The #25 Kentucky Wildcats (17-6, 8-2) travel to Gainesville to play the #7 Florida Gators (19-3, 9-1) on ESPN at 7pm.
The announcers for tonight’s game are Brad Nessler and Dick Vitale. The sideline reporter is Shannon Spake.
Florida is currently a 10 point favorite.
Here is background on tonight’s SEC matchup:
The Gators had ascended to the No. 2 team in the nation following a 10-game winning streak and a perfect start to conference play before dropping an 80-69 loss to Arkansas last Tuesday. Florida responded with an 83-53 win over Mississippi State on Saturday.
Kentucky owns a 93-33 record in the alltime series, including a 33-22 mark when the game is played in Gainesville.
The Wildcats have won five straight against the Gators including three wins over the Gators a season ago. Kentucky has won nine of the last 11 meetings after dropping seven straight in a streak that stretched from the 2005 to the 2008 seasons.
Florida comes into Tuesday’s game looking not only to defend its 11-0 home record but also to maintain its fi rstplace position in the Southeastern Conference standings.
The Gators are 3-1 against ranked opponents this season, including 3-0 at the O’Connell Center. Florida is 2-2 against currently-ranked teams (2-0 at home).
Over the years, the Wildcats have posted a 13-10 mark against schools entering the game ranked seventh in the Associated Press top 25.
Kentucky has posted a 4-2 record in game where it is ranked 25th in the AP poll.
Comparing the Teams
Stat UK UF
Points 76.0 74.2
Opp. points 62.5 52.7
Rebounds 39.2 36.1
Opp rebounds 33.7 28.2
Off. Rebounds 11.3 11.0
FG % .488 .493
Opp FG% .378 .370
3-Pt. % .362 .388
Opp. 3-Pt. % .305 .313
FT % .648 .697
Opp. FT % .693 .688
Fouls 16.6 14.2
Assists 14.7 15.9
Turnovers 13.2 11.6
Opp. Turnovers 12.7 14.7
Blocks 7.7 3.4
Steals 6.4 7.7
PROJECTED STARTERS*
Kentucky Wildcats
P # Name Pts. Rebs. Assts
F 3 Nerlens Noel 10.6 9.6 4.5^
• Has logged three-straight double-doubles
G 10 Archie Goodwin 14.2 4.8 3.1
• Has reached double-figure scoring in 17 games
G 12 Ryan Harrow 10.4 2.3 3.3
• UK is 7-0 when Harrow has 4+ assists
F 22 Alex Poythress 12.3 6.4 0.5
• Has notched 8+ rebounds seven times this season
G 34 Julius Mays 9.3 3.0 3.0
• Sunk 17 3-pointers in last five games
Florida Gators
P # Name Pts. Rebs. Assts
G 1 Kenny Boynton 13.1 3.3 3.4
• Team’s leading scorer
G 3 Mike Rosario 12.5 2.5 2.2
• Scored a team-high 18 points vs. MSU
F 4 Patric Young 10.8 6.6 1.7^
• Leads the team with 146 rebounds
G 20 Michael Frazier 6.0 3.6 1.0
• Made his first start of year vs. Mississippi State
F 33 Erik Murphy 12.9 4.8 1.5
• Had 17 points vs. Mississippi State
*-Based on previous game’s starters; ^-blocks; ~-steals
