Kentucky @ Florida preview

Last Meeting ( Mar 3, 2018 ) Kentucky 67, Florida 80

Florida did what it needed to do Wednesday, defeating Ole Miss to get a resume-worthy win before heading into a brutal stretch that begins with Saturday's home meeting with No. 6 Kentucky. The Wildcats have won seven in a row, including three straight against ranked opponents, and are coming off an 87-52 rout of Vanderbilt that was their largest road win of the John Calipari era.

"I teased them at halftime, told them I was really mad at them because I don't want any of my teams playing this well in January," Calipari told reporters after his Wildcats ran out to a 30-point halftime lead over Vanderbilt. The Wildcats are certainly playing at a higher level right now as they have held five of their past six opponents below 64 points and to 40 percent or less shooting. The Gators are not in the Wildcats' class, but they have won three straight SEC matchups and are looking to build on their impressive come-from-behind 90-86 overtime victory over Ole Miss that combined the talents of senior guard KeVaughn Allen with a maturing freshman trio of Noah Locke, Andrew Nembhard and Keyontae Johnson. "We'll find out more, with regard to our approach the next couple days and focus in practice," Gators head coach Mike White said. "Hopefully, we're in a better place now. There were a lot of smiles in the locker room."

TV: 4 p.m. ET, ESPN

ABOUT KENTUCKY (17-3, 6-1 SEC): Sophomore forward PJ Washington is on top of his game right now with back-to-back 20-10 outings -- he had 26 points and 12 boards against the Commodores -- and he is averaging 22.3 points and 10.3 rebounds over the last three games while shooting 53.2 percent from the field and 50 percent from long distance. Fellow sophomore forward Nick Richards chipped in with a season-high 14 points and three blocked shots against Vanderbilt, giving him nine blocks the last two games, and the two were a major reason why the Wildcats frustrated Vanderbilt inside with a 32-12 scoring advantage in the paint. Freshmen guards Tyler Herro (12 points) and Keldon Johnson (11, all in the second half) continue to light it up in their first year as Wildcats, producing their 15th and 16th double-figure scoring games of the season, respectively.

ABOUT FLORIDA (12-8, 4-3): After struggling for most of the game, Allen came through in the clutch against Ole Miss with the tying 3-pointer in the final seconds of regulation followed by going 4-of-5 in OT to help carry the team to the much-needed win. Allen finished with 21 points and is now averaging 18.3 points in the seven SEC contests, with nine straight double-digit scoring games. Like the Wildcats, the Gators are getting heavy contributions from their freshmen, with Locke (team-best 22 points, six 3-pointers) coming up with his fifth game with at least five 3-pointers and producing his 10th double-digit scoring game in the last 11, while Johnson hit a career-high 15 points and six rebounds against Ole Miss, and Nembhard added 12 points to go with six assists and four steals.

TIP-INS

1. Florida swept Kentucky last season and the Gators have won three of the last four meetings.

2. The Gators defense struggled in the second half against Ole Miss, allowing the Rebels to connect on 59.3 percent of their shots.

3. The Wildcats are 236-40 against unranked opponents under Calipari.

PREDICTION: Kentucky 76, Florida 69