March 7, 2026; Lexington, Kentucky, USA; Florida Gators guard Urban Klavzar (7) drives toward the basket against Kentucky Wildcats guard Denzel Aberdeen (1) during the first half at Roof Arena at Central Bank Center. Mandatory Credit: Jordan Prather-Imagn Image Thomas Haugh had a team-high 20 points, nine rebounds and three steals, and No. 5 Florida closed out the Southeastern Conference regular season with its 11th straight win, defeating Kentucky 84-77 on Saturday afternoon in Lexington, Ken.
Boogie Fland had 16 points and six assists, and Alex Condon had 14 points, five rebounds and four assists for the Gators (25-6, 16-2).
Rueben Chinyelu had 13 points and eight rebounds. Xaivian Lee had 11 points, seven rebounds and five assists as Florida beat the Wildcats (19-12, 10-8) for the third time in four meetings.
The Gators converted 28 of 61 shots (45.9%) and made 8 of 18 (44.4%) from beyond the arc.
Top scorer Otega Oweh had 28 points and five rebounds for the Wildcats.
Denzel Aberdeen had 15 points and five assists, but Kentucky finished the SEC season with a 2-5 record.
Muhammed Diubate had 10 points and six boards as the club shot 39.4% from the floor.
If Florida was worried about being ambushed by the Wildcats in its home finale, the defending national champions didn’t show it.
The Gators went on an 11-0 run right after tipoff, playing up front. Lee’s 3-pointer was the club’s second of the match with just 2 minutes, 34 seconds to play, forcing Kentucky coach Mark Pope to call a timeout.
The home team finally scored two minutes later on Andrja Jelavic’s short jumper, but the damage was done and they had to spend the rest of the first half chasing the SEC’s best team.
But Kentucky cut it to 20-19 on Brandon Garrison’s dunk with 8:57 to play, but Haugh hit huge slams of his own on the next two possessions as the team went on a five-point lead and a 15-0 run.
Haugh and Oweh led the team with 17 points each as the Gators led 49-32 at the break.
In the second half, Florida kept its halftime margin to about 17 points until Jasper Johnson’s long ball made it 61-48 with 12:01 to play, but an Isaiah Brown trey and Haugh’s throwback increased the lead to 18 at 10:44.
Aberdeen’s two free throws put Kentucky up 82-77 with 19.2 seconds left, but Florida wrapped up its campaign with another win.
–Field level media
