Gators Shooting Woes Results in a 20-Point Loss to No. 8 Tennessee

After blowing out Tennessee in the first matchup, the tables turned on the Gators in the rematch in Knoxville

The Gators suffer, by far, their worst loss of the season / Randy Sartin-Imagn Images

Knoxville, TN. – An ugly overall performance from the No. 5 Florida Gators men’s basketball team on Saturday against No. 8 Tennessee resulted in a 64-44 loss. This loss is their first double-digit one this season and it now moves them to 18-3 overall and 5-3 in conference play. 

The most glaring problem from this game was the Gators' three-point shooting. The offense was only 4-for-27 from deep. Players weren’t knocking down any of the open looks they had – which was a very small number of them – and hoisted up tons of contested ones as well. 

Additionally, it also doesn’t help when your three best players have their worst games this season. Walter Clayton Jr. was 3-for-13 with 10 points, Alijah Martin was 2-12 with six points and Will Richard was 1-for-2 with 2 points.

Defense Steals the Show in the First

The battle between the Gators and Volunteers began as a defensive one. The Gators started 1-for-7 from the field while the hosts were just 2-for-10. 

But Todd Golden’s guys started to figure things out on the offensive side. Following this rough start, the Gators made three of their next five shots to take a 13-9 lead over their opponents. 

Tennessee’s defense quickly came back to life and began turning up the heat on the Gator ball handlers led to six turnovers just a little past the halfway mark. These turnovers gave the Volunteers the perfect avenue to jump in front 14-13 with 8:10 remaining in the half. 

The visitors' defense would respond with a strong defensive stretch of their own, keeping Tennessee scoreless over the next four minutes and allowing themselves to regain a one-point lead. 

This lead only had a short lifespan, though. Behind some strong defense, the Volunteers went on an 8-2 run to take a 24-21 advantage going into halftime. And, in the middle of this run, the Gators saw their star guard Walter Clayton Jr. roll his ankle just a minute before the half. 

For the Gators, it was their worst half offensively. The offense was just 7-for-27 from the field and 2-for-13 from three, resulting in their lowest-scoring half this year. Luckily, their defense came to play. The Volunteers offense was only 9-for-31 and 2-for-13 from deep.

Tennessee Runs Away with it Early 

Tennessee’s second-half start was much different than their first. They came out hot on offense and went on a quick 6-0 run in the first two minutes of the half to put the score at 30-21 in their favor. The lead would be pushed one more point to 10 by the first media timeout. 

The reason they were able to gain control in the early going of this second half was because of their offensive dominance in the first four minutes. Tennessee’s offense was 5-for-5 during this stretch. 

. Neither the defense nor offense for the Gators could find a foothold in this second half and it allowed the Volunteers' lead to grow to 13 with only 10 minutes remaining. 

Then, things went from bad to worse. Tennessee’s stranglehold in this game saw their lead balloon all the way up to 20 points with just under six minutes left in the game. Again, it was tough shots, awful turnovers and little-to-no effort on defense from the Gators that led to this. 

Nothing much changed over these final six minutes and by the end of it, the Gators would have their first double-digit loss of the season, losing 64-44 to the Volunteers. 

Rebound Opportunity at Home

Florida’s next chance to rebound from this poor loss will be on Tuesday at home. They will be welcomed in Vanderbilt on Feb. 4 at 7 pm. This contest will be broadcast on SEC Network.