Kentucky Wildcats at Florida Gators Game Preview, Odds, Picks & Predictions

Wildcats Shoot for SEC Title vs Gators

· Mar 05 - 4 minutes read

The No. 7 Kentucky Wildcats try to tie for the SEC regular-season crown when they visit the Florida Gators in the conference finale for both squads on Saturday. Kentucky is among three teams sitting a game behind the first-place Auburn Tigers entering the final weekend of play in the SEC. The Gators are shooting for their 20th win and hoping to add to their resume for NCAA Tournament consideration. Let’s take a closer look at this contest and determine how you should bet online on it.

Wildcats Hoping To Catch Fire

The Kentucky Wildcats are hoping to make a run to a national title this month, and they started things off well, shooting 60% from the floor in topping the Ole Miss Rebels in their last outing, 83-72. The Wildcats have depth and defense, but it will be their offense that carries them if they’re going to make some noise in the NCAAs.

Teammates celebrate Kentucky vs Florida Picks — James Gilbert/Getty Images/AFP

Player of the Year candidate Oscar Tshiebwe is averaging 16.9 points, a national-best 15.3 rebounds and 1.8 blocks per game, while freshman TyTy Washington Jr. is adding 12.4 points and 4.0 assists per contest. Washington is coming off a 14-point performance against Ole Miss after shooting just 3-of-12 and getting hurt in a loss to the Arkansas Razorbacks on Feb. 26.

“I was just happy to see the ball go through the hole,” Washington said after Tuesday’s win. “Just seeing the ball go in so many times in that time span helped confidence and felt like myself.”

The Wildcats are 10th in the country in scoring at 80.4 points per game, and when they get rolling, they can be devastating to an opponent, as well as good for anyone betting the over.

NCAA Berth Going To Take Work for Gators

All of the experts are putting together their projected NCAA Tournament fields for March Madness, and unfortunately for the Florida Gators, they’re one of the teams just on the outside. Florida has won two straight, though over lower-tier conference teams, so it needs to piece some wins together in both this game and next week’s SEC Tournament.

If the Gators are going to pull off the upset, they’ll need a big performance from forward Colin Castleton, who is averaging 16.1 points, 9.0 rebounds and 2.5 blocks per game. The 6-11 senior will be motivated for a big game in the final home game of his career.

Guard Tyree Appleby must also play well and avoid costly turnovers against the Kentucky defense. Appleby is averaging 11.4 points and a team-high 3.8 assists per game, but he also leads the Gators with 2.5 turnovers per contest.

Kentucky Wildcats at Florida Gators Head-to-Head

The Kentucky Wildcats dominated in the first meeting of the season between these long-time rivals, winning by 21 in Lexington, Ky., on Feb. 12. Kentucky has had the upper hand on Florida in this rivalry of late as well, winning six of the last seven matchups.

The Florida Gators are 26-38 all-time at home against the Wildcats, but Kentucky has taken the last three meetings played in Gainesville, Fla., which helps explain the college basketball lines for this game.

Kentucky Wildcats at Florida Gators Game Information

Game: Kentucky Wildcats (24-6, 13-4) at Florida Gators (19-11, 9-8)
Location: Exactech Arena at Stephen C. O’Connell Center
Day/Time: Saturday, 2 p.m. ET
Television: CBS

Kentucky Wildcats at Florida Gators Betting Lines

Kentucky Wildcats at Florida Gators Prediction

The Kentucky Wildcats are one of the favorite picks of prognosticators to win the NCAA title this season, and they’ve shown some great potential. Now it all has to come together for coach John Calipari’s crew, and with an outside shot at the SEC title, they’ll have some motivation to have a big effort in this one.

If the NCAA Tournament is in the Florida Gators’ future, the road to it begins with a win in this one. The home crowd will be fired up, and this game should be a shootout that is competitive throughout. Unfortunately for the Gators, they just don’t have the firepower to stay with the Wildcats in this one.

When making your college basketball picks, take Kentucky to win and cover on the road.