Good morning, folks! And a Happy Valentine’s Day to everyone in the BBN. It’s Gameday once again for Mark Pope‘s Kentucky Wildcats. And we’ve got a big one in store for today.
No. 25 Kentucky (17-7; 8-3 SEC) is in Gainesville for an afternoon showdown with the No. 14 Florida Gators (18-6; 9-2 SEC). These are arguably the two hottest teams in the SEC going head-to-head at the perfect time. Florida is 9-2 in the SEC after winning nine of its last 10 games, while Kentucky is 8-3 in the SEC after winning eight of its last nine outings. A win for the Wildcats today would put them atop the SEC standings with only six games left in the regular season.
A monster frontcourt fuels Florida and its top-five rebounding numbers. Thomas Haugh is an SEC Player of the Year candidate. Rueben Chinyelu is rebounding everything while also serving as one of the better defenders in the country. Point guard Boogie Fland, once committed to UK under the former coaching staff, is looking more and more like the five-star guard he was out of high school. This is a Florida team that ranks top 15 nationally in both offense and defense, per KenPom. There’s a very good reason why the Gators are still considered a 12.5-point favorite as of this morning by our friends over at BetMGM.
But Kentucky has its own SEC Player of the Year candidate in the blue and white. It’s no fluke that the Wildcats have been playing so well the last few weeks, either. This game will serve as a sort of litmus test — win it, and UK’s postseason ceiling suddenly looks higher than it has at any point this season since the exhibition win over Purdue.
History will be on Kentucky’s side, too. The ‘Cats have won six of the last seven outings against Florida, including last season’s 106-100 thriller in Rupp Arena. Gators head coach Todd Golden is just 1-4 against UK. In fact, Kentucky hasn’t lost in Gainesville since 2018. This is a series owned by the ‘Cats, one that dates all the way back to 1927.
We should be in for an entertaining matchup at the O’Connell Center. While you wait for the 3:00 p.m. tipoff (ABC), dive in below for some pregame reading/listening.
- KSR Staff Predictions: No. 25 Kentucky at No. 14 Florida
- Kentucky Basketball Valentine’s Day Cards
- Kentucky can take over No. 1 spot in SEC with a win at Florida, but Mark Pope is focused on the end goal
- Kentucky prepares for ‘dominant force’ in Gainesville: ‘Florida presents a lot of issues.’
- Mark Pope doesn’t expect emotions to impact Denzel Aberdeen in Florida reunion and homecoming
- Kentucky faces an Oscar-like problem at Florida
- Mark Pope plans to continue incorporating zone defense looks as season goes along
- Florida’s massive frontcourt will be another first-time test for Malachi Moreno
- Jayden Quaintance’s return is ‘not imminent’ as Kentucky manages ‘a little bit of swelling’
- Matt Walsh, notorious Florida villain, will be at today’s game
No. 25 Kentucky vs. No. 14 Florida: How to Watch, Listen
- Tipoff: Saturday, 3:00 p.m. ET
- TV: ABC (Karl Ravech, Jimmy Dykes)
- Local Radio: UK Sports Network (Tom Leach, Goose Givens)
- AM: 840 WHAS, 630 WLAP
- FM: 98.1 WBUL
- Online: iHeart Radio
- Sirius XM: 385
You can also follow along on the KSR LIVE BLOG, which will start a few hours before tipoff, and join the conversation on KSBoard.
Bat Cats take season-opener with ease
Kentucky baseball is 1-0 after a 13-2 road win over UNC Greensboro last night. Pitcher Jaxon Jelkin was on fire, logging seven straight strikeouts before finishing with 10 through four innings. The Bat Cats went on to set a new single-game nine-inning record with 20 combined strikeouts (with no walks!). Relievers Connor Mattison (seven strikeouts) and Tristan Hunter (three) finished the final five innings.
Offensively, Kentucky recorded 14 hits, including a trio of triples, which tied a school record for the most in one game. Jayce Tharnish stole three bases while Luke Lawrence drilled a grand slam as part of UK’s eight-run third inning that quickly blew the game open. Kentucky is now 7-3 in season-openers under head coach Nick Mingione.
The Bat Cats will look to sweep the series later today. Kentucky and UNC Greensboro will play a doubleheader starting at 1:00 p.m. ET. Unfortunately, none of these games are being televised, so you’ll need to find a radio or follow along on KSBoard.
Will Stein lands a 2027 commit
And he’s a local kid, too! Jeffersontown’s Larron Westmoreland announced on Friday that he will be a Wildcat. The 6-foot-5 defensive back is a three-star 2027 prospect and the No. 13 player in the state of Kentucky, according to the Rivals Industry Ranking. Steve Wiltfong recently wrote, “He will be one of the highest-rated players in the state when it’s all said and done.”
Louisville, Indiana, South Carolina, Washington, and Virginia Tech were among the other schools recruiting Westmoreland. He combined to score 15 touchdowns and had 769 yards from scrimmage last season. Westmoreland joins a 2027 recruiting class for UK that includes Pulaski County IOL Brady Hull and QB DJ Hunter. He’s also a basketball player, suiting up for No. 5 Jeffersontown in a 55-42 loss to No. 4 St. Xavier last night.
Will Stein also added a new staff member
As reported by KSR’s Nick Roush, Jerret McElwain will serve as the Kentucky Director of Player Personnel. The Director of Player Personnel is a position in the front office who will work with Pat Biondo and Pete Nochta to manage Kentucky’s roster.
The son of Central Michigan head coach Jim McElwain, Jerret spent the last two years as an Assistant Director of Player Personnel for Kalen DeBoer at Alabama. He got his start in the business while he was a student at Alabama, working as a player personnel assistant in 2014. His father was the Crimson Tide’s offensive coordinator from 2008-11. McElwain also worked with DeBoer at Washington and spent time in Jim Harbaugh‘s scouting department at Michigan.
NBA All-Star Saturday features a handful of Wildcats
The NBA All-Star Weekend has arrived. I’m not going to pretend to sell you on Sunday’s All-Star Game(s), but I will try to sell you on the Saturday events. Below are this year’s participants in the 3-Point Contest, which begins around 5:00 p.m. ET on Peacock/NBC — right after UK-UF wraps up.
- Devin Booker (PHX) – 31.1 3PT% on 5.5 attempts per game
- Kon Knueppel (CHA) – 42.8 3PT% on 7.9 attempts per game
- Damian Lillard (POR) – Has not played this season due to injury
- Tyrese Maxey (PHI) – 37.9 3PT% on 8.8 attempts per game
- Donovan Mitchell (CLE) – 37.7 3PT% on 9.7 attempts per game
- Jamal Murray (DEN) – 42.8 3PT% on 7.5 attempts per game
- Bobby Portis Jr. (MIL) – 45.6 3PT% on 4.2 attempts per game
- Norman Powell (MIA) – 39.6 3PT% on 7.3 attempts per game
Following the 3-Point Contest will be the return of the Shooting Stars event, which features another former ‘Cat. Karl-Anthony Towns will team up alongside Jalen Brunson and Louisville native Allan Houston as one of four teams in the event. It’s essentially a timed shooting contest where teams have to make the a series of shots as quickly as possible.
Reed Sheppard already played his part in All-Star Weekend as a participant in the Rising Stars event. Suiting up for Team Melo on Friday night, the Rockets’ sophomore posted nine points on 3-3 outside shooting in a round one, but just three total points in a 25-24 championship round loss.