Following a commanding victory over Arkansas, No. 1 Tennessee Volunteers will travel to Gainesville, Florida, to take on the No. 8 Florida Gators. Read more for a full Tennessee vs Florida prediction and preview.
The Tennessee Volunteers will travel to Gainesville, Florida, and take on the Florida Gators in a top-10 in-conference matchup Tuesday at 7 p.m. EST live on ESPN2. Under Rick Barnes, the Vols have a 9-3 record against the Gators.
General Information:
Teams:Â Tennessee (14-0) and Florida (13-1)
Tip-Off: 7 p.m. EST
Watch:Â ESPN2
Latest on Florida basketball:
Florida basketball had been chasing its best start mark set by the 2005-06 Gators, who started 17-0 on the way to winning the national title. Saturday’s 106-100 loss at Kentucky halted Florida’s season-opening streak.
The guard combination of Walter Clayton Jr., Will Richard, and Alijah Martin is scoring 48.1 points per game for Florida. All three are transfers and seniors. Martin transferred from FAU before this season, and Clayton Jr. along with Richard transferred from Iona and Belmont before the 2023–24 campaign.
The Gators were led by standout guard Walter Clayton Jr in the loss. The Florida guard, who leads the team in scoring (18.3) and assists (3.9), totaled an outstanding season-high of 33 points, shooting 9-16 from the field, 6-12 from behind the arc, and 9-12 from the stripe. He also tallied a team-high five assists.
Assisting Clayton Jr. was guard Alijah Martin. He averages 15.2 points, 5.7 rebounds, 3.1 assists, and 1.8 steals. Versus Kentucky, he finished as the second-leading scorer with 26. Martin shot 9-17 from the field, 5-12 from three, and 3-7 from the free throw line.
Will Richard, the third player in their trio, had a comparatively quiet Saturday afternoon, scoring only nine points and pulling down six rebounds on 4-8 shooting.
According to KenPom, Florida’s offense will enter this game as the third-ranked in the nation. The Gators are also the fifth-best offensive-rebounding team, getting back 41.4% of their misses. Considering that Tennessee is a strong group in both areas, Todd Golden’s team will have to dominate the game from beginning to end.
Latest on Tennessee basketball:
No. 1 Tennessee basketball remains the only undefeated team in college basketball after an impressive 76-52 win over the Arkansas Razorbacks.
Following the loss of star and John R. Wooden Award finalist Dalton Knecht and several other important players, it was anticipated that the Vols would have limited offensive firepower. Instead, their offensive performance has flourished, ranking 20th in the nation in terms of adjusted offensive efficiency—their highest since 2019.
Chaz Lanier leads this Rick Barnes offense, averaging a remarkable 20.3 points per game and earning comparisons to Knecht. The Tennessee guard led all scorers with a season-high 29 points against Arkansas. He converted 10-of-20 field goal attempts, 5-of-9 three-point attempts, and 4-of-4 free throw attempts. Saturday would mark his third consecutive 20-point performance and seventh overall.
Lanier’s supporting cast was just as impressive. Igor Milicic Jr., who was a part of the same offseason transfer portal haul, was arguably the most effective player on the court. He scored 13 points and reeled in an amazing 18 rebounds, recording his third double-double of the season. Along with his outstanding stat line, he also contributed five assists.
Senior guard and SEC Defensive Player of the Year Zakai Zeigler added 12 points, 7 assists, and 5 rebounds to further solidify the trio’s dominance in the contest.
Tennessee’s defense, which was ranked second in the country at the time, had a big influence on Coach Calipari and his team’s offensive performance Saturday. The Razorbacks were averaging 82.5 points per game on average over the previous 13 games, but they fell 30 points short of that total.
Florida is going to be the Volunteers’ third-ranked opponent of the season and the most difficult game they have played thus far. With the third-highest offensive efficiency rating in the nation, the Gators will try to get out to a fast start.
Conversely, the Volunteers now have the highest adjusted defensive efficiency the sport has seen in three years and rank first in the country, per KenPom. Tennessee also ranks sixth in rebounding nationally, grabbing 40% of their misses. The Vols will need a big game on defense and in the rebounding department to neutralize the damage from the red-hot Gators, meaning this will be somewhat of a strength-on-strength battle, and the team that best asserts their style of play will likely come out victorious.
The Volunteers are determined to maintain their perfect season and conference record while getting off to the best start in program history.
Tennessee vs Florida prediction: Vols by 6 (76-70)
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Injury Update:
Adding to the Volunteers’ roster struggles this season, Tennessee basketball sophomore forward Cade Phillips was listed as questionable on the injury report Monday night for Tuesday’s game against Florida.
During the second half of Saturday’s 76-52 victory over Arkansas at Food City Center, Phillips hurt his left shoulder. While chasing a loose ball against the Razorbacks, he sustained the injury. During a timeout, he briefly entered the tunnel by the Tennessee bench before returning to the huddle with his teammates.
After the game, head coach Rick Barnes stated that although Phillips could have continued to play after getting hurt, the score did not require it. In his postgame press conference, Barnes stated, “He was available if we needed (him).” “It was simply not necessary in the circumstances.”
While practicing Monday morning, Phillips wore a brace on his left shoulder and worked one-on-one with the coaching staff.
Going into a difficult top-10 battle against Florida, Tennessee will be hoping for Phillips’ availability.