Florida
Florida opens SEC play with rare top-10 matchup at Kentucky
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Top-10 matchup in the regular season have been rare for the Florida Gators in program history. They’ll open SEC play this year with back-to-back games against top-10 teams, starting at No. 10 Kentucky (11-2).
Saturday’s matchup marks the 23rd time UF has been in a top-10 matchup, and only five have taken place in the regular season previously. It hasn’t happened since No. 8 Florida visited top-ranked Kentucky in 2012.
The Gators (13-0) have lost the last seven top-10 matchups they’ve been a part of, with their last win coming in 2007.
“This opportunity is incredibly exciting,” UF coach Todd Golden said of the SEC opener at Kentucky. “Two top-10 teams going at it first game of league play, and for us to get this opportunity in what we anticipate to be a really raucous environment, you know, I think will be a great challenge for us.
“We got a little bit of a taste of it in Charlotte. It wasn’t on Carolina’s home floor, but it was pretty close to a dominating North Carolina crowd. And we weathered the storm in that game. I think this one will be even more challenging, and I know our guys are excited to get out there, though, and give it a shot.”
Florida Gators issue initial injury report ahead of Kentucky game
The matchup will feature a pair of top-10 scoring offenses. The Wildcats rank No. 3 nationally at 89.0 points per game and the Gators are ranked ninth in the country at 87.4 PPG.
Oklahoma transfer Otega Oweh leads Kentucky with 15.9 points per game and 20 steals. Also scoring double figures are Lamont Butler (13.3 ppg), Jaxson Robinson (11.9), Koby Brea (11.9), Andrew Carr (11.3) and Amari Williams (10.1).
When asked what kind of challenge UK poses offensively, Golden replied, “A big one.”
“They’re a top 10 offense. They’re very good offensively. I think this game is going to come down to two things for us on the defensive end. It’s going to come down to really having a great understanding of their personnel, knowing what each specific guy (does). They’re playing seven, maybe an eight-guy rotation right now, with Kriisa being hurt. So, knowing exactly what each of these guys is trying to do offensively is incredibly important, as well as executing our coverages.
“I think for Kentucky, it’s going to be really important for us to execute guarding them the way we want to guard,” Golden said. “And if we can do those two things for 40 minutes, we’ll be in good shape. But they are hard to guard, and they do some good things offensively, and they play through their bigs on the perimeter. They’re more, you know, four and five out. So again, just if we can execute and know our personnel, we’ll give ourselves a good chance.”
Williams also leads the Wildcats with 8.5 rebounds per game and 22 blocked shots, while Butler has a team-best 45 assists. Florida (No. 1) and Kentucky (No. 9) also rank in the top 10 nationally in rebounds per game, so the battle on the boards will be key.
The Gators won the last meeting in overtime on Kentucky’s floor, as Walter Clayton Jr. knocked in one of his seven 3-pointers with 3.0 seconds left in regulation and another to take the lead with 1:35 left in overtime.
UF is going for back-to-back wins at Kentucky on Saturday for just the third time in series history (2006/2007 and 1988/1989).
“Last year was special, just climbing back, getting into the game. We’re down, and then Walt hitting that big 3 to send us into overtime, and then just winning overtime was special,” Florida senior guard Will Richard said.
“That’s top level. Winning at Rupp is definitely big time. It’s a great environment. There’s a lot of history and tradition there. So, it’s always fun to go to Rupp. … I’m excited. I feel like we’re prepared. So, I’m ready to go.”
TCPalm staff share their top restaurant recommendations in Vero Beach, Sebastian, Fellsmere.
Indian River County is home to many unique restaurants, far too many to choose from.
There are so many restaurants on the Treasure Coast to try, but it can be hard knowing where to start.
Here are the TCPalm staff’s recommendations for restaurants in Vero Beach, Sebastian and Fellsmere.
Indian River County restaurant recommendations
Olivia Franklin is TCPalm’s trending reporter. You can contact her at olivia.franklin@tcpalm.com, 317-627-8048 or follow her on X @Livvvvv_5.
Florida
Pilot program aims to build $200K homes in Central Florida to help low-income families buy, not rent
ORLANDO, Fla. – For many Central Florida families, the dream of owning a home feels further out of reach than ever.
With the median home price now topping $400,000, a new pilot program in Orlando is trying to change that by building new homes for about half the cost.
A lot off Quill Avenue in Parramore may not look like much right now, but organizers say it could soon be the site of a new home priced around $200,000 for low-income families.
“We just really wanted an opportunity to bring actual affordable housing to people who have basically been forever renters,” said Satrina Whithead with the GXVE Homes Initiative.
The GXVE Homes Initiative says the goal is to help families earning between $16,000 and $65,000 a year get a chance at homeownership. Whithead said the homes could range from 500 to 1,400 square feet, depending on the lot size and location.
The Orlando Regional Realtor Association reports the median home price in the area is now more than $400,000. Whithead said GXVE hopes to sell homes for about half that.
“There’s nothing wrong with profit, but at the end of the day, I want to help where the need is greatest,” Whithead said.
Organizers say they are already planning to build in Parramore and are working to close on two additional properties. They also say they have properties planned in Sanford and Mims, with a goal of bringing eight homes a year to Central Florida.
“You can pay 80 percent of your salary on rent just to have a place to live. So getting that number back down to around 50 percent is extremely important,” said Mike Harris, vice president of GXVE Homes.
Florida Made Tiny Homes, which is partnering with the organization, said it plans to build concrete homes that exceed safety requirements for the area.
“I don’t think there’s going to be anything available on the market in that price range, much less new construction,” said Dylan Grace, co-founder of Florida Made Tiny Homes.
Program organizers say they expect to start construction in the fall and hope to complete the first home within six to eight months after work begins. For more information please click here.
Copyright 2026 by WKMG ClickOrlando – All rights reserved.
ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. (CBS12) — A former Florida juvenile probation officer is facing more than 100 felony charges after investigators said she leaked confidential court and law enforcement information to people tied to a drug trafficking investigation.
Crystal Gaynell Ann Lawson was booked into the Orange County Jail on Thursday, according to Orange County Corrections records.
Investigators said Lawson improperly accessed the Comprehensive Case Information System, or CCIS, more than 100 times and shared information from active criminal cases with members of a drug trafficking organization.
FOX 35 Orlando reported Lawson was arrested on 113 felony counts of computer crimes for unauthorized access. Investigators said she allegedly accessed the database 106 times between January and May.
Lawson is accused of using the database to search for active criminal cases tied to members of the organization. Authorities said some of the information that was leaked included arrest warrants and documents connected to an active investigation.
Lawson was hired by the Florida Department of Juvenile Justice in February 2022. As part of that job, she was given access to the CCIS database. Authorities said she was fired later that year after an arrest, but her database access was not terminated.
See also: ‘Elf,’ ‘Couples Retreat’ actor jailed with no bond after Florida arrest
Investigators said the leaks resulted in lost evidence, unrecovered assets and at least one person fleeing to avoid arrest before later being taken into custody.
Lawson previously worked for the Florida Department of Juvenile Justice, where she had access to the court information system as part of her job. Authorities said she was later fired, but her database access was not terminated.
Orange County Corrections records list Lawson’s case status as “presentenced” and show multiple entries for “offense against computer users.”
The records list the arresting agency as the Orange County Sheriff’s Office and show bond amounts of $10,000 on several listed case sequences. The jail record also notes an “ICJIS Affidavit.”
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