Koby Brea scored a career-high 23 points and nailed a career-best 7 three-pointers to lead No. 10 Kentucky to a 106-100 win over No. 6 Florida Saturday afternoon at Rupp Arena.
Kentucky (12-2, 1-0 SEC) is a perfect 3-0 against AP Top 10 teams this season.
Check out all the postgame notes from today’s victory:
KENTUCKY MEN’S BASKETBALL POSTGAME NOTES
RUPP ARENA AT CENTRAL BANK CENTER | LEXINGTON, KY
JAN. 4, 2025
ATTENDANCE: 21,093 (tied season high)
Final Score: No. 10/11 Kentucky 106, No. 6/5 Florida 100
Team Records and Series Notes
Kentucky is now 12-2 and Florida is 13-1. This was the Southeastern
Conference opener for both teams.
o Today’s game marked the first time in the history of The Associated Press
poll that UK began SEC play with a top-10 matchup and just the fourth
time starting league action with a game in which both teams are ranked in
the AP top 25.
o UK is 3-0 vs. top-10 opponents this season, also vs. Duke and Gonzaga.
The three wins against top 10 opponents are the most in college
basketball this season
Kentucky leads the series 111-42, including 56-12 in Lexington.
o UK is now 16-7 vs. Florida when both teams were ranked in the AP top 25
and 5-0 vs. the Gators when both were rated in the top 10.
o This was the second-most points UK has scored vs. Florida (110 in 1970)
o This is the first time since 1963-64 that the teams will meet only once
during the regular season.
Mark Pope is 199-110 as head coach, including 12-2 at Kentucky.
o UK coaches (also Rupp, Hall, Sutton, Pitino, Smith, Gillispie, Calipari) are
now 8-0 in their SEC debuts (six home, two away) and 8-0 in their SEC
home lidlifters.
Next for Kentucky: the Wildcats have their first SEC road game Tuesday at
Georgia. Game time is 7 p.m. ET and it will be televised on the SEC Network.
Team Notes
Florida’s 13-0 record was the third-best record for a team entering Rupp Arena in
the venue’s history. Only the 1998-99 Auburn Tigers (17-0) and the 2007-08
Vanderbilt Commodores (16-0) had better records, and UK won both of those
games as well.
This was the fifth time this season Kentucky scored at least 100 points.
o UK entered the game third in the nation in scoring at 89 points per game.
o First time scoring at least 100 points vs. Florida since a 100-76 win in the
1996 SEC Tournament.
o Second-most points ever vs. Florida, 110 against the Gators in 1970.
Kentucky had six players score in double figures, the third time this season at
least six Wildcats have done so.
o Four Cats scored at least 15, first time this season to do that.
Kentucky shot 57.8 percent from the field and the Wildcats are 7-0 this season
when making at least half their shots.
Kentucky made 14 3-point shots, second most this season and the ninth game
this season the Wildcats have made double-digit threes. UK is 9-0 in those
games.
Kentucky made 18 of 24 free throws (75 percent), the third straight game the
Wildcats have made at least 75 percent at the foul line.
Kentucky had 25 assists and only six turnovers, a 4.17 assist/TO ratio. UK
entered the game third in the nation in that category with a ratio of 1.99.
o UK had 25 assists on 37 made baskets, notching an assist on 67.6
percent of its baskets.
Kentucky had three runs of at least 10 points – 16-0 and 10-0 in the first half and
10-0 in the second half.
Player Notes
Koby Brea had a career-high 23 points, featuring a career-best seven 3-
pointers.
o He has made at least one 3-pointer in every game this season and this
was his 12 th game with multiples threes.
o He becomes the third Wildcat with at least seven 3s against a top 25
opponent dating back to 1996-97
Lamont Butler had 19 points and a career-high eight assists. He has at least
five assists in five of the last six games.
Otega Oweh had 16 points and has scored in double figures in every game this
season.
o He played a key role at two crucial junctures in the game.
o With Florida having its largest lead at 26-15, he scored 10 points in UK’s
16-0 run and the Wildcats never trailed again.
o When Florida pulled within 70-69, he scored six straight points.
Amari Williams had 15 points, tying his season high, with an efficient 6 of 7
shooting.
o He led UK with eight rebounds and had a season-best five assists.
Jaxson Robinson tallied 14 points, giving him 1,004 points in his collegiate
career.
o He is the seventh Wildcat on the current roster with 1,000 points in his
career and the third to reach the millennium mark this season (also Koby
Brea and Kerr Kriisa).
Andrew Carr had 14 points, his sixth straight double-figure game and 11 th of the
season. He also had five assists with no turnovers.
Despite not scoring, Ansley Almonor had a game-best +20 in the plus/minus
statistic. He had three rebounds, one assist and one steal.
In the First Half
Kentucky’s starters were Lamont Butler, Jaxson Robinson, Otega Oweh,
Andrew Carr and Amari Williams. UK has a 10-2 record with this lineup.
Brandon Garrison was the first substitution at 16:58.
Florida scored on its first two possessions for a 5-0 lead.
Florida had its largest lead of the half (26-15) when the Wildcats countered with a
16-0 run. Oweh had 10 points during the spurt and Brea added the other six.
o Kentucky never trailed again.
Florida rallied to tie at 40 but UK replied with a 10-0 run.
A steal and driving layup by Butler gave UK a 52-42 lead at halftime as the
Wildcats made 13 of their last 16 shots of the opening period.
In the Second Half
Kentucky began the second half with the starters.
Florida came out hot, scoring 27 points in the first eight minutes to pull within 70-
69 at the 12:05 mark.
Oweh quelled the advance with a short jumper, two free throws and a driving
jumper, sparking a 10-0 run to make it 80-69.
With UK ahead 89-80, Florida went on a 7-0 spurt to pull within 89-87, but Butler
rescued with a 3-pointer (3:49 left) and two free throws to make it 94-87.
Carr’s triple with 1:30 left made it 99-91 and the Wildcats held on for the win.
