Florida Ends 8-Year Home Drought Against Kentucky, Opens 2-Game SEC Lead

Xaivian Lee scored a career-high 22 points and Urban Klavzar added 19 off the bench as No. 14 Florida dismantled No. 25 Kentucky 92-83 on Saturday at a sold-out Exactech Arena, snapping a 6-game home losing streak to the Wildcats and taking a 2-game lead atop the SEC standings.

The Gators led wire to wire, jumped ahead 10-2, pushed their advantage to 15 in the first half, and never let Kentucky closer than two in the second half. Florida forced 14 turnovers and converted them into 25 points, a disparity that proved insurmountable for a Wildcats team that cut the deficit from 43-34 at halftime to 43-41 early in the second half but couldn’t sustain the push.

Lee and Klavzar Bury Kentucky from Deep

Florida’s backcourt duo combined for nine three-pointers on 18 attempts, spreading the floor and punishing Kentucky’s help defense whenever the Wildcats collapsed on the Gators’ front line. Lee connected on 4-of-7 from deep and finished 7-for-12 from the field. Klavzar, a junior reserve, scored 14 of his 19 points in the second half, nailing three critical threes when Kentucky threatened to make it a game.

The front court was equally dominant. Rueben Chinyelu posted his 15th double-double of the season with 10 points and 11 rebounds. Alex Condon added 14 and 11 for his sixth. Thomas Haugh chipped in 17 points and 8 boards. Florida outrebounded Kentucky 45-37, including a 25-17 edge in the second half, as the Gators wore down the undersized Wildcats.

Denzel Aberdeen led Kentucky with 19 points in his return to Gainesville, where he won a national championship last season before transferring to Lexington. The Rowdy Reptiles greeted him with boos and chants of “Gator traitor” and “Sellout” throughout the afternoon.

He responded by shooting 8-for-21 from the field and 1-for-6 from three. Otega Oweh, the SEC’s preseason Player of the Year, managed just 13 points on limited opportunities and crossed the 1,000-point threshold for his Kentucky career, becoming the 63rd player in program history to reach the mark.

The Wildcats got 18 points from Collin Chandler and a double-double from freshman Malachi Moreno with 11 points and 11 rebounds, but their turnovers and inability to stop Florida in transition buried them.

Florida’s One-Seed Case Gets Stronger

Florida is 19-6 overall and 10-2 in SEC play. The Gators have won 10 of their last 11, including 5 straight, and haven’t lost since a home stumble against Auburn three weeks ago. This was their first home victory over Kentucky since March 2018, back when Mike White was the coach and Chris Chiozza ran the point.

The win puts 2 games between the Gators and Kentucky in the loss column with four weeks remaining in the regular season. Arkansas sits 1 game back after beating Auburn on Saturday night. Florida still has road trips to Ole Miss and Texas, plus a home matchup against Arkansas, before closing with a return trip to Rupp Arena against Kentucky on March 7.

For now, Todd Golden’s team is playing its best basketball of the season. The Gators have hit at least 10 three-pointers in consecutive games for the first time this year. Their defense is suffocating. Their rebounding advantage, the best in the country, showed up again when it mattered.

Kentucky drops to 17-8 and 8-4, 2 games behind Florida. The Wildcats have lost 4 road games this season and will need help to catch the Gators in the standings.

Florida hosts South Carolina on Tuesday. The Gators beat the Gamecocks 95-48 in Columbia in late January, the most lopsided road conference victory in program history.

Another blowout would only strengthen their case for a protected seed come Selection Sunday.