First Scouting Report: Kentucky will open SEC play with a tough task at Florida

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

The opponent

No. 8 Kentucky (10-2, 0-0 SEC) will face Florida (9-3, 0-0 SEC) on Saturday, Jan. 6, at Exactech Arena (seating capacity of 10,133) at Stephen C. O’Connell Center on the campus of the University of Florida in Gainesville.

The game will tip off at 12:30 p.m. and be telecast by ESPN.

According to Florida, the game is already a sellout.

Before facing UK, the Gators will play Quinnipiac on Saturday (Dec. 30), in a game that will tip off at 1 p.m. and be telecast by ESPNU.

Series history

Kentucky leads the all-time series with Florida 109-41.

As UK head man, John Calipari is 23-9 vs. the Gators.

Florida coach Todd Golden is 0-2 against the Wildcats.

Most recent meeting

Oscar Tshiebwe hit 12 of 13 shots and scored 25 points and Jacob Toppin produced a double-double with 19 points and 11 rebounds as Kentucky won at Florida 82-74 on Feb. 22, 2023.

Power rankings

In the Pomeroy Ratings, Kentucky is No. 19 and Florida No. 33.

The NCAA NET rankings have Kentucky No. 26, Florida No. 46.

Know your foe

1. Florida’s three leading scorers in 2023-24 all were playing for other teams last season.

Walter Clayton Jr., who played his first two seasons for Rick Pitino at Iona, leads the Gators at 15.4 points a game. The 6-foot-3, 195-pound junior is a Lake Wales, Florida, product who used the transfer portal to return to his home state.

The Gators’ second-leading scorer, Tyrese Samuel, is averaging 14.6 points and a team-high 8.8 rebounds. The 6-10, 239-pound big man is a super-senior and a graduate transfer from Seton Hall.

Zyon Pullin is another super-senior and a graduate transfer from UC Riverside. The 6-4, 206-pound guard is averaging 13.9 points and 3.7 rebounds.

Holdovers Riley Kugel (11.6 points) and Will Richard (10.9) give Florida five double-figure scorers.

2. By one measure, Florida will be more “tested” when SEC play begins than Kentucky.

UK has played only four power-conference foes (the football Power Five plus the Big East) in its nonconference slate to date, going 3-1. The Gators, however, have played six such games.

Florida has gone 3-3 against major-conference competition. The Gators have a home win over Florida State (89-68) and neutral-court victories over Pittsburgh (86-71) and Michigan (106-101 in double overtime).

The losses came when UF fell to Virginia (73-70) and Baylor (95-91) on neutral courts and lost on the road at Wake Forest (82-71).

3. In the John Calipari coaching era, Kentucky is 11-3 in its SEC openers. When opening league play on the road, UK is only 3-3 under Calipari.

So far this season, Florida is 5-0 in home games.

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