Florida Gators Hit 11-Game Streak
The No. 5 Florida Gators capped their regular season with an 84-77 win over Kentucky, marking their 11th consecutive victory. Walter Clayton Jr. starred with 24 points as the Gators outscored Kentucky 25-13 in the final 7:13, giving them huge momentum heading into March Madness.
This victory marks the Gators' first regular-season sweep of the Wildcats since 2018. Throughout the two games against Kentucky this season, Florida never trailed. The 11-game winning streak is Florida's longest in Southeastern Conference play since 2014. During this dominant stretch, the Gators have outscored their opponents by an average of 23.2 points over the last 10 games and have shot 36.7% from three-point range. This win secured the outright SEC regular-season championship for the Gators, their eighth in program history. Their 16 conference wins are the second-most in the team's history, only trailing the 18-0 team from 2014. As the No. 1 seed in the upcoming SEC Tournament in Nashville, Florida has earned a double bye. They will not play until the quarterfinals on Friday. Following their win and a loss by UConn, ESPN's bracketologist Joe Lunardi has projected the Gators to earn a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament. This was a significant jump from a team that started the season 5-4. While the initial summary mentioned Walter Clayton Jr., it was junior forward Thomas Haugh who led the team against Kentucky with 20 points and nine rebounds. Four other Gators also scored in double figures: Boogie Fland (16 points), Alex Condon (14 points), Rueben Chinyelu (13 points), and Xaivian Lee (11 points). The 11 consecutive victories came against a series of conference opponents, including Georgia, Tennessee, Oklahoma, Vanderbilt, LSU, Auburn, South Carolina, Alabama, Texas A&M, Arkansas, and finally, Kentucky.
