Kentucky vs. Florida: Score and Twitter Reaction from 2015 SEC Tournament

Looking to remain undefeated in its SEC tournament opener, Kentucky met a tough challenge with Florida. Showing some mettle in the second half, the Wildcats moved to 32-0 with a hard-fought victory, 64-49, over the Gators.  

In their second meeting in less than a week, Kentucky pulled away late to complete a three-game sweep over the reigning SEC tournament champions. Kentucky basketball's official account passed along the results from the third showdown at the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tennessee:

Freshman forward Karl-Anthony Towns scored 13 points with a game-leading 12 rebounds, landing his seventh double-double of the season. Sophomore guard Aaron Harrison was also lighting it up with 13 points, to go along with junior forward Willie Cauley-Stein's nine points, four rebounds and two blocks.

Leading up to Friday, the Wildcats' focus was on preparing for an NCAA tournament run. Cauley-Stein referenced that preparation earlier this week, per Kyle Tucker of The Courier-Journal: "I think that some guys are right mentally and some guys aren't right mentally and gotta get right the next couple days and going into the NCAA (Tournament). I don't think everybody's been playing on the same level at once, and that's what we gotta get to, everybody playing at the top of their game."

Tucker also provided comments from Kentucky coach John Calipari prior to the game about his players' focus on remaining perfect:

Garnering any type of momentum would be tough for Florida or any other team in Nashville. Essentially serving as a home crowd for the Wildcats, Bridgestone Arena was filled with Big Blue Nation fans. 

Nicole Auerbach of USA Today was astonished by how lopsided the crowd was:

Senior forward Jon Horford did all he could for the Gators in the paint, finishing with 15 points, but his effort would not be enough; junior forward Dorian Finney-Smith struggled, and junior guard Eli Carter was the only other main contributor with 11 points.

Horford's six points in the first half and his defense helped keep the game tight during the first 20 minutes. Despite Florida holding a lead for much of the first 10 minutes, Kentucky moved ahead before going to the locker room ahead at 31-27.

That narrow advantage was a common trend for the two teams this season, per ESPN Stats & Info:

Whatever confidence the Gators built in the first half seemed all but lost early in the second.

Kentucky started running away and never looked back thanks to overpowering play inside. Dealing with Cauley-Stein and Towns down low became too much for Florida in the second half.

Sophomore center Dakari Johnson didn't contribute much on the stat sheet, but his authority down low helped set up the offense. Tucker pointed out one play he set up for Harrison to key a huge run:

That was when having essentially a home crowd was a big advantage for the Wildcats. A 14-4 run to finish the game was ignited by the energy from the arena and a massive effort from Towns.

Kentucky Athletics' official Twitter account noted the strong performance keyed by the crowd:

The win gives the Wildcats even more confidence heading into the final two-game stretch in the SEC tournament. Kentucky's historic run is special, but taking down its next two opponents would solidify it as both an SEC regular-season and tournament champion.

With every program looking to be the team that accomplished the feat of taking down the mighty Kentucky, nothing will come easy. If Friday's contest is any indication, the remainder of the tournament should be enthralling for Big Blue Nation.

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