It can’t get any more romantic than a ranked SEC matchup in the late afternoon on Valentine’s Day, and fans were spoiled with a brawl between No. 25 Kentucky (17-8, 8-4 SEC) and No. 14 Florida (19-6, 10-2 SEC) to solidly the top spot in the conference.

The biggest story heading into this one was the return of Denzel Aberdeen, who was a focal point of Florida’s championship season last year, ultimately transferring to Kentucky in the offseason.

Met with the predictable boos, Aberdeen took the court in hopes of pulling off a major upset win and heading back to Lexington with his team after another SEC win, but the Wildcats were met early with the monster Gator bigs and the improving backcourt.

Through the first five minutes, Kentucky was only 1-6 from the field, while Florida’s Xaivian Lee had more points by himself via the three.

Trending in the same direction, Malachi Moreno would get in early foul trouble and his teammates continued to turn the ball over, leading to easy transition buckets.

In the first half, the Wildcats coughed the ball up nine times, leading to 16 points for the Gators.

Before halftime, Aberdeen would quickly score five points, sparking a 10-0 Kentucky run and trimming down the deficit.

Continuing to claw back, Kentucky would head back into the locker room trailing by nine points in enemy territory.

As the second half began, it was clear that Kentucky wouldn’t go down without a fight.

Aberdeen and Collin Chandler would both trade shots with Lee and Thomas Haugh, trimming the Gator lead down to four at one point, but Kentucky couldn’t get over the hump.

Tellingly, the Kentucky bigs continued to pick up fouls, with Moreno notching his fourth early and Brandon Garrison reaching and pushing his way to his third just five minutes into the half.

This, mixed with the stellar shooting ability from the Gator guards, would keep the Wildcats just several possessions away at all times, unable to mount another famous comeback.

For example, Chandler would drain a three and Aberdeen would swoop in for a layup to cut the lead to eight with just minutes remaining, and right when a member of the Big Blue Nation would sit up in their chair, the Gators would hit another three, taking the lead back to 11.

The Gators were the better team down the stretch, and now after their 92-83 victory over the Wildcats, the top spot in the conference belongs to them as March inches closer.

Up next, Kentucky will host Georgia (17-7, 5-6 SEC) on Tuesday, Feb. 17 inside of Rupp Arena. Tip is set for 9:00 p.m. ET and will air live on ESPN.

A packed blue and white crowd, throwback denim jerseys, and a tribute to the “Untouchable” 1996 championship team. What more could you ask for in a weekend game at Rupp Arena?

A win. And the Wildcats delivered just that.

After a rocky start at home, the Kentucky Wildcats ultimately pulled away from the Tennessee Volunteers, 74-71, to sweep the season series.

Recovering From Early Hits

In the first half, the Wildcats shot just 3-9 from the free throw nine and 2-9 from long range. When that’s juxtaposed with Tennessee’s own 53% from both the field and from deep at the midway point, it isn’t hard to see how the Cats got down 47-33.

Coming out of the break, though, Kentucky turned the matchup on its head. The Cats ended up pulling their percentage from the strike up to 59% and, despite struggles from three, Collin Chandler hit another one when it mattered most.

A Guy for Everything

Much of Kentucky’s season thus far has been predicated on the lack of “a guy;” someone that can do it all when his number is called.

Yet, as the team turns their final stretch, it seems their success is based on strength in numbers. The aforementioned Chandler has been a “big shot” maker, while Oweh (who had a team-leading 21 tonight) almost always comes out on top in the overall scoring margin.

Denzel Aberdeen is ever-reliable at the line, and Malachi Moreno and Brandon Garrison have formed a formidable, reliable rotation in the paint. It’s pure “team ball,” and it’s working for Coach Pope and his staff.

Now at 17-7 (8-3) the Wildcats have risen further into immediate contention for the SEC regular season title. In spite of a schedule only getting more difficult, Kentucky continues to prove themselves against that steep competition.

Riding the Wave

With the Georgia Bulldogs (17-6) set to travel to Rupp early next week, the Wildcats won’t have much time to celebrate this win over the Vols.

Still, they should try and find it. No matter where things go from here, this blue and white bunch – with eight wins in their last nine games – have done the dirty work in trying to turn things around, in spite of injuries.

It’s a hard road from here, but it’s been a hard road up to now, too. Pope and his team have, at least, earned a portion of trust in their ongoing process.

On Wednesday, Feb. 4, Kentucky (16-7, 7-3 SEC) defended home court against the Oklahoma Sooners (11-12, 1-9 SEC), winning by a score of 94-78.

Was it Otega Oweh and Collin Chandler who once again led the Wildcats to a win?

Well, sure, they had great performances, with Oweh dropping his eighth 20-point game of conference play and Chandler sparking threes like prime Klay Thompson, but the unsung hero was a player you’d least expect to dominate another team.

If you somehow got your hands on a time machine, went back to the morning of the game, and told ANYONE that Brandon Garrison (BG) would have his first double-double of his Kentucky career, you’d probably get laughed at in a disgusting manner.

That’s not a discredit, we all love Garrison, but his production has been unpredictable as of late and his season has had its fair shares of ups and downs.

Finally, the Oklahoma City native who transferred to the Wildcats after the 2023-24 season, easily had the best game of his tenure.

Playing the most minutes of his career with 29, Garrison totaled 20 points, 11 rebounds and three assists, only missing one shot on the night between his attempts from the field and the foul line.

Picking up a technical with seconds left in the game and flexing after every dunk and bullying rebound, Garrison showed a side of himself that many fans hope can be unlocked for the remainder of the season. We’ve always seen the technicals, to be fair, with some added expletives.

After the game, assistant coach Jason Hart commented on BG’s huge game as Mark Pope rushed to the airport. Pope had to pick up his daughter Avery after an 18-month mission trip to El Salvador.

“He’s a young professional in terms of coming to work every day and doing his job,” said Hart. “When you do that, the basketball gods will bless you.”

The Big Blue Nation will call for another career performance from Garrison as the Wildcats host the Tennessee Volunteers (16-6, 6-3 SEC) on Saturday, Feb. 7.

Maybe the denim jerseys will have some sort of attribute boost…