The No. 6 Florida Gators entered Saturday’s contest aware adversity could strike at any moment despite the 13-0 start to the regular season, yet head coach Todd Golden was hopeful it wouldn’t be in the team’s SEC opener against No. 10-ranked Kentucky. 

Unfortunately for Golden and Co., the Gators experienced their first loss of the 2024-25 campaign, falling 106-100 to the Wildcats at Rupp Arena in the earliest tip-off in Kentucky program history. 

Walter Clayton Jr. led the Gators with a season-high 33 points, while Alijah Martin added 26 points. Sophomore forward Rueben Chinyelu finished with 10 points and eight rebounds. 

Florida took an early 11-point advantage in the first half, only for the Wildcats to out-score the Gators, 37-16, over the final 11:13 of the first half to take a 10-point lead into halftime. 

While Florida would cut the deficit to one in the opening minutes of the second half and make it a one-possession game at several junctures, UF ultimately couldn’t retake the lead, resulting in Florida’s first defeat of the season. 

Here are six takeaways from Florida’s contest at Kentucky: