Florida basketball will look to extend its three-game win streak and pick up a signature win when it plays at No. 8 Kentucky.
The Florida Gators (14-6, 4-3 SEC) are coming off a 102-98 overtime win over Georgia on Saturday at the O’Connell Center.
Florida is looking to avenge an 87-85 home loss to Kentucky on Jan. 6. The Gators had an eight-point halftime lead in the loss but couldn’t close out the Wildcats in the second half.
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Second half slippage has been a theme for the Gators this season. Last week, UF led a 17-point second half lead dwindle to 6 points in an eventual 79-70 win over Mississippi State. Against Georgia, Florida led by as many as 21 points in the second half, but the Bulldogs rallied back to force overtime.
“A month and a half, two months ago, we weren’t getting leads like this against really quality opponents like we’ve been facing,” Florida basketball coach Todd Golden said. “Now the big challenge is, and it’s really hard to do to get over the hump, is playing with leads when teams have their back up against the wall and don’t have as much fear of failure.”
Overall, Florida has lost 10 of its last 11 meetings against Kentucky. The Gators are looking to reverse that trend with another balanced scoring effort. Florida has had at least four players reach double figures in all three games during its current three-game win streak. Sophomore 7-foot-1 center Micah Handlogten is coming off season highs in scoring (23) and rebounding (17) in the Georgia game, with his 17 boards the most for a UF player since Alex Tyus grabbed 17 points against BYU in the Sweet 16 of the 2011 NCAA Tournament.
Florida basketball vs. Kentucky start time
Florida and Kentucky are slated to tip off at 8 p.m. ET on Wednesday night from Rupp Arena in Lexington, Ky.
Florida basketball vs. Kentucky betting odds
Per Fan Duel, as of Tuesday night, Kentucky was a 6.5-point favorite over Florida. The over/under is 171.5.
What channel is the Florida basketball-Kentucky game on today
Florida and Kentucky will air on ESPN and will stream on WatchESPN.com. Karl Ravech will handle play-by-play duties with Jay Bilas as the analyst and Marty Smith as the sideline analyst.
How to listen to Florida basketball-Kentucky game on radio
The Florida-Georgia game will air on AM 850 and FM 98.1 in Gainesville and across the state on the Gator Radio Network. Sean Kelley will handle play-by-play duties, with former Gator great Lee Humphrey as the color analyst.