Florida outlasts Kentucky in Lexington to complete regular-season sweep of UK
By Andrew Olson
Published:
Florida completed the regular-season sweep of Kentucky by holding on for an 84-77 win in Lexington on Saturday. The Gators led by as many as 20 points, but Kentucky fought its way back for a dramatic final 4 minutes at Rupp Arena.
Otega Oweh was the game’s high scorer, recording 28 points for Kentucky on 8-of-21 shooting from the field, including 4-of-8 from 3-point range, and 8-of-8 at the free-throw line. Denzel Aberdeen (15 points) and Mouhamed Diabate (10 points) were the other Wildcats in double figures.
Florida was led by Thomas Haugh with 20 points. Haugh returned to action on Saturday after missing UF’s Senior Night home finale against Mississippi State.
Todd Golden‘s Gators led for over 39 minutes on Saturday, meaning Florida never trailed against Kentucky during the 2025-26 regular season. UF dominated the first half and took a 49-32 lead into the locker room.
The second half belonged to Kentucky, but it wasn’t enough to overcome the big deficit. Florida increased its lead to 20 points at the 9:43 mark (68-48), but the Wildcats refused to go away.
A UF foul triggered the under-4:00 media timeout with 3:53 to go, and Otega Oweh made 2 free throws to make it 73-63. The Wildcats got it down to a 5-point deficit with 29 seconds to go (80-75), but the Gators closed it out to escape Lexington with the win.
No. 5 Florida will be the top seed in the SEC Tournament and will play on Friday after a double-bye. Kentucky will play on Wednesday as the No. 9 or No. 10 seed, depending on the outcome of Texas vs. Oklahoma.
Florida ends the 2025-26 regular season as the SEC champion. Can the Gators sweep conference titles and win the SEC Tournament in Nashville? Kalshi is taking action on predictions!
Andrew writes about sports to fund his love of live music and collection of concert posters. He strongly endorses the Hall of Fame campaigns of Fred Taylor and Andruw Jones.
