What to know: #24 Florida Gators basketball vs. #8 Kentucky Wildcats
Game Information
When: Saturday, February 4, 2017 at 8:15 p.m. (ET)
Where: Exactech Arena at the Stephen C. O’Connell Center, Gainesville, Fla.
Records: Florida (17-5, 7-2 SEC); Kentucky (18-4, 8-1 SEC)
Coaches: Mike White- 38-20 (2nd season at Florida), 139-60 (6th season overall); John Calipari- 235-51 (8th season at Kentucky), 638-189 (25th season overall)
TV: ESPN
Streaming: WatchESPN
Radio: Gator IMG Sports Network
Projected Starters
| Florida | Pos. | Ht. | Wt. | Class | Per Game |
| Devin Robinson | F | 6-8 | 200 | Junior | 11.8 pts / 5.7 reb |
| Justin Leon | F | 6-8 | 206 | Senior | 6.5 pts / 3.5 reb |
| john egbunu | C | 6-11 | 255 | R-Junior | 7.7 pts / 6.7 reb |
| Kasey hill | G | 6-1 | 175 | Senior | 9.4 pts / 4.9 asts |
| Kevaughn allen | G | 6-2 | 183 | Sophomore | 13.6 pts / 2.3 reb |
| kentucky | Pos. | Ht. | Wt. | Class | Per Game |
| edrice adebayo | F | 6-10 | 260 | Freshman | 13.2 pts / 6.8 reb |
| wenyen gabriel | F | 6-9 | 213 | Freshman | 5.7 pts / 6.0 reb |
| de’aaron fox | G | 6-3 | 187 | Freshman | 15.9 pts / 5.7 asts |
| malik monk | G | 6-3 | 200 | Freshman | 22.4 pts / 2.5 reb |
| isaiah briscoe | G | 6-3 | 210 | Sophomore | 14.5 pts / 5.3 reb |
Preview
Kentucky comes in a little shaky, having lost two of its last three games. After losing two straight to Tennessee and Kansas, the Wildcats escaped with an overtime win at home against Georgia last game.
Florida enters on a hot-streak, with three consecutive wins of more than 30 points, a feat that has only been accomplished two other times in school history. In the previous two instances, the Gators did so against mid-major and low-major schools all in Gainesville. This streak features all high-major schools, with two road games. Florida won by 35 at LSU, 32 at Oklahoma and 39 vs. Missouri.
Thursday’s defeat of Missouri was led by Chris Chiozza’s triple-double off the bench. He finished the night with 12 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists. Canyon Barry led the team with 17 points off the bench in the 93-54 win.
The Wildcats bring in a prolific offense, averaging an SEC-leading 91.3 points per game this season. Kentucky has been held to fewer than 80 points just three times this season by non-conference opponents. Florida allows just 65.6 points per game and could become the first SEC team to join that small group.
Kentucky also leads the conference in scoring margin, field goal percentage, rebounds, offensive rebounds, assists and blocked shots.
Four different players are averaging double-digits for the Wildcats this season. Malik Monk leads the way with 22.4 points per game. Monk leads the SEC with 70 three-pointers made this season, shooting .412 from beyond the arc. De’Aaron Fox (15.9), Isaiah Briscoe (14.5) and Edrice Adebayo (13.2) also average double-digits.
Florida hosts College GameDay for the fifth time on Saturday, joining Duke, Kansas and Kentucky as the only schools to host the show at least five times. It will be the show’s seventh visit to a Kentucky-Florida matchup. The Gators hold a 6-1 record over the Wildcats in College GameDay games.
That is the only winning record Florida has in this series, as Kentucky leads with a dominant 99-37 all-time record. The Wildcats have a 35-24 advantage over the Gators in Gainesville. Florida looks to end a five game losing streak to Kentucky on Saturday and get its first win over the Wildcats under Mike White.