Tennessee flops at Florida, suffers very first defeat
GAINESVILLE, Fla.– Alijah Martin scored 18 points, Denzel Aberdeen added 16 and No. 8 Florida thumped top-ranked Tennessee 73-43 on Tuesday night to knock off the last unbeaten group in guys’s Division I basketball.Alex Condon broke in
12 points and 12 rebounds for his second double-double this season as the Gators (14-1, 1-1 Southeastern Conference) beat a No. 1 team for the 3rd time in school history– the very first in six attempts at home– and extended their home winning streak to 16.
Florida, a 2 1/2-point favorite according to the BetMGM sportsbook, dominated from the opening idea. The Gators scored the first 12 points as the Volunteers (14-1, 1-1) missed their first 9 shots.The Vols made 4 shots in the very first 20 minutes and tracked by 36 points late in front of 11,011 fans.”Tonight, we played with excellent physical and psychological durability,”Florida coach Todd Golden said. “All 8 guys that played answered the bell, and we obviously secured incredibly well tonight. … It’s a fantastic result for us.”Chaz Lanier, who played four seasons at North Florida before signing with Tennessee, scored 10 points on 3-of-16 shooting for the Vols.Editor’s Picks 2 Associated”This might be helpful for us,”Tennessee coach Rick Barnes said after the loss.”We’ll gain from it.”One of the very best defensive groups in the country, the Vols were strong on that end of the court. Nearly every basket Florida
made was objected to. The offending end, nevertheless, was a various story.Aberdeen and Will Richard struck back-to-back 3s for Florida midway through the first half, turning a six-point lead into a 13-point advantage and sending out the crowd into a craze.”Provide credit,” Barnes stated of Florida.”I’m sure they’re looking at it and seem like they most likely had their tactical plan to the T, how they wanted to do it. We can’t say that on our part. “The Gators did mess something up: They offered student tickets to the general public as part of a three-game vacation plan. Police had to escort lots of mad trainees out of their usual courtside seats before tipoff.The Associated Press contributed to this report.