What Happened

NASHVILLE, Tenn.  – Junior forward Alex Condon scored 22 points, grabbed 10 rebounds and was a rare offensive bright spot Friday — for either team — in top-seeded Florida’s 71-63 defeat of ninth-seeded Kentucky in their Southeastern Conference Tournament quarterfinal game at Bridgestone Arena. 

Condon went seven of 12 from the floor and eight of 11 from the free-throw line to help the Gators open a 16-point lead with 11 minutes to play. UF, though, went stone-cold over the final 10 minutes and got careless with the ball on the way to shooting just 29% in the second half and turning the ball over 12. The combination allowed the Wildcats (just 35.6 percent for the game and 3-for-12 from deep) to close the margin to five, 66-61, with 1:18 to go, behind former UF guard Denzel Aberdeen’s team-high 17 points. 

But Gators guard Xaivian Lee (11 points, 5 rebounds, 6 assists) threw water on the rally with a step-back, late shot-clock 3-pointer from the top of the key with 40 seconds remaining to push the margin to eight and safe enough to play another day (read on). 

The win was the third for Florida over Kentucky this season, a feat the Gators had achieved only once before (2014) in the series 99-year history.

Turning Point 

Big Blue Nation was alive and loud when the Wildcats reeled off 10 consecutive points in the first half to erase a 20-10 deficit. The Gators, though, answered that run with 13 consecutive points and kept at least a four-possession lead until the final three minutes.
 

Staggering Statistic

Florida and Kentucky played 120 minutes of basketball during the 2025-26 season and the Wildcats never led in any of the three games. The teams were tied for a total of two minutes and five seconds. 
 

Up Next

Florida (26-6) will play the winner of Friday afternoon’s second game, either fifth-seeded Tennessee (22-10) or fourth-seeded Vanderbilt (24-7), in Saturday’s tournament semifinals. The Gators defeated both teams during the regular season, beating the Volunteers 100-77 at home and the Commodores 98-94 about two miles up the road from Bridgestone.

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