Florida vs. Kentucky score, takeaways: Ice-cold (1) Gators sweep (9) Wildcats, move to SEC semifinal

Basketball

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Image Credit: UAA

It was hardly the best effort from the No. 4 Florida Gators — in fact, UF played its worst half of the season in the latter portion of the game — but the program nevertheless completed a season sweep of the Kentucky Wildcats with a 71-63 win on Friday, advancing to the semifinals of the 2026 SEC Tournament.

(1) Florida won three games over (9) Kentucky in the same season for the first time since 2014, moving into the final four of its league tournament for the third straight campaign. While the Gators played problematic basketball over the latter 20 minutes, they were clearly the better team on Friday — particularly against a gassed Wildcats unit that had already played two postseason games.

Let’s take a look at what went down Friday afternoon with some Fastbreak Takeaways.

It was over when … senior guard Xaivian Lee drained a point-blank trey, following with a steal on the other end that pushed the Gators back ahead by nine points with 40 seconds remaining. Lee also grabbed an offensive rebound after a pair of missed free throws from sophomore G Boogie Fland, hitting another free throw to score UF’s final five points in the game.

Junior forward Alex Condon continued his onslaught early in the second half, scoring eight of Florida’s first 12 points in the stanza as part of a 12-2 run that pushed the Gators ahead a game-high 17 points. That stretch was crucial as UF was ice cold from the floor, missing eight straight shots over 8:50. The Wildcats benefitted from a horrendous late foul call, hitting five free throws and cutting the margin to 6 points with 3 minutes left. UF went 2 of 6 from the charity stripe over the final 40 seconds, a poor showing in a crucial situation.

First half focus: Florida poured it on from the opening whistle, moving ahead by 10 points after less than 6 minutes, while forcing Kentucky into five early turnovers by staying aggressive in the paint. A string of poor offensive possessions opened the door for the Wildcats to rattle off a 10-0 run, evening the game in just 2 minutes. However, Fland bookended an extended 13-0 scoring stretch, registering the first four points and concluding the run with a 3-pointer to push Florida well back in front. The Gators ultimately took a nine-point lead into the break despite six turnovers and a 2 of 11 mark from downtown.

Exceptional efforts: Condon was dominant in the first half but less consistent as the contest progressed, posting a game-high 22 points on 7 of 12 shooting and 8 of 11 efficiency from the free-throw line. He completed a double-double with 10 rebounds, adding two blocks and two assists. Junior F Thomas Haugh was awful from the field, making just 2 of 9 shots while missing all five of his 3-point attempts, but he hit 9 of 10 free throws to finish with 13 points along with eight boards, a game-high three blocks and two steals. Lee was up and down all game, but his late triple was the most clutch play of the game. He exited with 11 points, a game-high six assists and five boards.

Missing in action: Some of the Gators’ best players left plenty to be desired on Friday. Fland did not score in the second half, going 3 of 13 from the field overall, while junior center Rueben Chinyelu was ice cold on the floor, scoring below double digits for the third time in the last six games, though he did amass 10 rebounds and matched Lee with a game-high three steals.

Odds & ends: Florida improved 45-111 all-time against Kentucky, 5-13 against UK in the SEC Tournament and 4-4 under head coach Todd Golden … the Gators and ‘Cats played a home-and-home series for the first time since 2024, making this the first time they played three times in a single season since 2015 … Florida completed a 3-0 sweep over Kentucky for the first time since 2014 … the Gators are 53-53 all-time in the SEC Tournament, 7-2 under Golden … Florida improved to 23-1 when leading at halftime, 26-1 when leading with 5 minutes remaining, 25-4 when outrebounding an opponent, 24-0 when outshooting an opponent from the field and 17-2 when attempting more free throws

What it means: This was an incredibly poor performance from Florida in nearly every phase other than its rebounding prowess. The Gators dominated the glass with a +21 margin (50-29), +10 offensively (18-8), though they allowed tons of paint points to the Wildcats, only exiting with a 30-28 edge. Everything else was a mess.

Florida went 3 of 20 from downtown (.150), its worst mark of the season and worst overall since Feb. 1, 2025, 405 days ago. This follows a stretch of massive improvement in which UF shot 36.4% or better from long range across six straight games. The Gators only made seven field goals in the second half, shooting 29.2% overall in the period. Their 37.9% efficiency from the floor was their third-worst effort of the season. UF lost both games in which it shot 37.3% overall (Auburn, Duke), and on Friday, scored its fewest points since the loss to AU.

Winning by eight points speaks more to Kentucky’s lack of energy — third game in as many days — and UK’s own shooting problems. UF’s 18 turnovers were its second-most this season, directly contributing to 18 points for the underdogs. The Gators never trailed against the ‘Cats this season despite playing three games in which they were legitimately tested by their long-time SEC rivals.

Florida is still firmly in place as a No. 1 seed in the 2026 NCAA Tournament, but it will likely need to win one more game to lock up that placement. The Gators cannot perform as they did on Friday if they want to have a chance at sweeping the SEC championships for the first time since 2014.

“I’m going to have a fun time talking to these guys when we get back in the locker room. It’s going to be a good one,” Golden said after the contest.

What’s next? Florida will next play in the SEC Tournament semifinals on Saturday at 1 p.m. ET against either (4) Vanderbilt or (5) Tennessee. The Gators beat the Volunteers at home by 24 points on Jan. 10, and the Commodores by four points on the road one week later.