Kentucky Basketball: Keys to Cap off Undefeated Regular Season vs. Florida

The last major hurdle that stands between Kentucky and a perfect regular season was handled on Tuesday, with the Wildcats fighting back from down nine points in the second half to win at Georgia. That leaves only Saturday's home finale against Florida, a game in which Kentucky (30-0, 17-0 SEC) will be heavily favored and on paper should breeze through.

This game was expected to be a big one even before Kentucky began its unbeaten run, as Florida was the defending conference champion that beat the Wildcats in three games last season, but the Gators have struggled mightily in 2014-15. Even with Tuesday's victory over Texas A&M, Florida (15-15, 8-9) is tied for eighth in the SEC and is poised to miss the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2009, unless it were to win next week's SEC tournament. 

Now, Florida is just an extra in the background of the "Kentucky Perfection Reality Show." It's playing the role of the Washington Generals to the Globetrotter-level Wildcats. But those Generals have managed to pull off an upset from time to time.

Here's what Kentucky needs to do to complete a perfect regular season.

Stop fighting with Calipari

With so much talent to manage, Kentucky coach John Calipari has tried several unique approaches to maximize his players' value without hurting feelings or affecting confidence. His hope has been that, over time, the team would start to play on its own and require less guidance and in-game construction.

This is slowly happening, but there are still times when Calipari and his charges are clashing, including at several times in the win at Georgia.

"Right now, I have to fight them half the game again and stuff that we were doing," Calipari said afterward, per Lindsay Travis of CoachCal. "I don’t want them relying so much on me. I want them to be about themselves."

Kentucky has been at its best this season when it's been able to just go with it and do their thing. It's what Calipari wants, especially at this point in the season, but his young lineup is still in need of instruction and criticism.

Prevent the bite

As mentioned earlier, Florida isn't going to be playing in the NCAA tournament unless it runs the table in the SEC tourney, which could require five wins in five days if the Gators end up in 10th place or worse. Beating Kentucky won't change of any of this, but that won't make them any less motivated to be the team to end the Wildcats' perfect run.

Florida graduated four of its top seven players from last year's Elite Eight team, and this season it's struggled with injuries, suspensions and inconsistent play. But there's still plenty of talent, not to mention one of the best coaching minds in the country in Billy Donovan, who is 5-7 against Calipari-coached Kentucky teams.

The Gators are also playing with momentum for the first time since late January, coming off back-to-back wins. They're the kind of team that could play with reckless abandon and a lack of worry, so Kentucky will need to avoid getting off to a slow start and giving its opponent any chance to build confidence. 

Bask in the bright lights

It will be Senior Day on Saturday, which for most schools means honoring starters and longtime contributors. At Kentucky, that means giving some walk-ons a rare moment in the sun. Tod Langer, Brian Long and Sam Malone have combined to score four points in 27 total minutes of action this season, only getting in after both of the Wildcats' platoons get their court time. 

But for several Kentucky stars, it's very likely their last game in Rupp Arena. Juniors Alex Poythress and Willie Cauley-Stein, sophomores Andrew Harrison and Dakari Johnson and freshmen Trey Lyles and Karl-Anthony Towns are all projected as first- or second-round picks by NBADraft.net. Sophomore Aaron Harrison and freshman Devin Booker could also be gone.

Their decisions might not be made yet, but each of the potential outgoing Wildcats should treat this final game like that last chance to wow Big Blue Nation at home. Expect all of the likely outgoing players to try to do something special in their sendoffs.

Follow Brian J. Pedersen on Twitter at @realBJP.