, which raises the question…

Do we like 11 a.m. games?

I’ll say it, yes. I enjoyed the 11 a.m. game, even if that 6:30 a.m. alarm was cruel on a Saturday. That’s why God made coffee. And if you can’t get up for a top-10 game against Florida to start SEC play, that’s on you.

Inside the arena, nobody could tell if it was 11 a.m. or 9 p.m., which is why Pope said “tonight” approximately 20 times when breaking down the game in his 1:30 p.m. press conference. He doesn’t sleep anyway, so he’s cool with it.

The Big Blue Nation answered the early bell, then had most of a Saturday left after the game. The early start allowed time for travelers to get home, celebrators to celebrate, or couch potatoes to watch the NFL slate and Arkansas score 52 points at Tennessee.

Also, Kentucky won the first SEC game of the season, so the Wildcats held sole possession of first place in the league for a couple of hours. Kentucky still controls its own destiny.

For those reasons and more, the first 11 a.m. game in school history was a hit, as I see it. It wouldn’t work against a mid-major in November or against several other SEC teams, but sixth-ranked Florida was the right opponent to wake everyone up. The unique situation let BBN show off and still be home in time for supper.

Coming up, there’s an opportunity for another daytime classic with a noon game against No. 5 Alabama in two weeks. Let’s do it all over again.