What Happened

LEXINGTON, Ky.  – Florida forward Thomas Haugh returned after missing the first game of his career to score 20 points and the fifth-ranked Gators did a wire-to-wire number on Kentucky en route to an 84-77 defeat of the Wildcats in their Southeastern Conference regular-season finale at Rupp Arena. 

The win was UF’s 11th straight (and 16th of the last 17) and put a wrap on one of the most dominant SEC seasons in program history, with the Gators’ 16 wins second only to the unbeaten 18-0 team of 2014.

And there was more good news. Before the game tipped off, Connecticut lost its Big East finale at Marquette, opening the door for Florida to grab one of the four No. 1 seeds in the NCAA Tournament, pending results of this week’s SEC Tournament in Nashville, Tennessee.

Haugh, held out of Tuesday night’s home defeat of Mississippi State, hit seven of 14 shots from the floor, including three of six from the 3-point line, and also grabbed nine rebounds, dished three assists and added three steals. Point guard Boogie Fland had 16 points and six assists, while center Rueben Chinyelu had 13 points and eight rebounds. 

The Gators scored the game’s first 11 points, withstood a couple scoring droughts that allowed the Wildcats to close within a point, at 20-19, but then dropped a run of 13 straight to break things open and eventually take a 49-32 lead at the half. UF hit 11 of its final 13 shots of the period to check in at 64%, including six of 10 from the arc, while defending UK at 38%.

Both teams shot poorly in the second half — UF just 30% to UK’s 40.5% —  with the Wildcats, after falling behind by 20 with nine minutes to go, managing to get as close as five, at 82-77, with 19 seconds to play. Florida guard Xaivian Lee (11 points, 7 rebounds, 5 assists) hit a couple free throws to stave off the Cats’ late charge.

The victory gave the Gators their first regular-season sweep of the Wildcats since 2018, as well as just the 13th win in Lexington in the series history,

Turning Point 

After UK guard Otega Oweh (game-high 28 points) hit a 3 to make it a one-point game 11 minutes in, Haugh had back-to-back slams (one a tip-in off a miss, the next a run-out in transition off a turnover) to start the 13-0 blitz. He also dropped a 3 along the way. 
 

Staggering Statistic

The Gators never trailed against the Wildcats in the 80 minutes the teams played this season. UF took a 5-0 lead in the Feb. 14 meeting, a 94-85 victory, and remained in front the entire game.   
 

Up Next

Florida (25-6, 16-2) will be the No. 1 seed in the SEC Tournament. As such, the Gators will have a double-bye into Friday’s quarterfinal round. Their opponent will depend on who advances out of the Wednesday and Thursday games on the UF side of the bracket. Kentucky (19-12, 10-8) will play in Wednesday’s first round.

Email senior writer Chris Harry at chrish@gators.ufl.edu. Find his story archives here.