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WILDCATS

Florida wanted, got third matchup with Kentucky

Kyle Tucker

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – To be clear, based on their reaction in the locker room after beating Alabama on Thursday to reach the SEC Tournament quarterfinals against top-ranked Kentucky, all of the Florida Gators want another crack at the unbeaten Wildcats. But especially freshman Devin Robinson.

In the teams' first meeting, in Gainesville back on March 7, Robinson was the unfortunate victim of that dunk. You know the one. Maybe the dunk of the year in college basketball. The one where UK's 7-foot-tall junior athletic freak, Willie Cauley-Stein, took off from a ridiculous distance and soared over Robinson for a SportsCenter slam.

"Oh, yeah, I'm going to get him back. I want to get him back so bad," Robinson said Thursday. "I see (that dunk) all the time. It hurt at first, but I was like, 'Man, I'm going to get him back. One day, I'm going to get him back.' "

Friday at Bridgestone Arena will have to be that day, unless they meet again down the road in the NBA. It will be the Gators' second shot at Kentucky (31-0) in six days and third in barely a month. Florida (16-16) lost the first meeting 68-61, then fell 67-50 in last week's regular-season finale in Lexington.

But the Gators pushed the Cats – at least for a while – in both previous meetings. Florida led by as many as nine in the first half and was tied with 12:09 remaining in Round 1, then trailed by just three with 10:28 to go in the rematch at Rupp Arena.

"They're pretty good, but they're definitely beatable," Gators guard Michael Frazier said. "We know that. If we play our best basketball, we're capable of beating anyone in the country. We've had flashes in the games (against UK) where we've matched their physicality, moved the ball, and had success. It's just about sustaining that for 40 minutes."

That's been the tricky part for every team that has tested the Cats so far this season. Kentucky goes nine-deep and that eventually wears down even the best teams by the end. It's exhausting, unpleasant.

And still: "We wanted another shot," Florida forward Chris Walker said. "We're the only team in the country, in the SEC, to get to play them boys three times, so we can't wait."

He even outlined the game plan to making the third time the charm: play help defense on the backside against 6-11 Karl-Anthony Towns, keep the Harrison twins out of the paint and always locate sharpshooter Devin Booker in transition.

Sounds simple enough. Best-laid plans, though, tend to dissolve when the tallest and most talented team in the country comes flying at you. This is, after all, the same Kentucky that just polished off the first undefeated regular season by a major-conference team in 39 years.

The margin for error? "Very thin," Gators forward Jon Horford said. But "we know what we have to do."

As for what they can't do: "Let the hype of who they are and what they've done this year overpower" the plan of attack. Kentucky coach John Calipari, by the way, expects it to be exactly that, an all-out assault. Florida has to win just to qualify for the National Invitation Tournament.

"Everybody's excited about playing for us, and I would imagine they are because they played us good both games," Calipari said. "But my team, we had a great practice (Thursday) and I think they're ready to play basketball, whoever it is. (The Gators) are capable of beating us, no question.

"It'll all come down to: OK, how are you playing? You got a team that's going to let go of the rope at the 10, 12-minute mark? 'Season's over. I'm not fighting anymore.' Do you have a team that is really going to fight 'til the bitter end? … Any team in this tournament is good enough to beat us, and the question is will we play at our best? Which will make it hard for anybody to beat us."

Kyle Tucker can be reached at (502) 582-4361. Follow him on Twitter @KyleTucker_CJ.

TODAY'S GAME

SEC TOURNAMENT

KENTUCKY VS. FLORIDA

1 p.m., Nashville, Tenn.

TV: SEC Network Radio: WHAS-840 and WAKY-103.5