Florida Defeats No. 2 Tennessee, Setting Stage for Important Bubble Matchup Between Wildcats and Gators in Lexington

Todd Golden's Gators earned a valiant win over Tennessee in Gainesville on Wednesday night. Fresh off its biggest win of the season, Florida now heads to Lexington for the first of two battles with Kentucky.

On Wednesday night in Gainesville, the Florida Gators became just the second team in the SEC this season to hand a loss to Tennessee, defeating the No. 2 Volunteers in the O'Connell Center, 67-54. 

The win is the second against a ranked opponent this season for first-year UF head coach Todd Golden, but it's the first that can be tagged with the "marquee" label. Behind 20 points and nine rebounds from fifth-year forward Colin Castleton, the Gators led for over 34 minutes of game time, holding a lead as big as 13 in the first half. It was a 22-5 run in the second half that propelled UF to the huge victory. 

Tennessee shot an abysmal 27.9 percent from the field, the third time its failed to reach 30-percent shooting in a game in the 2022-23 campaign. Veteran guards Santiago Vescovi and Josiah-Jordan James each made just two baskets, missing a combined 19 attempts from the floor, 10 of which were from behind the arc. The Vols went 5-25 from 3-point range as a team. 

The scoreline is similar to Kentucky's 63-56 win over UT in Knoxville, but it was a much different game. The Wildcats crushed the Vols on the glass 43-23, while Florida was out-rebounded on Wednesday, 43-36, allowing 18 offensive boards. Tennessee also struggled shooting 3's against UK (3-21), but it shot 40.3 percent overall as a team on Jan. 14. 

Despite that, Florida used its home-court advantage and played a much cleaner game than Kentucky did on the road. Golden's Gators have now won six of their last seven SEC games, climbing up the ladder, now tied for fifth in the conference standings with Kentucky. Bracketologists have had Florida on the outside looking in, but a win over the No. 2 team in the country will surely place it on the bubble with just nine games left in the regular season. 

The Gators are now No. 41 in the NET rankings and No. 38 in KenPom despite their 13-9 (6-3 SEC) record. The Wildcats currently occupy the No. 35 spot in both rankings entering Feb. 2. Both teams carry similar NCAA Tournament résumés, notably struggling with Quadrant 1 opponents. 

Aside from respective wins over Tennessee, the only other Quad 1 victory for either team is a 61-59 triumph on the road at Mississippi State for the Gators. UF and UK combine for a 3-13 record against Quad 1 foes. Both teams are also 3-3 on the road. 

On Saturday night inside Rupp Arena, the two will square off for the first of two matchups in February — both of which will be essential for each team's tournament hopes. Not just the NCAA Tourney, either. Finishing in the top four of the conference standings is still very much in play for both teams, as earning a double-bye to the quarterfinals of the SEC Tournament in Nashville could be vital. 

Kentucky has won seven of its last 10 meetings against Florida, though two of the three latest losses have come in Lexington, not Gainesville. Most recently in 2021, Castleton provided 14 points, five rebounds and four assists in a Gators 71-67 win in the Bluegrass.

Saturday will be Castleton's fifth time going up against the Wildcats. The veteran Florida native has increased his point and rebound total against UK in each of his previous outings: 

• Jan. 9, 2021 — six points on 3-8 shooting, three rebounds 
• Feb. 27, 2021 — 14 points on 5-7 shooting, five rebounds  
• Feb. 12, 2022 — 18 points on 8-12 shooting, seven rebounds 
• March 5, 2022 — 23 points on 11-19 shooting, 11 rebounds

With Kentucky and center Oscar Tshiebwe having a habit of getting eaten up in pick-and-roll this season, 23 points could easily be eclipsed by the forward. He leads UF in points (15.1) and rebounds-per-game (7.7) and is third in the nation in blocks, averaging 3.09 a night. 

Castleton is surrounded by a bevy of guards, three of whom average over eight PPG — Will Richard (10.1), Kyle Lofton (8.8) and Kowacie Reeves (8.6). Golden utilizes his bench, as 10 players average over nine minutes-per-game. 

Florida makes it money on defense, as it has four SEC wins this season in which it has held its opponent to 60 points or less. The Gators allow 64.5 PPG, tied for the 51st-best mark in the nation. They don't excel anywhere offensively, aside from being a top-100 free-throw shooting team in the country with a 73.9 make percentage.  

There's always an added level of ferocity when the Wildcats and Gators square off, something that UK needs to fall in its favor if it wishes to sweep the season series. The Cats will head down to Gainesville for the second matchup of the year on Feb. 22, the fourth-to-last game of the regular season. 

Golden and UK coach John Calipari nearly got to face off against one-another for the first time in the NCAA Tournament a year ago, as Golden's San Fransisco Dons were in the same pairing of UK's first weekend bracket in Indianapolis, playing Murray State in the first round. 

Of course, the Racers and Saint Peter's had other plans, preventing the Round of 32 matchup. Golden took the Florida job one day after San Fransisco's defeat. The 37-year-old was an assistant at Auburn from 2014-16, so he's well aware of Rupp Arena, but Saturday will witness his first time in the famed building as the opposing head coach. 

Life on the bubble for both teams continues on Saturday in Lexington. Tipoff is set for 8:30 p.m. EST and will air on ESPN. 

More on Kentucky's win over Ole Miss HERE.

Game notes from the victory can be found HERE.

WATCH: Antonio Reeves, Chris Livingston speak following Ole Miss win.

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