Florida vs. Tennessee score, takeaways: No. 8 Gators eviscerate No. 1 Vols in historic win for program

Basketball

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Image Credit: UAA

One of the most dominant performances in the history of Florida Gators basketball was witnessed Tuesday night in the Stephen C. O’Connell Center as No. 8 Florida prevailed with a dominant, 73-43 wire-to-wire victory over the No. 1 Tennessee Volunteers. The win was the Gators’ first over a No. 1 team in the AP Top 25 outside of the NCAA Tournament and the third-largest over a No. 1 team in the history of Division I basketball (30 points).

Florida won its first game over a No. 1 team in 17 years (2007 NCAA Tournament) and dealt the first defeat of 30+ points to No. 1 team in 56 years (1968). This as the Gators improved to 14-1 (1-1 SEC) on the season, including 8-0 at home this season with all wins coming by 18+ points at a margin of 28.25 points per game.

Florida never trailed Tuesday night opening a 12-0 lead in the first half, jumping ahead by 19 points at halftime and using an 18-3 run to lead by 36 points late in the second half. This despite senior point guard Walter Clayton Jr., the straw that stirs the drink for the Gators, scoring a season-low 7 points on 3 of 10 shooting with four turnovers and four fouls. UF held UT to 21.4% shooting, the worst by a No. 1 team in Division I history.

There was no area in which Florida failed to dominate Tennessee, the last remaining undefeated team in the nation prior to Tuesday night’s loss. Let’s take a look at one of the most substantial victories in program history with Fastbreak Takeaways.

It was over when … sophomore center Rueben Chinyelu slammed home an alley oop from sophomore forward Alex Condon as an exclamation point during a 18-3 run that pushed the Gators ahead by a game-high 36 points with 6:14 to play. Sophomore F Thomas Haugh scored five straight points during that stretch. Florida continued its early-game paint dominance right at the start of the second half using an 11-1 run to basically put the game out of reach just minutes into the period.

First half focus: A defensive slugfest began with UF winning nearly every early battle opening a 12-0 lead as Tennessee went scoreless over 6:41. An 8-0 run on a pair of 3-pointers pushed the Gators back to that margin midway through the period, while a 10-1 scoring stretch over the final 5:21 afforded the hosts a shocking 19-point margin at the break. Florida’s dominance in the paint was crucial as it held advantages of 24-6 scoring and 30-19 rebounding inside. The Gators turned 11 offensive rebounds into 12 second-chance points and boasted a 12-0 scoring margin on the fastbreak. This as the Vols missed all 15 of their triples and only had one assist on four made baskets in the period. The 15 points scored by UT were the fewest allowed by UF to an SEC opponent in 11 years (2013).

Exceptional efforts: Condon was exceptional posting a double double of 12 points and 12 rebounds with four assists. While he was only Florida’s third-leading scorer, his impact on the game was substantial. Similarly impactful was junior guard Denzel Aberdeen, the second-leading scorer with 16 points on 5 of 11 shooting. With Clayton in early foul trouble despite the Gators holding a double-digit lead (and ultimately struggling all game), Aberdeen came off the bench and ensured the program did not miss the beat. Redshirt senior G Alijah Martin posted a game-high 18 points with 6 boards for good measure.

Odds & ends: Florida improved to 60-81 all-time against Tennessee with a 28-25 mark in the O’Dome … the Gators are 3-8 against the Vols since 2018 with all three wins coming at home … UF is now 3-17 all-time against No. 1 teams in the AP Top 25, 1-5 in the O’Dome with this being the first such win occurring outside of the NCAA Tournament … Florida is now 22-1 at home over the last two seasons with 16 straight wins, the longest active streak in the SEC …

the Gators beat the Vols in field-goal shooting (.397-.214), 3-point shooting (.300-.138), free-throw shooting (.765-.600), rebounding (55-38), offensive rebounding (19-13), second-chance points (19-4), bench points (25-7), points in the paint (40-14), fastbreak points (22-3) and assists (14-6) while leading for 38:58 and never trailing … Florida under Golden improved to 44-9 when leading at the half, 50-5 when leading with 5 minutes left, 38-8 when outrebounding an opponent, 48-6 when outshooting an opponent, 43-8 when outshooting an opponent from downtown and 34-14 when winning the bench scoring battle

What it means: Talk about exorcising some demons. Coming off an explosive offensive performance at Kentucky that resulted in a loss but likely would have been a win against any other team in the nation, the Gators beat the Vols at their own game: defense. Holding Tennessee to the lowest shooting rate by a No. 1 team in college basketball history is an extraordinary accomplishment, and it was just one of numerous notable marks Florida achieved Tuesday night. Any murmurs about competition level being the reason for the Gators’ hot start to the season were put to rest in the House of Horrors. While unable to reach 17-0 like the 2005-06 national championship team, Florida has been even more dominant through 15 games this campaign. It has defeated 13 opponents by double digits, and no one has even come close to UF in the O’Dome.

The Gators entered the season with Sweet 16 aspirations and the Elite Eight as a ceiling. If their level of play holds, capturing the program’s third national title becomes a legitimate talking point. The Gator Boys are hot right now, and there may be no slowing them down.

What’s next? Florida will hit the road for the first time in SEC play when it concludes the week with a game at Arkansas on Saturday at 4 p.m. ET on ESPN.