The Florida-Kentucky basketball game was the marquee matchup in the SEC for the better part of two decades.
This meeting of one-time heavyweights on the hardwood now will feature two unranked teams struggling to find their footing and identity at 5 p.m. Saturday in the O’Connell Center.
The Gators (5-2, 2-1 SEC) are coming off a 15-point beatdown at Alabama, adapting to an up-tempo playing style and reinventing themselves and their roles following the loss of preseason SEC Player of the Year Keyontae Johnson.
Kentucky’s annual retooling under John Calipari and freshmen infusion inevitably leads to growing pains, just not to the degree the Wildcats (3-6, 2-0) have experienced this season.