Gators Muscle Past Kentucky, Tighten Grip on SEC Lead
The Florida Gators didn’t just beat Kentucky on Saturday night - they sent a message. In front of a sold-out O’Connell Center crowd of 11,230, No. 14 Florida flexed its muscle in a 92-83 win that showcased exactly why they’re starting to look like the team to beat in the SEC.
From the jump, Florida leaned into its identity - physical, relentless, and dominant on the boards. The Gators outrebounded Kentucky 45-37, and their frontcourt duo of Alex Condon and Rueben Chinyelu did what they’ve done all season: control the paint. Condon recorded his sixth double-double of the year with 14 points and 11 boards, while Chinyelu added his 15th with 10 points and 11 rebounds, even while navigating foul trouble.
“They beat us up on the glass,” Kentucky head coach Mark Pope admitted postgame. And he wasn’t wrong. Florida’s size and length made life tough around the rim - Kentucky managed just 19-of-45 shooting on two-point attempts, a number that speaks volumes about the Gators’ interior defense.
But this version of Florida isn’t just about grit and rebounding anymore. The Gators are starting to knock down shots from deep - and that changes everything.
After hitting 10 threes against Georgia, they followed it up with another 10-for-28 performance from beyond the arc against Kentucky. That spacing is opening up the floor, and senior guard Xaivian Lee has been at the center of it all.
He’s been on a heater lately, and while he didn’t go full Steph Curry on Saturday, his presence alone is stretching defenses.
Urban Klavzar, meanwhile, came alive in the second half. He poured in 14 of his 19 points after the break, including several clutch threes that kept Kentucky at bay. When Florida needed a bucket, Klavzar delivered.
Still, head coach Todd Golden wasn’t entirely thrilled with how the game unfolded. Florida had a chance to blow it open early - they led 32-17 after a steal and dunk by Boogie Fland.
But instead of stepping on the gas, a rushed three-point attempt by Chinyelu opened the door for a Kentucky run. The Wildcats rattled off 10 straight points to cut the lead to five, and suddenly what looked like a rout turned into a dogfight.
“We’re getting there,” Golden said. “We’re not all the way.
I thought today we took a step back in some of the areas that we had been growing in, but we’re also getting a lot better in some areas that I didn’t expect us to maybe jump in. So, we gotta stay the course.”
That’s the challenge now for Florida: staying sharp, staying hungry. The Gators are 19-6 overall and 10-2 in the SEC, two games clear of Kentucky (17-8, 8-4). With just a few weeks left in the regular season, the path to their first SEC regular season title since 2014 is right in front of them.
But it won’t be easy. Kentucky, for all their inconsistencies, is still dangerous.
They shot 45% from three in Gainesville, and while Florida did a solid job containing preseason SEC Player of the Year Otega Oweh (14 points on 4-of-14 shooting), they struggled to track Collin Chandler. The Kentucky guard found too many clean looks and made the Gators pay, hitting 5-of-7 from deep en route to 18 points.
Florida will see Kentucky again in Lexington on March 7 to close out the regular season. Whether that game will have title implications remains to be seen, but if the Gators keep playing like this, they might have the SEC locked up before then.
Golden, for his part, isn’t sleeping on Kentucky. “They’re playing some good ball,” he said.
“They’re talented - obviously a $22 million roster - they’re physical, they’re big. I expect them to do well the rest of the year.
They’re a really good team.”
Before that rematch, Florida faces a few more hurdles - most notably a Feb. 28 home game against No. 21 Arkansas.
But they’ll have the advantage of playing that one at the O’Dome, where they’re 11-1 this season. The Gators have already handled Vanderbilt and Texas A&M on the road - two teams that had their moments in the SEC spotlight - and now they’re in the driver’s seat.
For Condon and his teammates, the focus is clear.
“It’s definitely a goal for us,” he said of winning the SEC. “But we just got to take it one game at a time.
We’ve got South Carolina coming up soon, and I think a good team would just be like, ‘OK, it’s another game,’ but Todd just said it in there - really great teams treat every game like it’s a Final Four matchup. So, we got to have an elite mentality before every game and come together as a team.”
If Florida keeps bringing that mindset, the SEC crown might just be theirs to lose.