The No. 6 Kentucky Wildcats and Florida Gators will face off on Saturday, Jan. 6, in the SEC opener for both teams. The SEC is strong this season, as always, with four top-25 teams in the mix. Kentucky is 10-2, while Florida is 10-3, though unranked.
The Gators are playing host Saturday at Exactech Arena in Gainesville, where they’re undefeated (6-0). The Wildcats are 1-0 on the road, so not a ton of data there. The game tips off at 12:30 p.m. ET. You can catch it on TV on ESPN.
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Kentucky vs. Florida Odds and Prediction
Wildcats vs. Gators is a storied SEC rivalry in which one team has the solid advantage: Kentucky. The Wildcats are 108-41 in the all-time head-to-head with Florida, and it doesn’t look like they’re planning to lose this one.
Both teams are coming off big wins, with Kentucky going 96-70 against Illinois State and covering the 19.5-point spread. On Florida’s end, it took an easy win over Quinnipiac (97-72), covering as 20.5-point favorites.
The Wildcats are 8-4 against the spread, and the Gators are 5-7-1 ATS. Kentucky won both matchups with Florida last season. They should be higher up the rankings, but they dropped what should’ve been an easy win at home against UNC Wilmington. Florida has lost to two unranked teams, Virginia and Wake Forest.
Players to watch are Antonio Reeves for Kentucky, who is the leading scorer for the Wildcats, averaging 19.0 points per game and 45.9% shooting from deep. On the Gators’ side, Walter Clayton Jr. is the leading scorer with 15.2 points per game and converting threes at 35.1%.
Who will win this one? Our money is on the Wildcats to do what they do and take a W on their conference opener.
