Feb 14, 2026
3 min read
Florida's biggest villain will be in attendance for Saturday's Kentucky game in Janesville: Matt Wall.
Matt Walsh, the infamous Florida Croc, will be at tomorrow's game
The Kentucky vs Florida rivalry has new juice in the Mark Pope-Todd Golden era.The Cats' win over the Gators last season was the highlight of Pope's first year in Lexington.Tomorrow, Kentucky will look to upset defending national champion Gainesville as a double-digit seed.The Cats could make one of the biggest upsets in series history in a sold-out, orange-out Stephen C. O'Connell Center.
Matt Walsh tweeted yesterday that he will attend the game on Saturday.Walsh was one of Florida's breakout stars during the 2000s.He only had two wins against Kentucky in his three-year college career, but the Kentucky team hated him so much that the student body in Rupp Arena had a special chant that won't be revealed until 2026.
Walsh left Florida in 2005 before the golden season of the Gators. Under Billy Donovan, Florida won back-to-back national championships in 2006 and 2007 and Kentucky from 2005 to 2008. Donovan, a former assistant at Kentucky under Rick Pitino, was so good that UK tried to returnhe was in Lexington not once but twice, only twice in a big farm trade despite a big farm trade.
When Donovan left for the NBA in 2015, the magic of Kentucky vs. Florida went with him. The Cats have won 11 of the last 13 meetings.Todd Golden was 1-4 against Kentucky in that time.But he has a national championship ring and the Gators are atop the SEC standings.Kentucky can clinch that spot with a win Saturday.Wouldn't it be fun to see Matt Walsh? According to Gators Online's Zach Alboverdi, Walter Clayton Jr. and Will Richard will also be in attendance, taking advantage of the NBA All-Star break.
While we're counting downWe come back to this series.Especially the villain that happened.Walsh is high on the list.But I'll start with the first thing that made me hate alligators.
Will You Florida: 3 (1998-2001)
Record vs. Kentucky: 3-3 (12.3 PPG)
The 5'11" guard was a thorn in Kentucky's side during his time in Gainesville. As a sophomore, he scored 14 points in the No. 12 Gators' win over the No. 11 Cats. The following year, he scored a career-high 28 to lead No. 6 Florida to a 15-point regular season and had 15 points. Hart, the kind of player you absolutely hated if he wasn't on your team.
Dupay was kicked out of Florida his senior year for betting on sports and had a long, hard road for a while, but seems to have turned things around and opened the Teddy Dupay Basketball Academy in Tampa Bay.
Years in Florida: 3 (2002-2005)
Record vs. Kentucky: 2-6 (15.25 ppg.)
A year later we got another great Gator villain in the form of 6’6″, 205 lbs.wing Matt Walsh.Walsh only managed two wins against Kentucky, but scored in double figures in seven of those eight games.He had 26 to lead the Gators to the 2005 SEC Tournament Championship at the Georgia Dome, Florida's second win over the Cats in a week after going undefeated in three years.
Years at Florida: 3 (2004-07)
Record vs. Kentucky: 5-1 (11.3 PPG)
For most, the list starts and stops here.Joachim Noah is the perfect villain.From his hair to his goofy facial expressions to his chest book, he was so easy to hate.The hardest part?He was really good too.Florida's 2006 and 2007 teams had plenty of stars, but Noah was the face you remember because how could you forget him?
Noah scored three times in double figures in a 15-point loss to Kentucky in 2006. A year later at Rupp, after falling to the floor following a foul, he threw a pom pom back at a junior after she shoved it in his face, sparking an early Internet fire.In his final game against Kentucky a month later, he scored 17 points to lead the Gators to their sixth straight win over the Cats.
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Give Noah credit for one thing: Kentucky fans hate him as much as he hates Kentucky.While watching ESPN's All-Access documentary about Kentucky in 2012 (he chose when he could easily turn on the channel), he tweeted this to his followers:
Years at Florida: 3 (2004-2007)
Batok record with Kentucky: 6-1 (9.0 PPG)
Al Horford and Corey Brewer were other members of Florida's dynasty.For some reason, I hold no ill will against Horford.Brewer?A different story.He scored 16 twice against Kentucky, in wins in 2006 and 2007, but it was his facial expressions that drove me up the wall. The de Gators charged into the crowd and chanted:
Years in Florida: 2 (2008-2009)
Record vs. Kentucky: 2-2 (19.5 PPG)
Nick Calates looked like a miniature Billy Donovan running up and down the court while in Gainesville;luckily, he didn't have his coach's position.In February 2009 at Rupp Arena, Calates had a chance to send Kentucky's game against Florida into overtime, going to the line after Kevin Galloway was fouled on a three-point attempt.crowd Rupp Calates missed all three free throws and Kentucky won the game 68-65.Calates finished with a career-high 33 points, but it's his three misses that stick out the most.
Years in Florida: 4 (2007-2011)
Record vs. Kentucky: 3-6 (7.9 PPG)
What about the bad guys of Florida and their hairstyles?Chandler Parsons won three of nine games against Kentucky, but not during the 2009-10 season when John Wall was a Wildcat. When Wall and Parsons were with the Houston Rockets, Wall regularly mentioned it during practice. Parsons averaged 13.7 PPG as a senior against Kentucky, leading the Gators to a 74-66 upset of the No. 2 Swamp Cats.did
Years in Florida: 4 (2010-2014)
Index vs.Kentucky: 5-6 (8.2 PPG)
Scotty Wilbekin may have the most games against Kentucky, facing the Cats 11 times, going 4-1 against the Cats as a starter.Two of those wins really hit the spot. Wilbekin had 14 points and 8 assists in a game where Nerlens Noel tore his ACL in February 2013. A year later, he scored 23 points, including five key free throws, in Florida's win against No. 14 Kentucky in Rupp, the Cat's first three-game winning streak of the season.He also beat out Julius Randle for SEC Player of the Year.
There were more bad guys in Florida than Wilbekin, but we didn't like him.
Years at Florida: 3 (2020-23)
Cont Kentucky Record: 1-4 (17.2 ppg)
Colin Castleton spent the first two years of his career in Michigan; But he was the mold of a Florida villain, and his big hair and spiked hair matched.He scored in double figures in four of five games against Kentucky, and Oscar Tshiebwe was in form. I feel that at least one post-Billy Donovan player should be included.
Florida fan tries to hook Cason Wallace
Florida Year: Unknown
Record vs. Kentucky: 0-1
Back to Kentucky's trip to Florida in 2023. Despite the best efforts of Florida fans, the Cats won that game 72-67.While chasing a loose ball, Kesson Wallace bumped into some fans sitting on the court and one of them wrapped his arm around Wallace's neck to prevent him from leaving.All three fans were ejected from the game -- cheered by many Florida supporters.
Kentucky has had enough injury problems this season.Let's hope this guy isn't in the O-Dome tomorrow.
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