< PreviousWEEKNIGHTS 7:30 p.m. SATURDAY 9:00 a.m. 12 @KentuckyMBB14 @KentuckyMBB From Press Row No. 10 Cats Outlast No. 6 Gators on Saturday No. 10 Kentucky won its third game over an AP Top 10 opponent this season, taking its SEC opener, 106-100, over No. 6 Florida on Saturday at Rupp Arena. Six Wildcats scored in double figures, led by a career-high 23 points from Koby Brea who connected on seven 3-pointers in the contest. Lamont Butler scored 19 points and set a new career benchmark with eight assists, while Otega Oweh had 16 points and Amari Williams posted 15 points and eight rebounds. UK was powered by three separate runs of at least 10 points, including a 16-0 spurt in the first half that took the Cats from down by 11 points, to up by five. An- other 10-0 run just prior to halftime gave Kentucky a 52-42 edge at the break. When Florida pulled within one at 70- 69 with 12:08 to play, UK made its third push, embarking on a 10-0 spurt to bring the lead back to 11. The Gators got back within two at 89-87, but Lamont Butler scored the next five points to help hold off the rally. Andrew Carr scored seven of his 14 points over the last 2:15 of game time to help close out the win. Some additional notes from the game: • The game was the first time UK has opened SEC play with a matchup between two teams ranked in the AP Top 10 • Kentucky's three wins over top 10 opponents are the most in college basket- ball this season • Kentucky is 3-0 against AP top 10 op- ponents this season. It is the quickest (14 games) into a season that the Cats have three victories over AP top 10 opponents since 2014-15 (13 games) • Kentucky posted a 4.2:1 assist to turnover ratio in the win, its best against an SEC opponent since 2012 vs. South Carolina (5.7:1) • UK improves to 5-0 against the Gators when both teams are ranked in the top 10 • The 106 points were the second most for Kentucky ever against Florida (110 in 1970), it's third most ever against an AP Top 10 opponent, and UK's fourth most in an SEC opener • The win snapped Florida's 13-0 start to the season. Only two teams had entered Rupp Arena with better records - Auburn (17-0, 1998-99) and Vanderbilt (16-0, 2007- 08). Kentucky won all three of those games • Six Wildcats scored at least 14 points for just the second time in program history (Dec. 28, 1974 vs. Notre Dame) • Jaxson Robinson reached 1,000 points for his career. Three Wildcats have crossed the mark this season and seven players on the roster are now 1,000-point scorers • The 14 made 3-pointers were the fourth most in program history against an AP Top 10 opponent • Koby Brea's seven made 3s were tied for the second most in program history against an AP Top 10 opponent, trailing only Malik Monk's eight against UNC in 2016 Toppling the Top 10 Kentucky has started the Mark Pope era 3-0 against Associated Press Top 10 teams, and all three victories have seen UK come- back from double-digit deficits. Pope is the first Kentucky coach to face a top 10 AP foe in each of his first three matchups against a ranked opponent. He is just the second UK coach to win his first three AP Top 10 matchups, joining Adolph Rupp. Kentucky got its first marquee win, up- ending No. 6 Duke, 77-72, in the Champi- ons Classic in Atlanta. Trailing 46-37 at the half, Kentucky out- scored the Blue Devils, 40-26 in the final 20 minutes to earn its first victory against an AP Top 25 ranked opponent under Pope. Andrew Carr was the leading scorer for the Wildcats with 17 points, while Otega Oweh had 15 and Amari Williams had 10. Those three players have scored in dou- ble figures in all three games this season. The Wildcats led for just 7:10 in the con- test. After leading 24-23 with 8:47 to go in the first half. UK would not lead again un- til holding a 69-67 edge with 2:40 left in the game. A steal and two free throws from Oweh with 10 seconds to go put UK ahead for good as a Blue Devils' turnover, paired with a made free throw by Lamont Butler and an offensive rebound by Oweh, closed the deal for the Cats. Know Your Opponent Georiga is 12-2 on the season but dropped is SEC opener, 63-51, to Ole Miss. The Dawgs were picked 12th among 16 teams in the SEC preseason poll. Freshman forward Asa Newell leads the team in scoring at 15.4 points per game, and is also the group's leading rebounder at 6.9 boards per contest. Dakota Leffew, a grad transfer from St. Mary's, is the top out- side threat for the Bulldogs, with 35 mades 3s on .403 3-point shooting.Thank You to Our CORNERSTONE PARTNERSNEAround the SEC Around the Country 2024-25 SEC Standings and Statistics Team SEC Overall Home Road Tennessee 1-0 14-0 9-0 2-0 Auburn 1-0 13-1 7-0 0-1 Mississippi State 1-0 13-1 7-0 2-0 Vanderbilt 1-0 13-1 8-0 2-0 Alabama 1-0 12-2 7-0 2-1 Kentucky 1-0 12-2 8-0 0-1 Ole Miss 1-0 12-2 8-0 1-1 Texas A&M 1-0 12-2 8-0 0-1 Florida 0-1 13-1 7-0 1-1 Oklahoma 0-1 13-1 7-0 0-1 Georgia 0-1 12-2 9-0 1-1 Arkansas 0-1 11-3 8-0 1-1 LSU 0-1 11-3 9-1 1-0 Missouri 0-1 11-3 11-0 0-2 Texas 0-1 11-3 8-1 1-1 South Carolina 