Kentucky basketball: 3 keys vs Florida, prediction, TV/ radio

2. Kentucky must defend Florida’s perimeter shooting

There is no way around it, the biggest key to a victory for Kentucky is defending Florida’s three-point shooting. The Kentucky basketball team has been shutting teams down from the outside. The Cats lead the SEC in three-point defense and are holding conference opponents to only 25% from beyond the arc.

Unfortunately for the Wildcats, Florida is the best in the SEC from downtown. The Gators are 1st in the SEC and 28th in the nation from behind the three-point line. Florida is shooting an outstanding 44.5% from three-point territory and are jacking up 24 shots from outside the arc per game.

John Calipari commented on Florida’s three-point shooting during his pre-game press conference via CoachCal.com:

"“They’re a good team, they get after it, they play hard. They space the court. They’ll go at somebody they think they can beat on the bounce. They’re good. They shoot a ton of 3’s. They’ll come in here and shoot 30 3’s. And if they’re making 15, 20, then guess what? Who’s next? It’ll be a hard game. We know they will do it.”"

Kentucky’s perimeter defense has been stellar all season. The Wildcats are 6th in nation, allowing only 29% shooting from deep. If the Cats can hold the Gators to that number, they stand an excellent chance of emerging victorious on Saturday night.