First Meeting January 23, 1927 Next Meeting TBA | Latest Meeting February 25, 2017 Total Number of Meetings 138 | |
First Result Kentucky 44, Florida 36 Latest Result Kentucky 76, Florida 66 | ||
The Florida–Kentucky men's basketball rivalry is a semi-annual rivalry between the Florida Gators and the Kentucky Wildcats basketball teams. The two schools are permanent SEC rivals, meaning that they are scheduled to play twice a year in the SEC regular season while they rotate which four of the other 12 SEC teams they will play twice that season. Florida and Kentucky first met in 1927, with Kentucky winning 44–36. The two teams have played 138 times in total, with Kentucky holding a commanding 100–38 lead in the series. But despite Kentucky's lopsided series lead, this rivalry has produced many memorable games, including several match ups in the SEC Tournament Championship Game (the most recent of which Florida defeated Kentucky 61–60, in 2014). In addition, the Gators also hold the distinction of being the only team to ever defeat Kentucky seven straight times.
Game results
Source
Kentucky leads the overall series 100–38, and leads the SEC Championship Game series 3–2. However, the rivalry has become much more even lately, with Kentucky holding a 17–14 advantage since 2005, and Florida having a 2–1 advantage in the last three SEC Championship Game meetings. Kentucky victories are shaded blue, Florida victories are shaded orange. Games with * denote a meeting in the SEC Tournament, while games with ** denote a meeting in the SEC Tournament Championship Game.
Florida victories are shaded ██ orange. Kentucky victories are shaded ██ blue. Ties are white.