Tshiebwe stars as Cats close regular season with win at Florida

The No. 7 Wildcats got 27 points and 15 rebounds from national player of the year candidate Oscar Tshiebwe to highlight a 71-63 win over Florida on Saturday in Gainesville.

Tshiebwe broke the school record with a 13th consecutive double-double to close out the regular season and 25th overall. In two games against the Gators this season, he scored 54 points and pulled down 34 rebounds.

"It's kind of becoming normal for us," UK's Jacob Toppin said of the numbers Tshiebwe continues to post on a game-by-game basis. "...It's so crazy. He's amazing at what he does."

"I'd be surprised (if Tshiebwe is not national player of the year)," UK coach John Calipari said. "But I've been surprised before.

"The things that he's doing haven't been done for 50 years."

Kentucky (25-6, 14-4 SEC) will enter the SEC Tournament in Tampa, Fla., next week as the No. 3 seed. The Cats' first opponent has yet to be determined.

Improvement on the defensive end of the floor helped UK close out the regular season on a strong note. The Cats held Florida, a dangerous team of late on its home floor, to just 39.7% from the field and 3-for-23 day from 3-point range.

In addition to Tshiebwe's big game, Kentucky also got 13 points and five assists from junior point guard Sahvir Wheeler, 11 points from grad senior guard Kellen Grady, and 10 points off the bench by grad senior guard Davion Mintz.

It was a 50% shooting day for the Cats, who knocked down 28 of 56 from the field. Tshiebwe went 11-of-16 from the floor.

Florida (19-12, 9-9 SEC) was led by center Colin Castleton with 23 points and 11 rebounds.

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In this "Rapid Recap" feature, we touch on some quick-hitters from the UK victory...

KEY MOMENT:

Trailing 38-26 at halftime, Florida came out strong with five straight points to open the second half. Kentucky coach John Calipari called an immediate timeout and instructed the Cats to get the ball back in the hands of Oscar Tshiebwe. The big man responded with 11 straight points to help UK push the lead back to 12. Florida got no closer than six the rest of the way.

GAME BALL:

Oscar Tshiebwe, Kentucky -- His 25th double-double of the season, coming on national TV, may have helped ensure a national player of the year award for the affable native of the Congo.

BY THE NUMBERS:

1st - Player from a P5 conference with seven games of 20-plus points and 15-plus rebounds in a season since Purdue's Caleb Swanigan (2016-2017).

16 - Largest lead for UK, coming at 32-16 in the first half.

+17 - Jacob Toppin led the Cats in the +/- column today. He had two points and seven rebounds while leading the defensive effort.

35-34 - UK rebounding advantage.

39th - Season of 25 or more wins for Kentucky, including 11th time in 13 years under John Calipari.

107-41 - Kentucky's record in the all-time series vs. Florida, including four straight wins in Gainesville.

202-9 - Calipari's record at UK when holding the opponent to 63 or fewer points.

QUOTABLE:

"We've got four point guards and a beast inside... We've got a full roster." -- UK coach John Calipari on the Cats being ready for tournament time.

UP NEXT:

Kentucky returns to action on Friday at the SEC Tournament in Tampa, Fla. They will play Friday at approximately 8:30 p.m. ET.