Tennessee didn’t score in the first six minutes of its top 10 showdown at Florida on Tuesday night. That fact wasn’t even the most damning thing about the Vols performance as the Gators dominated Tennessee 73-43 in Gainesville.
Here’s three quick takeaways on a forgettable night for Tennessee.
A Horrendous Start On The Offensive End Sets The Tone
Tennessee couldn’t have drawn up a better shot on its first possession of the game with Chaz Lanier coming around an off ball screen and getting a wide open look on the right wing. It was a shot that he’s made look like a layup but he couldn’t get it to go to open the game.
It was a fitting representation of what was a disgusting offensive start for Tennessee. The Vols didn’t score in the game’s first 6:41 when Felix Okpara hit two free throws and didn’t hit its first field goal until Okpara finished an alley oop the next possession.
That was a fitting representation of what was an abysmal night for Tennessee’s offense. It was by far Tennessee’s worst offensive performance of the season.
The Vols made just four-of-29 shots from the field in the first half and missed all 13 of their three-point attempts. Early in the game, Tennessee got good looks and didn’t knock them down and it seemed to affect them mentally.
Tennessee became hesitant offensively and that led to the offensive issues compounding themselves. The Vols turned down open shots and seemed hesitant doing anything on that end of the court the rest of the way.
The final result was a Barnes’ era low 43 points on .672 points per possession and four-of-29 shooting from three-point range.
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Florida Controls The Inside Game
Rebounding was a clear key coming into the game. Florida entered the game as the nation’s fifth best offensive rebounding team while Tennessee entered the game as the nation’s sixth best offensive rebounding team.
But a game after dominating the glass against Arkansas, the Vols were on the other side of things against Florida. The Gators completely controlled the glass where they earned an 55-37 advantage. Florida’s rebounding advantage’s finger prints were all over the game.
Florida totaled 17 second chance points in the game to Tennessee’s four. The Gators particularly pounded Tennessee on the glass when they started to extend their lead midway through the first half.
The eighth-ranked Gators dominance inside was about more than just rebounding though. Florida scored 40 points in the paint and were able to get there consistently, taking 17 first half shots and 28 total shots at the rim.
On the other side, Tennessee struggled to get shots at the rim where they made just four-of-13 attempts and scored just 14 points in the paint.
Chaz Lanier’s Worst Night Of The Season
North Florida transfer Chaz Lanier entered the game as the SEC’s top scorer with just over 20 points per game, but the super senior shooting guard was terrible against the Gators.
He missed three shots in the first 90 seconds and that set the tone for the rest of the game. Lanier finished the night with 10 points on three-of-16 shooting from the field and one-of-nine shooting from three-point range.
Tennessee’s top scorer also turned the ball over three times and just couldn’t get anything to go on the offensive end of the court.
As bad as Lanier was, it’s not fair to just say that his bad performance was about facing better competition. He entered the game averaging 23.4 points per game against power five competition and 17 points in buy games.
Final Stats
Up Next
Tennessee is back on the road on Saturday evening when they’ll face Texas in Austin. Tipoff is at 6 p.m. ET and ESPN is broadcasting the game.
