Tennessee basketball returns to the court on Tuesday night when they travel to Gainesville to rank a once beaten Florida team.
It’s the Vols’ first top 10 matchup of the season and will take a strong performance to earn a road win and stay unbeaten on the season.
Here’s everything to know about the rivalry showdown.
More From RTI: Tennessee Guard Chaz Lanier Earns Weekly Conference Award
How To Watch — No. 1 Tennessee (14-0, 1-0 SEC) at No. 8 Florida (13-1, 0-1 SEC)
- Start Time: 7 p.m. ET/6 p.m. CT
- Location: Stephen O’Connell Center
- Watch: ESPN2. PxP: Karl Ravech. CC: Jimmy Dykes
- Online Streaming: Watch ESPN
- Radio (Knoxville): The Vol Network/The Vol Network App
Betting Lines
- Florida -2.5 Tennessee
- Over/under 149.5
- Tennessee -1 Florida
- Over/under: 147
What Tennessee AC Gregg Polinsky Said About The Gators
On the key to Florida’s success so far this season
“Wow, they’re really good. I know we’re supposed to say all that but they really, really are good. No holds. To answer your question directly, I think experience at the guard position, I don’t know that we’ll see a better trio and then when you add their bench, Aberdeen coming in off the bench and who’s playing, you know? And the other thing is, I think like our guys, which we’re proud of here, all their kids have gotten better, or young men I should say. They look like men. So the fact that Alijah Martin is a grad and then they have two other seniors, (Walter) Clayton and (Will) Richard at guard. So they’ve seen it all. They’re experienced, they’re physically strong, they’re mentally tough, they’re athletic, they’re willful in their scoring opportunities. Their bigs understand exactly their role. I think— so look at it this way. They’re third or fourth in the country in offensive rebound rate. Rank highly in second chance points. They are second or third in the country in transition points. That’s a scary combination. That is why they’re so good, right? They do run good half court stuff, but man you put those two things together, hard to beat that team.”
On where he has seen Florida guard Walter Clayton improve from last year to this year
“Just confidence. Just pace and a poise. I call it like, he plays with a great gait. You know, he just, he never looks hurried. He never gets sped up. He’s shooting the ball at a very high clip from three. He needs little time, a little bit like Chaz (Lanier), like that release is really quick. Big body, strong enough to get downhill. Really smart at drawing files. Just very complete as an offensive player.”
Probable Starters
Florida:
Individual Stat Leaders
Tennessee:
Points: Chaz Lanier — 20.3 PPG, 45.5 FG%, 46.7 3PT%
Rebounds: Igor Milicic — 8.9 RPG, 6.6 DRPG, 2.4 ORPG
Assists: Zakai Zeigler — 8 APG, 3.2 TOPG, 33.9 MPG
Florida:
Points: Walter Clayton Jr — 18.3 PPG, 47.5 FG%, 38.4 3PT%
Rebounds: Alex Condon — 7.7 RPG, 4.4 DRPG, 3.3 ORPG
Assists: Walter Clayton Jr — 3.9 APG, 2.2 TOPG, 31.2 MPG
Tennessee:
- 76-52 win versus Arkansas
- 67-52 win versus Norfolk State
- 82-64 win versus MTSU
- 84-36 win versus Western Carolina
- 66-64 win at Illinois
Florida:
- 106-100 loss at Kentucky
- 85-45 win versus Stetson
- 99-45 win versus North Florida
- 90-84 win against North Carolina (Charlotte)
- 83-66 win versus Arizona State (Atlanta)
Prediction
Tennessee is 2-0 on the road this season including an impressive road win at Illinois. But this will be the Vols hardest test to date and one of their hardest games in the entire regular season.
Florida has an elite combination of being a dominant offensive rebounding team while also not turning the ball over often. Those two areas are the two biggest keys to a Tennessee victory. The Vols need to win the rebounding battle and find a way to turn Florida over more than they typically do.
I also think Tennessee needs strong scoring outings from two of Zakai Zeigler, Jordan Gainey and Igor Milicic to go along with Chaz Lanier.
I think this is a back-and-forth game where Florida finds a way to pull away late and hand Tennessee its first loss of the season.
Florida 76, Tennessee 69
