February 14, 2026; Gainesville, Florida, USA; Florida Gators forward Thomas Herr (10) shoots the ball toward Kentucky Wildcats guard Otega Owe (00) in the second half at ExakTech Arena at the Stephen C. O’Connell Center. Mandatory Credit: Matt Pendleton-Imagn Images Unranked Kentucky has one more chance in the regular season to make a strong impression on the Southeastern Conference when it hosts No. 5 Florida in Lexington on Saturday afternoon.
The Wildcats (19-11, 10-7 SEC), who are tied for fifth place in a four-way tie, defeated Texas A&M, Missouri and no. 24 Vanderbilt, each of which is ranked No. 23 Tennessee (11-6 SEC) is hoping to move up to the No. 4 spot.
The Volunteers’ home finale is Saturday afternoon against nearby rival Vanderbilt, which lost 69-65 to Tennessee two weeks ago.
Even if the Commodores take the series against their neighbors, Tennessee can still secure a double bye with Missouri losing to Arkansas and Kentucky losing to Florida.
If Kentucky loses to the juggernaut Gators (24-6, 15-2), the Wildcats will advance to next week’s conference tournament with a 2-5 record in their last seven games.
Coach Mark Pope’s team lost 96-85 at Texas A&M on Tuesday, and the coach’s postgame press conference was punctuated by the word “disappointment,” which could ultimately sum up a very inconsistent journey of the season.
“We are disappointed with the results and disappointed with our efforts.” “We had a 27-3 run by the Aggies at the end of the first half to take a 45-33 lead,” said Pope. “We had great focus and intensity for the first 14 minutes of the game, but then we lost focus.
“We had moments where we lost our minds.”
Leading scorer Otega Obe (17.9 points per game) had 24 points with 9 rebounds, 5 assists and 3 steals. Mouhamed Dioubate, who scored 8.5 points, had 19 points and 7 rebounds.
Since a 76-67 loss to Auburn at home on Jan. 24, everything has gone the reigning national champions’ way.
Coach Todd Golden’s team has won 10 straight games and is committed to defending its championship.
On Senior Night before Tuesday’s 108-74 massacre at Mississippi State, the school honored reserve Micah Handlogten, one of two seniors along with freshman transfer guard Xaivian Lee.
Handlogten, from Lake Norman, North Carolina, is petitioning the NCAA to extend his eligibility for another year. The 7-foot-1 man overcame a compound fracture and redshirted last season to help the Gators win the national crown.
“I think he deserves the title of being one of the most unselfish Gator athletes to ever play on this campus,” Golden said. “I think people around the program speak highly of him for doing what he did last year and helping us win a national championship.”
In a frontcourt with plenty of size, Handlogten came off the bench to average 4.3 points and 6 rebounds while shooting 65.2 percent. Most of them occurred inside the paint.
Rueben Chinyelu leads the nation in rebounding, pulling down 11.7 per outing. The junior also averaged 11.3 points and recorded his 18th double-double of the season.
With Tuesday’s performance, Chinyelu tied Florida’s most double-doubles in a season with Bob Smyth, who accomplished the feat during the 1975-76 campaign.
Thomas Haugh leads Florida with 17.1 points and Alex Condon has 14.8.
On Valentine’s Day, the Gators topped the Wildcats 92-83 for their second win in their last three attempts against their former East Division rivals wearing blue.
However, Kentucky holds an 11-3 advantage over its last 14 contests.
–Field level media
