No. 5 Florida Men’s Basketball Unable To Break Knoxville Curse

No. 8 Tennessee dominated No. 5 Florida in the second half Saturday for a 64-44 win at Knoxville’s Thompson-Boling Arena, a venue the Gators have not won at since 2014.

Florida (18-3, 5-3) has now lost 10 of the last 11 and 15 of the last 17 games in Knoxville since 2006.

Without two key starters, Tennessee (18-4, 5-4 SEC) was still able to do what they do best: play defense. Star point guard Zakai Zeigler was out with an ankle injury. He was the key playmaker for Tennessee, averaging 7.4 assists per game. Igor Milicic was out with flu like symptoms. He is the Vols’ leading rebounder averaging 8.1 a contest and an emotional leader as a senior.

The Volunteers held Florida, which averaged 85.3 points per game, to only 44 points. Florida’s previous lowest point total was 71 in a win at Arkansas on Jan. 11. It’s Tennessee’s sixth straight home win against an Associated Press Top-5 opponent.

Teams over last 25 seasons to defeat AP Top 5 opponent by 20+ points while holding them to 25.0 FG% or lower:

Tennessee vs. Florida (Today)
Florida vs. Tennessee (1/7/2025)
Kentucky vs. Kansas (1/18/2014)

That’s it. pic.twitter.com/BQ3IZle7zZ

— Greg Harvey (@BetweenTheNums) February 1, 2025

Florida Shooting Woes

Coming off its mid-week bye, Florida had plenty of time to prepare for this matchup. Offensively, it looked like it was their first game of the season.

Florida finished the game shooting 4-of-27 from 3. Two of those 3s came from Alijah Martin late in the second half when the game was out of reach. Will Richard, who gives the Gators 13.6 points a game, only attempted two shots for two points.

After posting an efficient 53.1% from the field in the 89-59 demolition of Georgia last weekend, the Gators shot less than half of that against the Volunteers. They shot 24.5% from the field, only cashing 13 of 53 shot attempts.

Tennessee by 20 over Florida without Zakai Zeigler! 6th straight home win vs AP Top 5 opponent for the Volunteers.

Not a bad loss for Florida, but significantly decreases chances at a 1 seed.

Tennessee ➡️ 2 seed
Florida ➡️ 3 seed https://t.co/cSrbBHSmhJ pic.twitter.com/oe4JLgWhRz

— JBR Bracketology (@JBRBracketology) February 1, 2025

Defensive Dominance

Without two of their key players, Tennessee amped the defensive intensity. Jahmai Mashack‘s two steals do not translate to the defensive stress he put on the Gator perimeter. Coach Todd Golden’s offense thrives off dribble handoffs and high-ball screens, both of which were taken away by Tennessee. On every Gator possession, they were met by active hands, ball pressure and deflections from Tennessee. 

The Gators turned the ball over 13 times. In the first half, the Gators’ had six possessions with less than five seconds on the shot clock. By taking away the perimeter, the Gators had nowhere to go. Sam Alexis was the silver lining offensively for the Gators, able to get some post looks against a lighter Felix Okpara.

The Volunteers were able to clamp the Gators with only seven scholarship players. Remarkably, they remained out of foul trouble.

Lanier Breaks The Ice

With Zeigler out, the fate on the UT offense rested on UNF transfer Chaz Lanier. He has been struggling shooting in SEC play. He had a total of 13 points in Tennessee’s four SEC losses.

Against UF, Lanier rose from the ashes. He made 5-of-9 from 3 and scored 19 points by shooting with a confidence he appeared to lose in recent losses to No. 1 Auburn and No. 12 Kentucky.

Jordan Gainey also stepped up for the Volunteers. Usually coming off the bench, he replaced Zeigler at point guard. He finished the game with 16 points and four assists, utilizing the pick and roll to get to his spots for mid-range jumpers.

First Vs. Second Half

Despite a poor offensive performance by the Gators in the first half, they were only down 24-21 at half. Tennessee, which had been struggling offensively in SEC play, only shot 2-of-13 from 3 in the first half. Florida was unable to capitalize off Tennessee’s inability to cash in open shots in the first half by being even colder. The Gators also shot 2-of-13 from 3 and 25.9% from the field.

The difference between the teams was Tennessee’s shooting woes came from simply missing open shots, but the Gators’ offensive struggles were caused by relentless Volunteer defense.

In the second half, Vols coach Rick Barnes abandoned the 3 and went to the post. They started out the half on a 6-0 run, shooting 3-of-3 from midrange and post shots. Tennessee outscored Florida by 18 in the paint, 30-12. 

https://twitter.com/Vol_Hoops/status/1885762861894422890

Once Lanier started heating up from 3, the game was out of reach for Florida.

Florida’s All-SEC point guard Walter Clayton Jr. finished the game with a team-high 10 points on 3-of-13 shooting. He injured his ankle late in the first half and re-aggravated it late in the game. His status for Florida’s game against Vanderbilt is unknown.

Up Next

Florida hosts No. 24 Vanderbilt (16-4, 4-3), which lost 97-67 at Oklahoma on Saturday afternoon, at 7 p.m. Tuesday (SEC Network, 98.1-FM/850-AM WRUF). Saturday was the start of Florida’s difficult stretch of games, playing No. 1 Auburn (19-1, 7-0) and No. 14 Mississippi State (16-5, 4-4) away after Vanderbilt. That is four-ranked opponents in a row for the Gators, three on the road, a testament to the difficulty of playing in the SEC.