Tuesday Evening Hoops: Florida Takes On No. 6 Tennessee

The Florida Gators hit the road to take on the Tennessee Volunteers for Tuesday night hoops.

Battle in Rocky Top 🔜

@ Tennessee
@ 5 PM
#GoGators pic.twitter.com/3jeVzJELXI

— Florida Gators Men’s Basketball (@GatorsMBK) January 16, 2024

Preview

The Gators currently sit at 11-5 on the season, 1-2 in conference play, and are looking for their first SEC win. Despite being 0-2 record on the road, Florida will enter Tuesday night fresh off their 90-68 win against the Arkansas Razorbacks.

Meanwhile, Tennessee ranks sixth in the country with a 12-4 record; they’ll battle it out against their SEC counterpart Gators for the first time this year.

This season, Florida is averaging 86.4 points per game, which ranks ninth-best in the nation. Given Tennessee’s successful track record, the Gators will have a tough task ahead and will seek to add win number 12 in the books.

Recap

Looking back on Saturday night, the main story for Florida was Riley Kugel, who collected 20 points, five rebounds, and a pair of steals en-route to the win over the Razorbacks.

Meanwhile, Tennessee took down the Georgia Bulldogs with a narrow 85-79 final.

Volunteers guard Dalton Knecht was a wrecking force on Saturday, scoring 36 points. On top of that, Knecht has been Tennessee’s best scorer this season, averaging 17.2 points per game since joining the program this previous offseason. Knecht has been a key player and will a tough task for any opponent.

Tennessee radio analyst Bert Bertelkamp spoke regarding the Volunteers’ recent win over Georgia and how the environment inside Stegeman Coliseum did not overwhelm them.

Who to Watch

After guards Kugel and Knecht propelled their respective teams to victory, the spotlight will be on both players. After an utter dominate performance in their last matchups, they will look to build off of their strong play and make another contribution.

Game Time

Due to unprecedented weather conditions, tipoff has been moved to 5 p.m. EST. Bertelkamp made mention of how Tennessee has been covered with an ample amount of snow.

Game time change 🚨🚨

Our game at Tennessee on Tuesday has been moved up to 5 PM due to winter weather conditions in Knoxville. pic.twitter.com/XsfEjMigHc

— Florida Gators Men’s Basketball (@GatorsMBK) January 15, 2024