LEXINGTON, Ky. — En route to a 13-0 start this season, Florida basketball leaned on a simple formula. Armed with the best rebounding team in the land, the Gators used their dominance on the glass to jump-start offense, averaging nearly 20 points per game in transition, which ranked No. 2 nationally entering Saturday.
Matching up with Kentucky in a contest that tipped off before noon Saturday, Florida still had its way on the boards, winning the rebounding battle 38-30.
But the Wildcats won the game.
Slowing the Gators’ fast-break attack to a crawl, the Wildcats earned a 106-100 victory at Rupp Arena in the SEC opener for both clubs.
The tussle between ranked teams — Kentucky was No. 11 in the USA TODAY Coaches Poll, six spots behind No. 5 Florida — also marked the league debut for first-year UK coach Mark Pope.
The Wildcats (12-2, 1-0 SEC) made their coach’s maiden conference clash count.
Handing the Gators (13-1, 0-1) their first loss of the season — it had been the Gators’ second-best start, trailing only the 17-0 beginning in 2005-06; that squad went on to capture the school’s first national title in men’s hoops — was a testament to the Wildcats bottling up the visitors in transition. Florida managed just three fast-break points Saturday.
And that miniscule tally wasn’t solely due to UK’s defense.
It’s because the Wildcats’ offense forced the Gators to inbound the ball so frequently after another bucket.
Kentucky knocked down 57.8% (37 for 64) of its shot attempts, the best showing by a Florida foe this season. The previous high mark was North Carolina, which made 45.8% (33 for 72) of its tries in a 90-84 loss to Florida last month in Charlotte, North Carolina.
The Wildcats also converted nearly half of their 3-point attempts Saturday, finishing at 48% (14 of 29). No player had a more prominent role in that long-distance prowess than 3-point extraordinaire Koby Brea, who sank seven of the nine triples he shot. Part of an 8-for-11 effort overall, Brea ended with a team-high 23 points off the bench.
Teammates Andrew Carr and Jaxson Robinson had two 3-pointers apiece.
UK now prepares for its first SEC road contest of the season. Kentucky heads to Athens, Georgia, to face Georgia on Tuesday.
Reach Kentucky men’s basketball and football reporter Ryan Black at rblack@gannett.com and follow him on X at @RyanABlack.
