Florida Gators hosts No. 2 Tennessee In A Huge SEC Matchup. Tennessee has jumped to 2nd in the polls. This is the first time they’ve been a top two team in the poll since the 2018-19 season.
2 Tennessee at Florida, Wednesday, 7 ET on ESPN2 and ESPN-SWFL
The 2007-2008 season is the only other time that Tennessee has reached one of the top two spots in their league. However, the question remains if they will be able to maintain that position.
The upcoming game against the 12-9 Florida Gators could be a challenge, as Florida has won 4 out of their last 5 home games against Tennessee, with each game being decided by double-digit margins (14.2 points per game).
What’s Different About This Years Vols?
This Tennessee team is different from previous years as they have become one of the best defensive teams in the country, and potentially of all time. They currently lead Division I in scoring defense, opponent field goal percentage, and three-point percentage.
This is a historic achievement, as no team in the history of the NCAA has ever led Division I in both field goal percentage defense and scoring defense simultaneously.
On the offensive side, Tennessee has four different players averaging double-digit scoring, led by Santiago Vescovi’s 12.2 points per game. Five different players have also recorded at least one 20-point game.
As a team, they are shooting 48% from the field during conference play. That’s on pace to be their second-best field goal shooting percentage in a single season in the last 25 years
Can The Florida Gators Pull The Upset?
The Florida Gators have a 12-9 record and a 5-3 record in conference play. They recently suffered a 64-50 loss against then-No. 5 Kansas State. In that game, they scored a season-low of 50 points and struggled with their perimeter shooting on the road, making only 4 out of 22 three-point attempts (18.2%).
Florida will look to rely on their defense, which ranks eighth nationally in adjusted defensive efficiency. Colin Castleton leads the SEC in blocks per game with an average of 3.2.With four more blocks, he will pass Joakim Noah (186 blocks) for fourth place on Florida’s all-time shot-blocking list.
In order to beat the highly-ranked Tennessee team, Florida will likely need to improve their three-point shooting. The Gators are currently shooting 32.3% from beyond the arc on the season, which ranks eighth in the SEC.
Tennessee has a recent dominance over Florida, having won 7 out of their last 8 meetings. The only win for Florida in that span came at home, when they beat Tennessee 75-49 on January 19, 2021.
More on Shemon and Sheppard later today 2-6pm.
