Florida 10-3/0-0 SEC vs. #6 Kentucky 10-2/0-0 SEC Exactech Arena at the Stephen C. O’Connell Center (10,151) | Billy Donovan Court Gainesville, Fla. | Game 14 | Jan. 6, 2024 | 12:30 p.m. BROADCAST INFO ESPN | ESPN App Play-by-Play: Dan Shulman Analyst: Jay Bilas Gator Sports Network from LEARFIELD Play-by-Play: Sean Kelley Analyst: Lee Humphrey Producer/Engineer: Steve Egan
FLORIDA POSSIBLE STARTERS # Name Pos. Ht. Wt. Cl. Min. Pts. Reb. Misc. 4 Tyrese Samuel F 6-10 239 Gr. 27.5 14.3 8.8 .646 fg% 3 Micah Handlogten C 7-1 235 So. 17.8 6.8 7.1 .654 fg% 0 Zyon Pullin G 6-4 206 Gr. 29.1 14.1 3.5 5.0 ast 1 Walter Clayton Jr. G 6-2 195 Jr. 29.3 15.2 3.8 3.3 ast 5 Will Richard G 6-4 206 Jr. 29.8 11.8 3.8 2.0 3fg KENTUCKY POSSIBLE STARTERS # Name Pos. Ht. Wt. Cl. Min. Pts. Reb. Misc. 2 Aaron Bradshaw F 7-1 226 Fr. 19.5 7.2 4.2 .560 fg% 4 Tre Mitchell F 6-9 231 Gr. 33.6 12.8 7.1 3.5 ast 1 Justin Edwards G 6-8 203 Fr. 24.5 9.8 4.6 1.0 stl 12 Antonio Reeves G 6-6 195 5th 30.5 19.0 4.3 2.8 3fg 21 D.J. Wagner G 6-4 192 Fr. 26.8 11.9 2.1 3.5 as
HEAD COACHES Todd Golden 26-20 | 2nd season at UF 83-56 | 5th season overall John Calipari 399-115 | 15th season at Kentucky 802-253 | 33rd season overall MATCHUP BASICS All-Time Series: 41-109 Series under Golden: 0-2 All-Time at Home: 26-40 Home under Golden: 0-1 Last Meeting: L, 74-82, 2/22/22 (Home)
NUMBERS OF NOTE 5Will Richard has hit five 3-pointers in back-to-back games, the first Gator since Noah Locke in Feb. 2020 with five 3s in consecutive games. 3Tyrese Samuel has posted three straight double-doubles, the first Gator since Kerry Blackshear Jr. in Nov. 2019 to do so. 45This marks the first time in 45 years that the Gators host Kentucky to open SEC play. Florida earned a 76-65 win vs. a ninth-ranked UK team on Jan. 3, 1979, one of just three SEC wins for UF that season. The last conference opener between the schools came on Jan. 2, 1998, in Lexington, a 93-58 loss in Billy Donovan’s third season.
