Tomorrow is Valentine's Day, but do not expect a love-fest to break out in Gainesville. Kentucky and Florida gave us an instant classic last year, a 106-100 shootout in Rupp that was so good it forced the SEC to admit they messed up by only scheduling it once. They fixed that mistake this year. We get a home-and-home, the way it should be between two top SEC teams. The first round is going to be hostile.
We caught up with Benjamin Henderson from Hail Florida Hail to get the pulse of the Gator fanbase, and one thing is very clear: They have not forgiven Denzel Aberdeen.
The "hornet's nest"
When Aberdeen transferred to Kentucky, Gator fans were annoyed, but they understood the business side of it. Then his dad did an interview, and everything changed.
According to Henderson, comments about Aberdeen wanting a coach who "believed in him" did not sit well with a fanbase that watched Todd Golden develop him from a Mike White benchwarmer into a rotation piece on a title team.
"It did not go over well," Henderson told us. "Adding in the fact that Florida fans still give Mike White the business even though he is in year four at Georgia, I expect a hornet's nest in Gainesville."
So yeah, expect Denzel to hear it every time he touches the ball. Let’s hope he uses it as fuel.
The scouting report: "Plan A is the Paint"
Florida has been rolling lately (winning 11 of their last 15), and their game plan isn't a secret. They are going to pound the ball inside. Henderson noted that this Florida team still doesn't have consistent outside shooting "to save its life," so they are going to try to bully Kentucky's bigs.
The blueprint to beat them? Do what Auburn did.
"Auburn basically sold out in the paint and dared Florida to do something else," Henderson said. But it also took a stubborn Florida team that refused to change that allowed the Tigers to notch a win. "Florida got a bit stubborn and kept trying to pound it inside."
If Kentucky can pack the lane and force them to shoot jumpers, we have a real shot at walking out of the O Dome victorious.
"Jokes" about Kentucky's season have stopped
The most telling part of our conversation was about how Florida views this Kentucky team now. Early in the season, when we were struggling, they were laughing. Now? Not so much.
"Given the Aberdeen backdrop, Florida fans definitely were taking note of Kentucky's early struggles," Henderson admitted. "Now that Kentucky is on a bit of a roll themselves... the jokes at Kentucky's expense have slowed down over the past couple of weeks."
That is because the Cats have really found a rhythm in the SEC. Coming in at 8-3 and winners of 3 straight. It has not always been pretty, but it has been effective.
The prediction
Henderson thinks Florida's offense is just too much for us right now. He pointed out that Kentucky doesn't force enough turnovers to disrupt them, and he is right. This team is not a disruptive defensive team, and that is a problem. He said, given that unless we rebound at an elite level, they will get too many shots up, and he is also probably right about that.
His pick: Florida 90, Kentucky 80.
I don't know about you, but I would love nothing more than for Denzel Aberdeen to drop 20 points in that building and walk out with a win.
It’s going to be loud. It’s going to be hostile. Exactly how a Kentucky-Florida game should be. Let's hope the team that beat Tennessee twice shows up, and not the one that showed up in Nashville.