Florida vs. Kentucky: Game Preview, Prediction

For the second time in six days, and for the third time this season, the Kentucky Wildcats and the Florida Gators will meet on the hardwood. These two rivals will play the first quarterfinal of the 2015 SEC Tournament on Friday in Nashville.

Florida advanced to the quarterfinals by beating the Alabama Crimson Tide 69-61 on Thursday at Bridgestone Arena.

Last Saturday, Kentucky beat Florida 67-50 in Rupp Arena to finish the regular season with a perfect 31-0 record. Freshman Trey Lyles led Kentucky with 14 points in that game, while fellow freshman Karl-Anthony Towns had 13 points, nine rebounds and six blocks.

These two teams also met on February 7 in Gainesville, with Kentucky winning 68-61. Aaron Harrison led the Wildcats with 23 points and Towns had 19.

By winning on Thursday, the Gators evened their record at 16-16. A loss to Kentucky on Friday would give Florida its first losing season since 1997-98, which is also the last time Florida didn’t win at least 20 games. That was Billy Donovan‘s second season in Gainesville.

Florida has dealt with much turmoil this season, seeing Dorian Finney-Smith get suspended and Michael Frazier get injured. Add that to the fact that the Gators had to replace four starters from last season, and it has been too much to overcome.

Kentucky, on the other hand, is having a season for the ages. The Wildcats became the first major conference team to finish a perfect regular season since the 1975-76 Indiana Hoosiers. If the Wildcats win three games in the SEC Tournament and six in the NCAA Tournament, they would be the first team to ever win 40 games.

Friday’s contest shouldn’t be too tough on Kentucky. Florida will have to come back with less than 24 hours of rest and compete against a tough, physical, deep Wildcats’ squad. This will also be a Kentucky team playing in front of a “home” crowd, as the Big Blue Nation has seemingly taken over the city of Nashville, even before their beloved Wildcats hit the floor.

Final score prediction: Kentucky 72, Florida 54

Tim Letcher is a Featured Writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @TimLetcher , on Facebook or add him to your network on Google.