Kentucky vs. Florida odds, prediction: 2026 Southeastern Conference Tournament men's college basketball picks from proven model

The defending national champion and top-seeded Florida Gators take on the ninth-seeded Kentucky Wildcats in a Southeastern Conference Tournament quarterfinal matchup on Friday afternoon. Kentucky defeated eighth-seeded Missouri 78-72 in Thursday's second-round matchup, while Florida closed out the regular season with an 84-77 win at Kentucky on Saturday. The Wildcats (21-12), who are 5-8 against ranked opponents this season, last won the tournament in 2018. The Gators (25-6), who have won 11 in a row, are looking to win their second consecutive SEC Tournament title.

Tip-off from Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tenn., is set for 1 p.m. ET. Kentucky leads the all-time series 111-44, but Florida earned a regular-season sweep over the Wildcats. Florida is a 10.5-point favorite in the latest Kentucky vs. Florida odds from DraftKings Sportsbook, while the over/under for total points scored is 159.5. 

Before making any Kentucky vs. Florida picks, check out the college basketball predictions from the SportsLine Projection Model.

The SportsLine Projection Model simulates every college basketball game 10,000 times. It entered conference tournament week on a sizzling 14-2 run on top-ranked over/under picks dating back to last year, and is on an 28-21 run on top-rated CBB side picks. Anyone following could have seen HUGE returns!

The model has simulated Kentucky vs. Florida 10,000 times and the results are in. The model is leaning Over, and it also says one side of the spread hits in nearly 60% of simulations!

So who wins Kentucky vs. Florida, and which side of the spread hits nearly 60% of the time? Join SportsLine right now to see which side of the spread you need to jump on, all from the computer model that has simulated this matchup 10,000 times!