Gators Set For Normal Basketball Schedule With Kentucky Next Season

The Florida Gators and Kentucky Wildcats will share the hardwood twice in the 2025-26 regular season, CBS Sports college basketball insider Jon Rothstein announced on X Wednesday. 

It was surprising as well as disappointing to see two of the best the SEC has to offer in men’s basketball only face off once a season ago. An expanded SEC shook things up since Florida had to start playing Oklahoma and Texas.  

In that contest, the Gators came out on the losing end in Rupp Arena, falling to the Wildcats 106-100. Kentucky handed Florida its first loss of the season after entering the contest on a 13-game winning streak. 

The Gators held most of the control in the first 10 minutes of this game. However, something switched for the hosts around the nine-minute mark. From there, the Wildcats started to surge and eventually took a 52-42 lead into halftime. 

Florida managed to keep the deficit to single digits in the second half, cutting it as low as two points, but they couldn’t find the winning recipe by the final whistle. 

Walter Clayton Jr. and Alijah Martin led the way for the Gators against the Wildcats. Clayton Jr. led all players with 33 points and shot 6-for-12 from behind the arc. Martin finished second in scoring with 26 points. He also shot 5-for-12 from three. 

The history between the two programs has not been kind to Florida. Kentucky leads Florida 110 to 42, and Florida is 2-8 in their last 10 matchups with Kentucky. 

The Gators begin their 2025-26 season in Las Vegas, Nev., taking on the Arizona Wildcats on Nov. 3 at T-Mobile Arena.

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