First Scouting Report: Kentucky gets its first shot at new Florida coach Todd Golden

A look ahead to the Kentucky Wildcats’ next men’s basketball game:

The opponent

Kentucky (15-7, 6-3 SEC) will face Florida (12-9, 5-3 SEC) on Saturday, Feb. 4, at Rupp Arena (capacity 20,545) at Central Bank Center in downtown Lexington:

The game will tip off at 8:30 p.m. (EST) and be telecast by ESPN.

Before coming to Lexington, Coach Todd Golden and the Gators will play host to No. 2 Tennessee at 7 p.m. Wednesday in a game that will be telecast by ESPN2.

Series history

Kentucky leads the all-time series with Florida 107-41 and has won 13 of the past 17 meetings.

As UK head man, John Calipari is 21-9 vs. Florida.

Florida Coach Todd Golden will face Kentucky for the first time.

Most recent meeting

Oscar Tshiebwe scored 27 points and grabbed 14 rebounds as Kentucky defeated Florida 71-63 on March 5, 2022, at the Exactech Arena in Gainesville.

Power rankings

The NCAA NET rankings have Kentucky No. 35, Florida No. 51.

In the Pomeroy ratings, Kentucky is No. 34, Florida No. 49.

The Sagarin ratings have Kentucky No. 29, Florida No. 44.

Know your foe

1. Todd Golden, 37, landed the Florida head coaching job off a three-year run as head man of the San Francisco Dons. Golden, a former assistant to Bruce Pearl at Auburn, went 57-36 in his three seasons leading the San Francisco program.

Last year, Golden coached the Dons (24-10) to a berth in the NCAA Tournament, the first appearance in the Big Dance for San Francisco since 1998.

As a player, Golden played for Saint Mary’s (2004-08), then played professionally in Israel until retiring to work in advertising. He launched his coaching career under Kyle Smith at Columbia of the Ivy League.

2. Florida has some good wins in SEC play. The Gators upset then-No. 20 Missouri 73-64 on Jan. 14 In Gainesville. Seven days later, Florida went on the road and beat Mississippi State 61-59 in Starkville. In non-league play, the Gators have wins over power-conference foes Florida State (ACC) and Oregon State (Pac-12).

Offensively, Florida has struggled, shooting only 43.5 percent, 32.3 on three-point tries. The Gators have been outrebounded on the season, with an average margin of minus-1.1 rebounds a game. Florida has excelled defensively, however, holding opponents to 39.7 percent shooting, 31.1 percent on treys.

3. Colin Castleton, the 6-foot-11, 250-pound super-senior, is again Florida’s top player. The Deland, Fla., product, who began his college career at Michigan, is averaging 14.9 points, 7.6 rebounds and 3.2 blocks.

Last season, Castleton played well against UK, averaging 20.5 points and nine rebounds in two games vs. the Cats. Castleton made 19 of 31 shots against Kentucky in 2021-22.

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