Kentucky Basketball: Wildcats' Keys to Beating Florida in SEC Clash

The Kentucky Wildcats' history against the Florida Gators is such that current conditions shouldn't have an influence on what to expect from a trip to The Swamp.

Yet it's hard not to think that when the Wildcats play the Gators in Gainesville on Saturday, they have a chance not only to win for just the third time in a decade but also to do so with relative ease. But that would be a matter of failing to read the room, something Kentucky has been so good at avoiding during its perfect start to the 2014-15 season.

Florida (12-10, 5-4 SEC) may be down, but it's not out—not when it comes to facing Kentucky (22-0, 9-0), which has gotten almost everyone's best shot this season and figures to see more of the same from a Gators team that has struggled mightily this year but—like its namesake—could be lying in wait hoping to pounce on vulnerable prey.

It's hard to call the top-ranked Wildcats vulnerable, seeing as how they win by nearly 23 points per game and draw the ire of critics when they are unable to post a double-digit margin of victory. Tuesday's 69-58 home win over Georgia was looked at as "too close" by some, despite the fact that Kentucky was playing a man down as freshman Trey Lyles remains out with an unknown illness.

Though it is the best team in the country at this point, Kentucky isn't unbeatable.

If anyone is going to do it, it will be a team coached by Billy Donovan, who has led Florida to wins over the Wildcats in 13 of their last 23 meetings (and all three last season).

What must Kentucky do to ensure that it remains unbeaten and weathers another road challenge?

Ride the hot hands

The beauty of Kentucky's massive depth is this: The team has so many talented players that a few can have off nights, and there are more than enough players left to step up and carry the load. It's why no Wildcat averages more than 11 points, and seven are chipping in at least 7.5 per game. And when players aren't scoring, they're contributing in other ways.

Joe Robbins/Getty Images

It's almost like coach John Calipari has a roulette wheel in his office that he spins 30 minutes before tipoff to see which of his horses are going to jump out in front of the pack that night—except he doesn't share that info with the rest of us. We have to see it unfold on the court.

This diversity is great, but so are consistency and dependability. Junior Willie Cauley-Stein looked like he was that person for much of the season, but the 6'11" forward has had six or fewer points in five of the last six games.

Last time out, it was point guard Andrew Harrison (23 points, seven assists) and forward Karl-Anthony Towns (15 points, 13 rebounds), both of whom have struggled to string together multiple strong outings.

Maybe, instead of spinning the wheel again before Saturday—is there a portable one that Calipari brings on the road?—he can just stick with last game's result and get some sort of offensive momentum going.

Defend without contact

Kentucky's last three games have seen 127 fouls called. None of the games were particularly close down the stretch, necessitating teams to deliberately draw a whistle in the hope of slowing down the action and trading baskets for free throws.

And despite two of the games being at Rupp Arena, the Wildcats have only had five fewer fouls called against them than their opponents. This isn't because the SEC officials have some secret agenda to be extra foul-happy as a way of neutralizing Kentucky's talent, size and depth advantage.

Rather, it's a matter of the Wildcats becoming a bit lazy when it comes to defending.

The fear of blocking a shot isn't enough anymore; players are getting too aggressive trying to contest shots or impede progress to the basket, and Kentucky is getting called on it.

Florida isn't a particularly strong foul-shooting team, hitting only 66.9 percent from the line. But the Gators do have a trio of reliable shooters who are at 87 percent or better, and if Donovan designs a game plan that calls for drawing fouls, it could end up making for a distinct foul-shooting advantage.

Ignore the crowd

Kentucky's four previous road games in SEC play have resulted in either a sellout or something very close to one. None of those were in venues that regularly fill up, so despite the perception that the crowd would be hostile and give the home team an advantage, it has almost worked in the Wildcats' favor.

Rob Foldy/Getty Images

Part of that has to do with how well Big Blue Nation travels, as Kentucky fans were very prevalent at Texas A&M, Alabama, South Carolina and Missouri.

There is also the fact that the Wildcats are used to playing in front of such crowds, while their opponents aren't, so it seems as if there is more pressure on the home squads to impress their fans than for the visitors to ignore the noise.

That won't be the case in the O'Connell Center. The 11,548-seat arena has played to an average of 96 percent capacity for Florida's four SEC home games, which leaves very little room for traveling Kentucky fans and also means that any crowd involvement on Saturday will be wholeheartedly in the Gators' favor.

Kentucky hasn't played a game where it was truly in enemy territory, save for maybe the late-December trip to Louisville (but even the KFC Yum! Center had a lot of blue in the stands).

Follow Brian J. Pedersen on Twitter at @realBJP.