Three reasons the #25 Kentucky Wildcats will lose to the #14 Florida Gators

Here's why the Kentucky Wildcats will lose to the Florida Gators.

Feb 7, 2026; Lexington, Kentucky, USA; Kentucky Wildcats head coach Mark Pope looks on during the first half against the Tennessee Volunteers at Rupp Arena at Central Bank Center. Mandatory Credit: Jordan Prather-Imagn Images | Jordan Prather-Imagn Images

Over the last few weeks, Mark Pope’s Kentucky Wildcats have picked up some impressive wins, taking down the Tennessee Volunteers twice and beating John Calipari’s Arkansas Razorbacks in Bud Walton Arena. It has been a really good stretch for the Wildcats, but Kentucky’s toughest test of the season is coming up on Saturday when they take on Florida in Gainesville.

The Gators are arguably the hottest team in college basketball right now so Kentucky will have to play its most complete game of the season to get the win.

Earlier, we wrote an article about three reasons the Wildcats will take down the Gators, but now it is time to look at the flip side of this coin. Let’s take a look at three reasons the Gators will beat the Wildcats on Saturday.

Three reasons #14 Florida will beat #25 Kentucky

The Gators dominate the boards

Feb 7, 2026; College Station, Texas, USA; Florida Gators center Rueben Chinyelu (9) looks to pass the ball during the second half against the Texas A&M Aggies at Reed Arena. Mandatory Credit: Maria Lysaker-Imagn Images | Maria Lysaker-Imagn Images

There is no team in college basketball better on the boards than the Florida Gators. One team that is close to as good as Florida on the boards is Tennessee, and the Vols just dominated Kentucky on the boards this past Saturday. Florida is a better version of Tennessee in every aspect of the game, but especially on the boards. If Florida dominates Kentucky on the glass, the Wildcats will not have a shot to pull off the upset. On defense, Kentucky needs all five players crashing the boards, or this could get ugly.

Otega Oweh struggles

Feb 7, 2026; Lexington, Kentucky, USA; Kentucky Wildcats guard Otega Oweh (00) holds the ball after being fouled during the second half against the Tennessee Volunteers at Rupp Arena at Central Bank Center. Mandatory Credit: Jordan Prather-Imagn Images | Jordan Prather-Imagn Images

Otega Oweh is one of the best slashers in college basketball, but the Florida Gators are one of the biggest teams in the nation. Oweh is going to try to score amongst the trees in this game as he always does, but it will be a challenge. Florida is going to do everything in its power to shut down Oweh from getting to the rim, so he needs to be ready to kick the ball out to open shooters. Tennessee plays a similar style, and Oweh dominated the Vols on Saturday, but he didn’t have his best game when these two teams first met. If the Gators bottle up Oweh, they will win this game.

Gators chomp the Wildcats early

Feb 7, 2026; Lexington, Kentucky, USA; Kentucky Wildcats head coach Mark Pope reacts to the action during the first half against the Tennessee Volunteers at Rupp Arena at Central Bank Center. Mandatory Credit: Jordan Prather-Imagn Images | Jordan Prather-Imagn Images

Mark Pope and the Kentucky Wildcats have had an issue with starting games slow, and if they do that on Saturday in Gainesville, this game will be ugly before the under 16-minute timeout. Kentucky did an excellent job coming out hot in the win over the Arkansas Razorbacks, and this team will need to repeat this against Florida if they want to pull off the road upset. A slow start will lead to Big Blue Nation having this game turned off by halftime.