No. 5 Kentucky looks to continue to keep its impressive winning stretch alive against another potential NCAA Tournament team in the Florida Gators.

Since losing to then No. 21 LSU 65-60 on Jan. 4, Kentucky has gone on to win 10 of its last 11 games, quickly emerging as a potential National Championship contender.

While the Wildcats knocked off Alabama 66-55 in one of their biggest remaining tests of the season on Feb. 5, the team won’t be able take its foot off the gas if it hopes to maintain its reputation as a part of the upper echelon of college basketball this season.

While another home SEC game against an unranked opponent, the Cats’ upcoming game against Florida will be a pivotal opportunity for Kentucky to prove that it belongs with the big dogs.

UF, despite its 15-8 record, is no stranger to facing ranked opponents, as the Gators even found themselves inside the top-25 early in the season.

Florida boasts victories over the likes of then No. 20 Florida State, current No. 16 Ohio State and Oklahoma State.

On the other side of that coin, the Gators have also suffered losses to the likes of Texas Southern, Maryland and Ole Miss.

While Kentucky is ranked in the top five, Florida has proven in the past that it has what it takes to beat good basketball teams, and it will not hesitate to strike at a Wildcat team that could get caught looking ahead to next week’s matchup against No. 19 Tennessee in Knoxville.

The Gators currently check in at No. 49 in KENPOM with an adjusted efficiency margin of plus-14.23. Unlike Alabama before them, UF is consistent in offensive and defensive efficiency, checking in around the mid-fifties in both metrics.

On the other hand, Kentucky is currently No. 2 in KENPOM with an adjusted efficiency margin of plus-28.56, second to only AP No. 2 Gonzaga. The Cats are also fourth in the country in offensive efficiency and 13th in defensive efficiency.

Matching up each team’s season leaders, Oscar Tshiebwe leads Kentucky in points and rebounds. Tshiebwe is currently averaging 15.9 points per game and 15.1 rebounds per game, while UF’s Tyree Appleby averages 10.8 points per game, and Anthony Duruji averages 4.3 rebounds per game.

Overall, the Cats average 10 points more per game than Florida, with 81.4, and seven more rebounds per game with 41.2.

One thing Florida does have in its favor is that, despite the lower defensive efficiency, it has allowed fewer points per game than Kentucky, averaging just 64 points allowed per game.

Both teams, barring an upset loss earlier in the week, will enter Saturday’s game with a win streak of at least four, with Florida having knocked off Oklahoma State, Missouri and Ole Miss to head into the week, and being favored against a 6-17 Georgia squad on Wednesday.

For Kentucky’s part, since falling short on the road against No. 1 Auburn, the Cats beat Mississippi State, then No. 5 Kansas in Allen Fieldhouse, Vanderbilt, Alabama in Tuscaloosa and earned a gritty road win over South Carolina.

The biggest factor Kentucky will have to consider entering the matchup against UF is the necessity of the win for each team. While the Cats are looking to bolster an already strong résumé and prove they belong in the championship conversation, ESPN’s Joe Lunardi currently projects the Gators as the last team into the field of 68 teams for the NCAA Tournament.

Florida’s back is to the ropes entering Saturday’s clash, and the Gators know a bad loss could be all it takes to put them on the outside looking in. UF will be hungry to steal one in Lexington, desperate to put themselves in a more comfortable position as March draws near.

Kentucky has every piece necessary to secure a strong win over a possible NCAA Tournament bubble team, proving to the college basketball world that it deserves to be a title contender, but if it makes the mistake of not bringing its best game or overlooking its opponent on Saturday, Florida is ripe with upset potential.

While not as big of a test as traveling to Tuscaloosa, the Gators will be critical in gauging this Kentucky’s team mentality as the tournament season draws near.

No. 5 Kentucky takes on Florida this Saturday, Feb. 12, inside Rupp Arena. The game is scheduled to tip-off at 4 p.m. E.S.T. and will air on ESPN.