THE TIP-OFF• Florida enters Southeastern Conference play carrying a six-game winning streak, its longest in two years, and looking to build on a 6-0 home record compiled during nonconference action. The Gators seek a seven-game win streak for the first time since compiling a nine-game win streak Jan. 25-Feb. 21, 2017. • The meeting between Florida and Kentucky as a conference opener occurs for the first time in 25 years and the first time in Gainesville in 45 years. • On the perimeter, Will Richard has knocked down 10 3-pointers over the last two games, posting identical 5-for-9 lines from long range. Zyon Pullin has scored in double figures in all 10 appearances this season and leads the SEC with 5.0 assists per game. • Down low, Tyrese Samuel has put together a run of three straight double-doubles and leads the SEC with a .646 field goal percentage. Samuel also eclipsed the 1,000-point career scoring mark during UF’s last game. 2023-24 HIGHLIGHTS• Zyon Pullin scored 22 and Tyrese Samuel posted 21 points and 11 rebounds in the Gators’ double overtime victory vs. Michigan in Charlotte. Pullin’s 3-pointer with 8.9 seconds remaining in the first overtime forced the second extra session, where an 11-0 UF run put the game away. • In his homecoming game at Lakeland vs. East Carolina, Walter Clayton Jr. exploded for 20 first-half points on the way to a team-leading 22. Clayton scored 10 of the Gators’ first 12 points out of the gate playing just down the road from his hometown of Lake Wales. • Will Richard earned Orange Bowl Classic MVP honors as he scored 19 of his 21 points in the second half to lead the Gators vs. Richmond. Richard posted a solo 9-0 run as he hit three 3-pointers in a 90-second span that helped create separation vs. the Spiders. • Walter Clayton Jr. scored 21 of his 26 points vs. Merrimack in the second half. Freshman Alex Condon added his first career double-double with 12 points and 16 rebounds. Condon’s 16 boards were the most by a Florida freshman since Al Horford’s 18 vs. Alabama during the 2004-05 season. • Florida came up just short against 13th-ranked Baylor in the NIT Season Tip-Off championship game as Riley Kugel exploded for 25 points and nine rebounds, both career highs. Tyrese Samuel and Zyon Pullin earned All-Tournament Team honors, and Samuel added SEC Player of the Week recognition. • The Gators topped Pitt in the first game of the NIT Season Tip-Off behind 28 points from Walter Clayton Jr. on 6-for-8 shooting from 3-point range, a 20-point, 10-rebound performance from Tyrese Samuel and a 24-to-8 assist-to-turnover showing as a team. • Florida blitzed Florida State, leading 27-5 before taking a 52-22 advantage into halftime. The Gators shot .643 and held the Seminoles to .258 from the field during the first half. Walter Clayton Jr. led UF with 19 points, while Zyon Pullin and Tyrese Samuel added 15 each and Thomas Haugh grabbed 10 rebounds. • Micah Handlogten (14 points, 14 rebounds) and Tyrese Samuel (10 points, 11 rebounds) both posted their first double-double as Gators in a hard-fought loss vs. Virginia in Charlotte.
OUT THE OPPONENT• Antonio Reeves leads five players with double-digit scoring averages at 19.0 points per game with a team-high 34 3-pointers at a .459 rate. • Rob Dillingham adds 14.3 per game off the bench, shooting the 3 at a .447 clip and dishing a team-best 54 assists, while Tre Mitchell’s 12.8 points come alongside a team-leading 7.1 rebounds and 16 blocked shots. • Reed Sheppard adds 12.4 points off the bench, hitting from 3-point range at a .560 percentage (28/50) with 33 steals. • D.J. Wagner checks in at 11.9 points per game, while Justin Edwards sits a shade below double digits at 9.8 per game. • The Wildcats own a pair of notable wins from the nonconference season, including a neutral site victory vs. North Carolina and a home rout of Miami. OPPONENT’S LAST 5 GAMESDec. 