A primetime conference matchup makes its way to Gainesville on Valentine's Day, where love may be in the air, but not in the O'Connell Center.
On Saturday, No. 14 Florida (18-6, 9-2 SEC) hosts No. 25 Kentucky (17-7, 8-3 SEC) for a ranked Southeastern Conference showdown on ABC. A win, and the Gators will stay the sole team atop the conference standings with three weeks left in the regular season.
“These all feel like the National Championship; we treat it the same way,” said Florida head coach Todd Golden. “It's important for our players and our staff to have that same mentality.”
Here are three keys for the Gators to grab their first home win against the Wildcats since 2018.
Shut down the perimeter
A large portion of Kentucky’s success on the offensive end comes from its three starting guards.
At the helm of the attack is senior guard Otega Oweh. After finishing last season on the coaches' All-SEC second team, the 6-foot-4, 220-pound guard is averaging a team-leading 17.1 points per game on 48.3% shooting from the field.
In last season’s outing between the Gators and Wildcats, Oweh logged 16 points on 6-of-10 shooting en route to a 106-100 win for Kentucky. He comes into Saturday’s game with five straight 20-plus point outings.
Behind Oweh is former Gator Denzel Aberdeen.
After winning a national championship with the Gators last season, the Orlando, Florida, native transferred to Kentucky. This season, he is averaging 12.3 points and a team-high 3.2 assists per game. He recorded a career-high 26 points on 10-of-20 shooting against then-No. 12 Louisville on Nov. 11. The senior guard comes into Saturday recording double-digit points in seven of his last nine outings for the Wildcats.
The last piece to Kentucky’s backcourt is sophomore guard Collin Chandler, who is averaging 9.4 points per game on 40.9% shooting from beyond the arc. The sophomore guard has recorded his season-high of 18 points twice in conference play against Texas on Jan. 21 and Oklahoma on Feb. 4
“He's shot the ball really well in league play and made the most threes for them,” Golden said. “And he'll shoot them from anywhere. He's going to be a big mental toughness cover tomorrow.”
While the three are a scoring threat, Florida’s defense has been on fire recently. The Gators come into this game holding opponents to 71 points per game, ranking second-best in the SEC.
Last time out, Florida held Georgia scoreless to start Wednesday's game before Kanon Catchings hit a 3-pointer with 14:17 left in the first half. The Gators finished the contest, holding the Bulldogs to 35% from the field and 28% from 3-point range.
Boogie Fland and Xaivian Lee will be a focal point in Florida's efforts to shut down Kentucky’s guards. Fland’s 2.0 and Lee’s 1.2 swipes per game lead the Gators. Furthermore, Lee is fresh off a 3-steal performance against the Bulldogs on Wednesday and has recorded at least one takeaway in six straight games.
“He's been fantastic defensively,” Golden said. “He's really smart, knows how to be in the right place at the right time, and can kind of see things coming before they happen, which allows him to not get hit on many screens or get lost in actions.”
For the Gators to come away with a win, it starts with their defense, especially from Fland and Lee.
Dominate in the paint
Like Florida, Kentucky has found much success on defense this season.
The Wildcats are third in the conference, holding opponents to 71.3 points per game and 41.6% shooting from the field. As a result, baskets won’t come easily on Saturday, meaning that Florida’s ability to dominate the paint to get high-percentage looks will be crucial.
The Gators’ frontcourt has been dominant all season. Leading the nation with a plus-14.8 rebound marking, 16.3 offensive boards per game and 46 rebounds per contest. Additionally, Florida is second nationally with 16.4 second-chance points per game.
At the forefront of this dominance is junior center Rueben Chinyelu.
The Nigerian is averaging 11.8 points and a team-leading 11.8 rebounds per game, putting him on track to be the first Gator to finish the season averaging a double-double in 50 years. Against Georgia on Wednesday, he recorded his third 20-rebound performance of the season.
Behind him is Alex Condon, who is averaging 13.3 points and 7.9 boards a contest. In Florida’s last home game against Alabama on Feb. 1, the Aussie logged a team-leading 25 points in addition to seven rebounds, six assists and two blocks.
Florida’s rebounding effort is rounded off with Thomas Haugh’s 6.3 boards and Micah Handlogten’s 6.0 rebounds a night.
Meanwhile, Kentucky’s frontcourt is led by Malachi Moreno, who leads the team with 6.3 rebounds, followed by Mouhamed Dioubate’s 5.4 boards per outing.
Seeing Florida's advantage on the glass, it will be important for its frontcourt to get second-chance points on looks close to the rim to overcome Kentucky’s defense.
“Our bigs are generally faster, at least run harder, than the other bigs every time, and I think that breaks down, wears down teams over the course of 40 minutes,” Lee said. “A common trend in our games is that when we get to the second half, we kind of see that come through a little more.”
Win off the bench
The Wildcats come into the game as one of the more injured teams in the conference, having lost key pieces Jaland Lowe, Kam Williams and Jayden Quaintance. These three were cogs of Kentucky’s rotation, and without them, head coach Mark Pope has been forced to rely on some of the younger talent off the bench.
Conversely, while Florida's bench is limited to three players, it has been impactful over the last few outings.
Urban Klavžar leads the Florida bench, averaging 9.8 points per game on 38.6% shooting from beyond the arc. He’s reached double-digit points in five of his last six outings, including an 18-point outing with a season-high five 3-pointers against LSU on Jan. 20.
Isaiah Brown has come onto the scene recently, with back-to-back double-digit outings for the sophomore guard. Against Georgia on Wednesday, the Orlando, Florida, native recorded 12 points on 3-of-4 shooting from 3-point range.
“There is no doubt that Urby, Zay, and Micah playing really well has allowed us to kind of take the next step as a team and be able to be consistent the way we have over the last month," Golden said.
Look for Klavžar and Brown to keep up their recent ways against a Kentucky team whose bench has been tested with injuries this season.
Contact Jeffrey Serber at Jserber@alligator.org. Follow him on X @JeffreySerber.
Jeffrey is the spring 2026 men's basketball beat reporter and a second-year journalism sports & media major with a media, management and production minor. In his free time, he enjoys hanging out with friends and family, and rooting for the Miami sports teams
