Big Blue Preview: Kentucky vs. Florida (SEC Tournament)
Just six days after falling to Florida in the regular-season finale, Kentucky gets another shot at the Gators on Friday in the quarterfinals of the 2026 Southeastern Conference Men’s Basketball Tournament in Nashville.
Florida used an 11-0 run at the beginning of the March 7 contest to top the Cats, who rallied in the second half but could get no closer than five points. Otega Oweh led UK with 28 points in that game while former Gator Denzel Aberdeen added 15.
The Cats and the Gators also met on Valentine’s Day in Gainesville, with Florida claiming a 92-83 win over Kentucky. Aberdeen paced the Cats with 19 points in that game, while Collin Chandler had 18 and Oweh 13.
Kentucky head coach Mark Pope was asked about Florida following Thursday’s win over Missouri. Pope had high praise for the Gators.
“Yeah, we know Florida well. We haven’t had the success we wanted to so far,” Pope said. “They’re a team that you have to manage in transition first and foremost. You have to manage them on the glass. If you don’t do those two things, you don’t have a chance.”
However, it’s not just managing transition and rebounding against Florida.
“Then there’s a bunch of other things on the list,” Pope said. “There’s no secret about how the way they play. Just really good at it. Really in our league, nobody’s really found an answer to that yet. We’re hoping we’ll have some success tomorrow.”
Kentucky advanced to the quarterfinals by beating LSU 87-82 on Wednesday, then beating Missouri 78-72 on Thursday. Oweh has led the Cats in scoring in both games in the tournament, scoring 23 against LSU and 21 against Missouri.
UK has won two games in the SEC Tournament for the first time since the 2017-18 season. Winning a third game will mean getting over the hump against the league’s regular-season champion on Friday.
Know Your Opponent: Florida
Kentucky faces Florida in the quarterfinals of the SEC Tournament.
• Kentucky leads the all-time series, 111-44, and is 13-4 against the Gators in the SEC Tournament
• The last time the teams met in the SEC Tournament was in the quarterfinals in 2015. UK prevailed by a 64-49 score
• Florida has won both matchups thus far this season
• The Gators are on an 11-game winning streak. In nine of those wins, Florida has won by double-digits. The only two wins by single digits have come against the Cats
• Thomas Haugh leads the Gators with 17.2 points per game, while Rueben Chinyelu leads the boardwork with 11.7 per outing
• Florida owns a top-10 offense and defense per KenPom’s efficiency rankings
Last Time Out
Kentucky earned its second win of the SEC Tournament with a 78-72 win over Missouri.
• This marks the first time since 1979 that UK has won each of its first two SEC Tournament games by six points or fewer
• It is the first time since 2018 that UK has won two games in the event
• Kentucky limited Missouri to 10 assists. The Wildcats are 14-0 this season when the opponent has 12 or fewer
• Kentucky blocked nine shots, a season high in that category
• Kentucky is now 15-1 this season when leading at halftime
• Otega Oweh led the Wildcats with 21 points. He is the first Wildcat to score at least 21 points in the first two games of an SEC Tournament since Jamal Murray in 2016
• Denzel Aberdeen notched 16 points and led the Wildcats in assists with seven. With Kentucky trailing 70-69, he scored six of UK’s last nine points in the last 2:06 of action
• Collin Chandler had an efficient shooting game, making 5 of 6 field goals, 2 of 3 on 3-pointers, and 3 of 3 at the foul line for a total of 15 points. It is his 19th double-figure game of the season
Battle Tested
Kentucky has played nine games this season which have been decided by two possessions or fewer. Each of UK’s first two wins in the SEC Tournament were by two possessions, helping the Cats to improve to 6-3 in such games.
• Kentucky lost its first two such games this season, a three-point loss at home to North Carolina and a five-point loss to Missouri in early January – the last game that both Jaland Lowe and Jayden Quaintance appeared in
• Sparked by Malachi Moreno’s buzzer beater at LSU, Kentucky won each of its next four such games: at LSU (by one), at Tennessee (by two), home vs. Texas (by five) and home vs. Tennessee (by three)
• Kentucky then dropped a one-point game at Auburn in mid
February
• UK has now rebounded with the five-point win over LSU in the opening round of the SEC Tournament and a six-point win over Missouri in the second round
