How to watch Kentucky's matchup with Florida in the SEC Tournament

Mark Pope and the Kentucky Wildcats have started to go on a run in Nashville as wins over LSU and Missouri have the Wildcats heading into Friday. The toughest test yet in the SEC Tournament lies ahead for Pope’s Wildcats as they are set to take on the #1-seeded Florida Gators.

This is a Florida team that just took down the Wildcats in Rupp Arena on Saturday night. The Gators might be the hottest team in college basketball, and they are eyeing a one seed in the NCAA Tournament. Obviously, the Gators won the National Title last season, and Todd Golden’s team is looking to do it again.

These two teams have met two times already this season, and the Gators have gotten the best of the Wildcats in both meetings. While the Gators have led in all 80 minutes of these two ball games, Kentucky fans have left both games feeling that if the team plays better, they can take down the Gators.

Mar 12, 2026; Nashville, TN, USA; Kentucky Wildcats head coach Mark Pope yells to his team against the Missouri Tigers during the second half at Bridgestone Arena. Mandatory Credit: Steve Roberts-Imagn Images | Steve Roberts-Imagn Images

In the matchup on Saturday with Florida, the Gators got out to an 11-0 lead, which put Kentucky into an early hole. The Wildcats got it back to 20-19, but after this point, Florida went on a run, and the game felt just about over. Not letting the Gators go on a massive scoring run will be very important, but they have done this in both of the meetings.

Obviously, the Gators will have much fresher legs than the Wildcats in this game as Florida hasn’t played yet, and this will be Kentucky’s third game in as many days. The good news is that Kam Williams has made his return for the Wildcats, and he should be a big help to this team, trying to slow Gator star forward Thomas Haugh.

It would be interesting to see what a win in this game for Kentucky would do for the Wildcats NCAA Tournament seeding. It would almost guarantee the Wildcats to be a six-seed but perhaps would give Pope’s team an outside chance to steal a five-seed. This feels unlikely even with the win, but crazy things happen on Selection Sunday.

Let’s take a look at how to watch Kentucky’s matchup with Florida

How to watch Kentucky take on Florida in the SEC Tournament

The matchup between the Kentucky Wildcats and Florida Gators is set to tip off at 1:00 pm est on Friday, and this game can be watched on ESPN.