Florida Gators Defeat Kentucky Wildcats for Seventh Time in a Row; Ties Record

Saturday the Kentucky Wildcats saw a completely new Florida Gators starting five, but the result was the same. After an 81 - 70 win the Florida Gators defeated the Kentucky Wildcats for the seventh consecutive time. Florida's seventh win in a row ties Georgetown for the most consecutive wins against Kentucky.

The Florida Gators are the two time defending National Champion but their six best players all left the team after the 2006 - 2007 season. The new Florida Gators was on display tonight, led by freshman Nick Calathes and sophomore Marreese Speights.

The game was a lot closer than the 81 - 70 score suggests. The Kentucky Wildcats did keep the game close and even took the game into overtime but once Kentucky started fouling, the freshmen Nick Calathes sunk ten consecutive free throws to make the score look a lot worse than it actually was.

The Kentucky Wildcats basketball program has more wins than anybody so their overall record against the Florida Gators, or any other team in the SEC, is pretty impressive. But lately the Florida Gators have turned the tables by winning the last seven meetings in a row.

For a long time the Kentucky Wildcats were a huge thorn in the Gators side. The Florida Gators teams led by David Lee, Anthony Roberson and Matt Walsh would especially have problems against the Kentucky Wildcats. During David Lee's freshmen season the Gators lost both games against the Wildcats. In 2002 - 2003 the Florida Gators started 20 - 2 and was ranked #1 for the first time in the basketball program's history but one day later Kentucky embarrassed them with a 70 - 55 blowout. The following year Kentucky added insult to injury by not only beating the Gators twice in the regular season but also beating them in the SEC Championship game.