The ninth-seeded Kentucky Wildcats and top-seeded Florida Gators square off in a quarterfinal game on Friday to tip off day three of the SEC Tournament. Kentucky is playing its third game in three days after knocking off LSU on Wednesday and Missouri on Thursday.
Florida, looking to defend its SEC Tournament title and national title from last year, won the SEC regular-season crown, earned the double bye, and has won its last 11 games. Despite the two teams having met already in the last six days, this 1:00 p.m. ET bout on ESPN sees the Gators favored by 10.5 points.
Below, we’ll break down our Kentucky vs. Florida prediction and picks for Friday afternoon’s game. Make your college basketball picks on PrizePicks and earn real money if you’re right, including on game winners, spreads, and totals!
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Kentucky vs. Florida Prediction, Spread, Over/Under
Kentucky and Florida clashed last Saturday in the regular-season finale, with Florida jumping out to an 11-0 lead and earning the road win at Rupp Arena, 84-77. Florida also won the first meeting of the season, 92-83.
UF has led for all 80 minutes across both games and swept the season series for the first time since the 2017-18 season.
Per Joe Lunardi of ESPN’s bracketology, the Gators enter the SEC Tournament as a one seed in the NCAA Tournament for the second straight year. Kentucky is currently a seven seed.
The winner of Friday’s contest moves on to play the winner of Tennessee and Vanderbilt, who meet in the quarterfinal at 3:30 p.m. ET, also on ESPN.
Kentucky vs. Florida Spread, Over/Under
The Gators enter Friday’s quarterfinal SEC Tournament game as 10.5-point favorites, returning a 1.16x payout on PrizePicks Team Picks if they win.
The Wildcats are underdogs with a 5.26x payout if they win, via PrizePicks Team Picks, where you can earn money with your picks in 35 states.
- Spread: Florida Gators -10.5
- Over/Under: 159.5
- Game Winner Payout: Kentucky 5.26x | Florida 1.16x
Team Picks data is live at the time of writing and is subject to change.
Kentucky vs. Florida Prediction on Spread – 3/13/26
Here are the key stats to know before locking in your SEC Tournament Kentucky vs. Florida college basketball prediction on the spread for Friday, March 13 on PrizePicks.
- Florida has beaten Kentucky three times in a season one previous time: 2013-14, when the Gators earned the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament after sweeping the SEC regular season and tourney titles.
- Kentucky is 16-17 against the spread. The Wildcats covered as a small favorite against Missouri on Thursday, ending a streak of not covering in three straight games, including as a 5.5-point underdog to Florida.
- The Wildcats are 4-6 ATS as an underdog. The 10.5-point spread is the largest Kentucky has been as an underdog since its last game against the Gators.
- Per KenPom, Kentucky is rated 28th in the country with an offensive rating of 121.4 (34th) and a defensive rating of 100.0 (32nd).
- Florida is 17-14 ATS, the fourth-best cover percentage (54.8%) in the SEC. UF has covered in five straight, nine of the last 11, and 14 of the last 17 games.
- KenPom ranks Florida fourth in net rating, also owning an offensive rating of 126.4 (eighth) and a defensive rating of 91.1 (fifth).
- Florida leads the country in rebounds per game (45.5), is second in offensive rebounds (15.9) and fourth in defensive rebounds (29.6).
- Florida C Rueben Chinyelu leads the country in rebounds per game (11.7).
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Make Kentucky vs. #4 Florida Picks on PrizePicks
Friday’s first SEC quarterfinal matchup is round three between Kentucky and Florida this season. Kentucky has the most SEC Tournament titles with 32, while Florida is looking to go back-to-back for the first time since winning three straight from 2005-07.
You can make your Kentucky vs. Florida picks on PrizePicks and PrizePicks Team Picks to earn real money. Just pick players, predict More or Less on their projected stats, and cash in if you’re correct. With Team Picks, make predictions on winners, spreads, and over/unders, now available in 35 states.
Keep tabs on the Playbook for continued college basketball predictions, picks, and news.
