Freshman Michael Kidd-Gilchrist had 13 points and 13 rebounds and top-ranked Kentucky easily passed its toughest Southeastern Conference test to date with a 78-58 victory over No. 8 Florida last night.

The Wildcats (24-1, 10-0) have won 49 straight games at home and matched their best start in league play since 2005 thanks to three freshmen starters who are playing formidable defense to go along with their high-powered offense.

Doron Lamb scored 18 points and Anthony Davis 16 for Kentucky, which won its 16th straight overall and ended Florida’s run of seven straight wins.

Kenny Boynton led the Gators (19-5, 7-2) with 18 points, but the team with the nation’s most three-pointers this season went 6 of 27 from behind the arc and shot 34.9 percent from the field overall.

One of the last remaining questions for a Kentucky team that continues to believe it can play for a national championship in about two months had been the quality of opponents the Wildcats had faced after not meeting a ranked team in over a month.

Kentucky answered that question emphatically.

Freshman point guard Marquis Teague finished with 12 points and 10 assists for the Wildcats, who attacked on both ends of the floor.

Florida scored the first two baskets of the second half to cut its deficit to 38-30, but Kentucky answered with an 11-0 run, sparked when Teague and Darius Miller hit consecutive three-pointers.

Gators freshman Bradley Beal drove to the hoop, only to have Davis reject his shot. Davis then blocked a shot by Patric Young on the same possession.

Miller added another jumper and Kidd-Gilchrist spun, hit a basket and was fouled. He completed the three-point play that made it 49-30 as Florida missed eight straight shots.

Men’s highlight

Evansville 65, No. 17 Creighton 57 — Evansville (12-12, 7-7) held Creighton, the nation’s best-shooting team, to 40.4 percent shooting and handed the Bluejays (21-4, 11-3) their second straight loss in a Missouri Valley Conference game.

Women’s highlights

No. 2 Notre Dame 74, Syracuse 55 — Devereaux Peters had a season-high 21 points and grabbed 16 rebounds and Kayla McBride added 19 points to help Notre Dame (24-1, 11-0) rout Syracuse (15-10, 4-7) in the Big East.

Skylar Diggins, the Irish’s leading scorer, finished with 11 points, all in the second half.

No. 3 Connecticut 56, No. 20 Louisville 46 — Caroline Doty scored 15 points and Connecticut (22-2, 10-1) held Louisville (17-7, 6-5) to two field goals in the final 12 minutes of the first half of a Big East game.

The Cardinals trailed 33-17 at halftime but pulled to 46-40 before the Huskies’ Bria Hartley made a three-pointer from the left corner.