0-1 10-4 8-1 1-2 Scoring Player-Team ...................................................................PPG Lanier, Chaz - UT ........................................................20.29 Johnson, Tre - Texas .....................................................19.00 Broome, Johni - AUB ...................................................18.57 Sears, Mark - UA .........................................................18.29 Edwards, Jason - VU ....................................................18.29 Clayton Jr., Walter - UF ................................................18.29 Rebounding Player-Team ...................................................................RPG Broome, Johni - AUB ...................................................11.14 Murray-Boyles, Collin - SC ...........................................9.36 Milicic Jr., Igor - UT ......................................................8.93 Nelson, Grant - UA ......................................................8.79 Williams, Amari - UK .................................................. 8.43 Assists Player-Team ...................................................................APG Zeigler, Zakai - UT ........................................................8.00 Fland, Boogie - ARK ......................................................5.93 Taylor IV, Wade - TA&M ................................................4.85 Sears, Mark - UA ..........................................................4.43 Butler, Lamont - UK ......................................................4.42 Steals Player-Team ...................................................................SPG Matthews, Cameron - MISS ST .......................................2.64 Phelps, Zhuric - TA&M ..................................................2.46 Mashack, Jahmai - UT ..................................................2.43 Pedulla, Sean - UM ...................................................... 2.43 Tanner, Tyler - VU .........................................................2.36 Blocks Player-Team ...................................................................BPG Broome, Johni - AUB .....................................................2.71 Ivisic, Zvonimir - ARK ....................................................2.08 Cyril, Somto - UGA .......................................................1.93 Shedrick, Kadin - Texas .................................................1.86 Collins, Daimion - LSU ..................................................1.83 2024-25 Associated Press Rankings As of January 6, 2025 (week 10) Team Record Points 1 Tennessee (45) 14-0 1484 2 Auburn (15) 13-1 1453 3 Iowa State 12-1 1369 4 Duke 12-2 1309 5 Alabama 12-2 1260 6 Kentucky 12-2 1154 7 Marquette 13-2 1134 8 Florida 13-1 1045 9 UConn 12-3 964 10 Texas A&M 12-2 924 11 Kansas 10-3 809 12 Houston 10-3 768 13 Illinois 11-3 693 14 Mississippi State 13-1 690 15 Oregon 13-2 624 16 Michigan State 12-2 616 17 Oklahoma 13-1 553 18 Gonzaga 12-4 469 19 Memphis 12-3 384 20 Purdue 11-4 374 21 West Virginia 11-2 277 22 UCLA 11-3 234 23 Ole Miss 12-2 219 24 Michigan 11-3 160 25 Utah State 14-1 119 18 @KentuckyMBBWe’re your Shield. 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We’re honored to be ranked the BEST Auto Insurance Company in the USA20 @KentuckyMBB 2024-25 Basketball Schedule Home Neutral Away FEB 8 LEXINGTON, KY 12:00 P.M. ESPN/ESPN2 SOUTH CAROLINA FEB 1 LEXINGTON, KY. 9:00 P.M. ESPN ARKANSAS FEB 11 LEXINGTON, KY 7:00 P.M. ESPN TENNESSEE FEB 4 OXFORD, MISS. 7:00 P.M. ESPN OLE MISS JAN 28 KNOXVILLE, TENN. 7:00 P.M. ESPN TENNESSEE JAN 25 NASHVILLE, TENN. 2:30 P.M. ESPN/ESPN2 VANDERBILT FEB 15 AUSTIN, TEXAS 8:00 P.M. ESPN TEXAS FEB 22 TUSCALOOSA, ALA. 6:OO P.M. ESPN ALABAMA FEB 26 NORMAN, OKLA. 9:00 P.M. SECN OKLAHOMA MAR 4 LEXINGTON, KY. TBA ESPN/ESPN2/ESPNU LSU MAR 1 LEXINGTON, KY. TBA ABC/ESPN AUBURNVANDERBILT FEB 19 LEXINGTON, KY. 7:00 P.M. SECN MISSOURI MAR 8 COLUMBIA, MO. 12:00 P.M. ESPN/SECN SEC TOURNAMENT MAR 12-16 NASHVILLE, TENN. TBA TBA NCAA TOURNAMENT MAR-APRIL FINAL FOUR SAN ANTONIO TBA Scan for Updated Schedule JAN 18 LEXINGTON, KY. 12:OO P.M. ESPN ALABAMA DEC 31 LEXINGTON, KY. W, 88-54 BROWNGEORGIA JAN 7 ATHENS, GA. 7:00 P.M. SECN MISSISSIPPI STATE JAN 11 STARKVILLE, MISS. 8:30 P.M. SECN JAN 4 LEXINGTON, KY. W, 106-100 FLORIDA JAN 14 LEXINGTON, KY. 7:00 P.M. ESPN2/ESPNU TEXAS A&M NOV 29 LEXINGTON, KY. W, 105-76 GEORGIA STATE DEC 3 CLEMSON, S.C. L, 66-70 CLEMSON SEC/ACC Challenge DEC 11 LEXINGTON, KY. W, 78-67 COLGATE DEC 14 LEXINGTON, KY. W, 93-85 LOUISVILLE DEC 7 SEATTLE W OT, 90-89 GONZAGA Battle in Seattle DEC 21 NEW YORK L, 65-85 OHIO STATE CBS Sports Classic NOV 4 LEXINGTON, KY. W, 103-62 WRIGHT STATE NOV 9 LEXINGTON, KY. W, 100-72 BUCKNELL NOV 12 ATLANTA W, 77-72 DUKE Champions Classic NOV 19 LEXINGTON, KY. W, 97-68 LIPSCOMB BBN Invitational NOV 22 LEXINGTON, KY. W, 108-59 JACKSON STATE BBN Invitational|Unity Series NOV 26 LEXINGTON, KY. W, 87-68 WESTERN KENTUCKY BBN InvitationalSUBSCRIBE TO PODCASTS TODAY! The Mark Pope ShowNext >