Florida
Predictions for #25 Kentucky’s game at #14 Florida on Saturday
The Kentucky Wildcats are getting set to play in what will not only be their biggest game of the season, but their toughest matchup to this point. Kentucky will take on the Florida Gators, who are ranked 14th in the entire country and have been on a very hot winning streak. Florida has not only been winning their games, they have been dominating opponents.
It will be a very tall task for Kentucky basketball to get the massive road win, but both teams also have a lot on the line. This game will decide first place in the SEC. With Florida currently being in first, the Wildcats will need to win if they want that top spot, what would complete an incredible turnaround job for this Kentucky team after starting SEC play with an 0-2 record. Florida has won their last four games by an average margin of 27.3 points, winning eight of their last nine games overall. Meanwhile, Kentucky has won nine of their last ten, looking to shock the college basketball world with an absolutely massive win.
The Kentucky Wildcats on SI staff is here to give their predictions for the big game between Kentucky and Florida in Gainesville.
Andrew Stefaniak
Florida has been on a tear over their last four games, winning by a point differential of 27.3 points over that stretch. They played three of those four games on the road, so this team might be the hottest in college basketball. While most are talking about the Gators being hot, Mark Pope’s Kentucky Wildcats are also hot having won eight of their last nine. This game is for first place in the SEC, so Pope’s team will be hoping to pull off the upset. Florida’s elite frontcourt will prove to be too much for the Wildcats, but Kentucky will play well enough to prove that they are capable of beating the defending National Champions in Rupp Arena to finish the regular season.
Score prediction: Florida 78, Kentucky 69
Kentucky MVP: Malachi Moreno
Wyatt Huff
This one is obviously the toughest team Kentucky has faced and will have for the entire season when it’s all said and done. It’s hard for me to see Mark Pope and the Wildcats pulling off some magic this time around. Florida has been playing like a juggernaut lately and have shown no signs of slowing down. Not to mention, they are good on both sides of the ball. Kentucky has handled physicality well up to this point, but Florida is just on another level in that area. I say Florida wins this one easy, especially with it being on their home floor.
Score prediction: Florida 86, Kentucky 71
Kentucky MVP: Otega Oweh
The Kentucky Wildcats have already shocked the college basketball world with multiple comeback wins, including victories over Arkansas on the road and a regular-season sweep over Tennessee, but can they do it against the toughest competition they have faced yet? The Florida Gators have been playing the best basketball of anyone in the country over the last month. Kentucky has a tall task at hand, especially with the Florida bigs. Can they overcome the big challenge?
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Brevard County couple gets married in NICU after birth of premature twins
A Florida couple, told they may not be able to have children, welcomed premature twins and had an impromptu NICU wedding.
Provided by AdventHealth for Children
Ben and Danielle Cassidy were told they likely wouldn’t be able to have children.
But this year they will celebrate Mother’s Day just months after having an impromptu wedding in the AdventHealth for Children hospital’s neonatal intensive care unit shortly after Danielle gave birth to twins prematurely — a week before the Palm Bay couple was scheduled to get married.
Both babies, Joshua and Rhett, are doing well despite arriving nine weeks ahead of schedule on Jan. 19, 2026, just one day after their scheduled baby shower. With a proper wedding out of the question with two premature babies in the NICU, a nurse took action.
Issabel Kenkel, the nurse behind the ceremony, said she was already in wedding planning mode for her own upcoming nuptials when she found out the Cassidy family’s ceremony would be interrupted.
“I couldn’t just let them do something small. They needed decorations and something fun, so I spoke to the music therapist and the chaplain,” Kenkel said. In short order, a wedding was being planned for their hospital room and the couple was saying their vows in the company of their safely delivered newborns.
“When we found out we could request staff members to be on our team, that’s when we requested Issabel and having that kind of consistency from someone who has such a big heart and is so kind,” Danielle said.
The hospital ceremony was all the more special because of the Cassidy family’s own health struggles.
“I have five autoimmune diseases and didn’t really think I would have kids. It’s been a rough journey. When Ben and I met, we were floored at how much a miracle it was to have kids,” Danielle said.
Ben, who battled and beat cancer, said he was worried that his prior treatment would result in negative health outcomes for his future children. Having twins for him was an unexpected blessing.
“When we found out we were pregnant, we found it so shocking. We said, wouldn’t it be great if it was twins? It filled out our hopes and dreams list,” Ben said. “They’ve been miracles for sure.”
The Cassidy couple said there was so much fear and uncertainty when their twins were born nine weeks early. Being able to get married right away just made them feel all the better about the future.
“It was nice getting married because we didn’t have to wait any longer to make it official. It made it that much harder for her to get rid of me,” Ben said.
“The unknown made it scary,” Danielle added. “We had no idea how long we would be in the hospital. Our wedding was going to be at the beach with immediate family and parents. Having NICU babies, we realized we’d never be able to get to the beach. It was really special having the people who care for our babies be part of the ceremony.”
The couple hadn’t even planned to have a band at their wedding ceremony and now the hospital’s music therapist was performing live for them and the chaplain was conducting the ceremony, something nurse Kenkel said was just part of her job.
“The babies are going to have the best outcomes if the families are taken care of and going home happy,” she said. “Being in the NICU is already so stressful. This is just one more thing I could do to take care of my patients.”
Tyler Vazquez is the Growth and Development Reporter at FLORIDA TODAY. Contact Vazquez at 321-480-0854 or tvazquez@floridatoday.com. X: @tyler_vazquez.
The Vero Beach Police Department took a man into custody May 8 in connection with a threatening phone call directed toward a business.
The agency received information at 5:21 p.m. May 7 about a threatening call to Thrive IRC Inc. at 2300 5th Ave. in Vero Beach, according to a news release. The call included someone threatening to come to the business with an AK rifle and “light the building up.”
Detectives began investigating the threat and identified Michael Sean O’Brien, 27, of Vero Beach, as the person associated with the phone number used during the call.
O’Brien was taken into custody at about 3:30 p.m. May 8 without incident. He was charged with the false report concerning the use of firearms in a violent manner, which is a second degree felony, according to the news release.
O’Brien was booked in the Indian River County Jail at 6:13 p.m. May 8 but was released at 1:36 p.m. May 9 after posting the $5,000 bond, according to the jail website.
No additional information was available the afternoon of May 9.
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.
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