2 UNC Wilmington L 73-80 Dec. 9 vs. Penn W 81-66 Dec. 16 vs. North Carolina W 87-83 Dec. 21 at Louisville W 95-76 Dec. 29 Illinois State W 96-70 OPPONENT’S NEXT 5 GAMES Jan. 9 Missouri Jan. 13 at Texas A&M Jan. 17 Mississippi State Jan. 20 Georgia Jan. 23 at South Carolina LAST 20 VS. KENTUCKY (5-15) March 16, 2014 SEC W 61-60 Feb. 7, 2015 H L 61-68 March 7, 2015 A L 50-67 March 13, 2015 SEC L 49-64 Feb. 6, 2016 A L 61-80 March 1, 2016 H L 79-88 Feb. 4, 2017 H W 88-66 Feb. 25, 2017 A L 66-76 Jan. 20, 2018 A W 66-64 March 3, 2018 H W 80-67 Feb. 2, 2019 H L 54-65 March 9, 2019 A L 57-66 Feb. 22, 2020 A L 59-65 March 7, 2020 H L 70-71 Jan. 9, 2021 H L 58-76 Feb. 27, 2021 A W 71-67 Feb. 12, 2022 A L 57-78 March 5, 2022 H L 63-71 Feb. 4, 2023 A L 67-72 Feb. 22, 2023 H L 74-82 UF’S WINS VS. TOP-6 UK TEAMS (9-38) UF unranked in all nine wins Dec. 17, 1966 at #4 Kentucky W 78-75 Jan. 13, 1968 #4 Kentucky W 96-78 Feb. 15, 1969 #4 Kentucky W 82-81 Feb. 24, 1975 #4 Kentucky W 66-58 Jan. 17, 1984 #3 Kentucky W 69-57 Jan. 20, 1988 at #4 Kentucky W 58-56 Feb. 4, 1999 #5 Kentucky W 75-68 March 6, 2005 #3 Kentucky W 53-52 March 13, 2005 vs. #4 Kentucky (SEC Tourn.) W 70-53
NOVEMBER 6 Loyola Maryland SEC+ W 93-73 10 vs. RV Virginia (Charlotte) ACC Net. L 70-73 14 Florida A&M SEC+ W 89-68 17 Florida State SEC Net. W 89-68 22 vs. Pitt (Brooklyn) ESPN2 W 86-71 24 vs. #13 Baylor (Brooklyn) ESPN L 91-95 29 at Wake SForest ESPNU L 71-82 DECEMBER 5 Merrimack SEC+ W 77-57 9 vs. Richmond (Sunrise) SEC Net. W 87-76 14 vs. ECU (Lakeland) SEC Net. W 70-65 19 vs. Michigan (Charlotte) ESPN W/2OT 106-101 22 Grambling State SEC+ W 96-57 30 Quinnipiac ESPNU W 97-72 JANUARY 6 #6 Kentucky ESPN 12:30 p.m. 10 at #22 Ole Miss SEC Net. 9 p.m. 13 Arkansas ESPN 4 p.m. 16 at #5 Tennessee ESPN 7 p.m. 20 at Missouri ESPN2/U 6/8 p.m. 24 RV Mississippi State SEC Net. 8:30 p.m. 27 Georgia ESPN/2/U 12 p.m. 31 at #6 Kentucky ESPN/2 8 p.m. FEBRUARY 3 at RV Texas A&M ESPN2 4 p.m. 10 #25 Auburn SEC Net. 3:30 p.m. 13 LSU SEC Net. 8 p.m. 17 at Georgia SEC Net. 1 p.m. 21 at RV Alabama ESPN2/U 7 p.m. 24 Vanderbilt SEC Net. 1 p.m. 28 Missouri SEC Net. 6:30 p.m. MARCH 2 at RV South Carolina SEC Net. 1 p.m. 5 RV Alabama ESPN/2 9 p.m. 9 at Vanderbilt SSEC Net. 4:30 p.m. 13-17 SEC Tournament (Nashville)
These are the type of wins that allow you to go into March NOT saying “well if we win 3 of our last 4 and win a couple games in Nashville we’re in!” Need to win the Q1 games at home!
Hoping for a great game and looking forward to seeing how this team deals with a ruckus orange shirted crowd! I hope everyone has a fun and safe trip to the game and home. I am really excited about this UK team as we finally have multiple shooters on the team. This is unlike any Cal teams we have seen and that’s a good thing.
This is the one we all circle on our calendars. UK at home. Outrebound them, limit turnovers and fouls and we have a very good chance of beating them, especially this early in the season.
I always root for the Gators to win handily. However, when it comes to Kentucky, I really hope that the Gators win due to a terrible call by an official that goes against Kentucky so that their fans will go ballistic. The cherry on top (in my dream) would be that the official who makes the call turns out to be a Duke grad. I would just love for something like this to happen. I guess with replay now a thing, this dream will probably go to the grave with me.
Honestly that doesn’t sound that bad to this Cat fan. I know I’ve posted here for many years and many have heard it before. I like us to lose 3-5 games in the conference.
good my luck to you as well. Yes always brings out the best in both teams. A battle of the two conference elites (in the 21st century)
