The basketball Vols stay on the road on Saturday as they take on Florida down in Gainesville for UT’s second-straight conference road game.
No. 3 Tennessee (13-1, 2-0 SEC) will look to continue their winning ways against the Gators (9-5, 1-1 SEC) on Saturday night. The Vols enter the game having won nine-straight games and are looking for their first 10-game winning streak as a program since the 2007-08 season. Florida won their last game against Arkansas and have won four of their last five games.
The Vols generally struggle down in Gainesville, however. Tennessee has lost three-consecutive games on the road against Florida, and they’ve lost five of the last six times they’ve played in Gainesville. And this Gators’ squad won’t be an easy victory by any means.
Florida has one of the best defenses in the SEC. The Gators are holding opponents to just 60 points per game, the lowest average in the conference. Teams are shooting just 39 percent against them as well.
Not only that, but the Gators also like to make games ugly.
Per Ken Pomeroy’s analytics, Florida plays with the slowest tempo in the SEC and one of the slowest tempos in all of Division I basketball. The Vols just played the team that plays with the second-slowest pace in the conference on Tuesday when they faced-off against Missouri.
But the Gators don’t score many points, only averaging 69.9 points per game themselves. Tennessee, meanwhile, is averaging 86.4 points per contest and has held opponents to just 65 points a game and a measly 37.3 shooting percentage.
Tennessee center Kyle Alexander has started off conference play strong with back-to-back double-doubles. Jordan Bowden has been hot as well, dumping in back-to-back 20-point performances off the bench to start SEC play.
Here’s everything you need to know about the Vols’ match-up with the Gators on Saturday night. And if you can’t make it to the game, here’s how you can watch and listen to the Tennessee vs. Florida game.
Tip-Off: 6:00 Eastern, January 12th, Exactech Arena at the O’Connell Center (Gainesville, FL)
TV: ESPN
Streaming Online: WatchESPN.com or ESPN app
Radio: Vol Network (99.1 FM or 990 AM in Knoxville/surrounding areas)
Line: Tennessee (-3)
