Kentucky vs. Florida

It's another big weekend for Kentucky and this time it's Florida coming to town. It seems like almost every UK game is considered a "must win" this year. Last Saturday it was @ Arkansas, before that it was vs. Tennessee. UK has had a lot of big games this year, but this one might be the biggest. Everybody know this game is big, but what can Kentucky do to actually win?

First, they need to believe they can win. Florida hasn't lost since December 3rd, but win they struggle it's been on the road, and they haven't seen an environment yet like what they're going to see tomorrow at Rupp. The crowd will be huge and crazy, and Kentucky needs to feed off of this advantage.

Second, UK can't afford to come out sluggish and get behind. Tubby's teams have always been great at coming back from double digit margins, but Florida is probably too good to allow a big comeback.

I'm not worried about UK being able to score against Florida, because I think that they will. I'm much more worried about the defense. If Florida is able to drive past the perimeter defenders, it might look alot like the loss to Memphis. The Gators are great finishers around the basket and they can also drive and dish for a 3. Even though Florida can shoot, I still think that UK might be most successful in a zone. If Florida is forced to shoot from outside, then UK is in good shape, but if they are able to penetrate and pass out for wide open 3's then UK will be in trouble.

I'm going to predict a 68-62 UK win.