Florida an underdog in rematch with Kentucky, per ESPN BPI

Using the Basketball Power Index, ESPN is predicting a loss for Florida on Wednesday when the Gators travel to face the Kentucky Wildcats.

Florida came up short against Kentucky, 87-85, to kick off SEC play, but the Gators have a chance to redeem themselves on the road against the Wildcats on Wednesday.

Unfortunately, ESPN expects Florida to fall to Kentucky by a 6.7-point margin. At least, that’s what the latest Basketball Power Index predictions suggest will happen on Wednesday, giving the Wildcats a 71.1% win probability.

The matchup quality earned an 83.9-point grade, making it the third-best matchup of the games being played on Wednesday.

“BPI is a measure of team strength that is meant to be the best predictor of performance going forward,” the site reads. “BPI represents how many points above or below average a team is… Game predictions account for opponent strength, pace of play, site, travel distance, day’s rest and altitude, and are used to simulate the season 10,000 times to produce season projections.”

This will be a Quadrant 1 game for Florida as Kentucky is ranked No. 22 on the NET rankings. The Gators aren’t too far away, though, at No. 39 on the list.

Florida travels to Lexington, Kentucky on Wedenesday, Jan. 31. Tipoff is slated for a late 8 p.m. ET start and will be broadcast on ESPN.

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