No. 7 Kentucky women’s basketball (16-2, 3-1 SEC) is set to host Florida (12-7, 0-4 SEC) as SEC play rolls on. 

Kentucky will invite the Gators to its home court hoping to continue its undefeated home streak on the season to 10-0. 

The Cats hold the advantage in the all-time series between the two teams, leading 38-27, and also own a 17-12 edge in Lexington. 

Through the current regular season, Kentucky has been one of the SEC’s standout teams, where it is currently 2-0 against AP Top 5 teams for the first time in program history. 

Here are some themes to keep in mind going into this next matchup.

The numbers side-by-side-

Although the two teams have had no mutual crossovers in the teams they’ve played this season, the statlines for both teams are comparable, indicating in themselves that the output for Thursday’s matchup should be pretty evenly matched. 

Kentucky vs. Florida

PPG: 78.2 vs. 74.3

RPG: 42.6 vs. 40.3

APG: 18.2 vs. 13.1

BPG: 7.7 vs. 4.6

SPG: 6.3 vs. 11.0

Moreover, Kentucky is sitting at 44.8% from the field next to Florida’s 44.3%. Kentucky does go on to take the three-point field-goal percentage, free-throw percentage and assist-turnover ratio.

The Wildcats are sure to be riding the momentum of their 63-57 win over then-ranked No. 5 Oklahoma back into Historic Memorial Coliseum to welcome the Gators. The Cats were on an eight-game winning streak before their road-loss to Alabama.

Meanwhile, Florida will come in seeking a response after falling in its most recent matchup against Auburn 60-50, where the Tigers outscored Florida 22-11. Florida is currently on a four-game losing streak, still unable to find success in the conference. 

SEC & National Players of the Week face-off-

Two point guards will be ones to keep an eye on Thursday –  Kentucky’s Tonie Morgan and Florida’s Liv McGill. 

Both players are hugely important to their respective teams, where McGill sits at No. 1 for average minutes per game followed closely by Morgan, who sits at No. 4. 

On Nov. 11, McGill established multiple single-game career highs to solidify a spot as the SEC Player of the Week, including in points (38), made threes (6) and made field goals (13). The guard also tied her career high in steals with seven. 

McGill’s 38 points, made against Chattanooga, were the most in a home game in program history. 

On Jan. 6, Morgan was announced as an SEC Co-Player of the Week and National Player of the Week after helping her team to the highest-ranked road win in program history against LSU followed by a home win against Missouri. 

Against LSU, the senior had 24 points, 12 assists and 0 turnovers to contribute to 66.2% of the team’s scoring – all topped-off by an electric game-winning, three-pointer buzzer beater.

Her LSU showing was followed by 18 points and 14 assists to contribute to 72.9% of the scoring against Missouri.

Both guards have also recently reached huge milestones in their careers. 

McGill became the 28th player in program history to eclipse 1,000 career points during her most recent performance against Auburn. 

Prior to her SEC and national recognition, Morgan eclipsed 600 career assists, and has the third most assists among all active players. Moreover, in the most recent game against Oklahoma, she eclipsed 1,500 career points. 

In the NCAA, McGill ranks at No. 5 for PPG, No. 22 for APG and No. 24 for total assists this season. 

Morgan ranks at No. 2 for total assists this season and for APG, and at No. 12 for assist/turnover ratio.

McGill vs. Morgan Averages

PPG: 23.4 vs. 14.4

RPG: 5.4 vs. 3.7

APG: 5.5 vs. 8.5

BPG: 0.37 vs. 0.7

SPG: 2.17 vs. 1.1

McGill as the offensive key for the Gators matched up with Kentucky’s Morgan, leader and playmaker, will be the thing to watch this game. 

Defensive showcase-

Both the Gators and the Wildcats rely heavily on their respective defenses for their successes this season. 

As it stands, Kentucky holds the No. 1 spot for defense in the SEC, allowing an average of 53.0 points from its opponents per game. Florida currently sits at No. 13 with an average of 60.9 points allowed per game. 

Florida is holding its opponents field goal percentage to 37.0% and three-point field goal percentage to 26.6%. 

Kentucky also sits at No. 1 in the SEC and nation for BPG, averaging 7.67 compared to Florida at No. 11 in the SEC, averaging 4.58 BPG. Kentucky’s Clara Strack is second in the SEC for her block contributions, while Gator Me’Arah O’Neal takes fifth. 

Florida sits at No. 7 for steals per game with 11.00 per game compared to Kentucky sitting at last with 6.28. 

Beyond the stats, game performances prove that neither of these defenses are one to downplay. For example, the Gators have held opponent Georgia Tech to zero three-pointers early on in the season, while Kentucky has held its opponents below their scoring average in 17-18 games this season. The only team not to fall in this streak was Belmont by one point. 

Florida has held 15-19 of its opponents this season below 70 points. 

Kentucky has also beaten the No. 1 and No. 2 scoring offenses in the country thus far, holding them to an average 31.6 points below their averages at the time of the games. 

Without dragging on the numbers any longer, the point still stands: the defense from both teams will put on a show in Historical Memorial Coliseum on Thursday night. 

Only time will tell how these two teams will stand against each other, but the numbers from this season indicate a competitive and exciting showdown. 

Tip-off for Kentucky versus Florida is set for 7 p.m. ET on Thursday, Jan. 15. The game can be streamed live on ESPN+.