Tennessee basketball faces its toughest battle yet as it travels to Gainesville, Florida, for the second game of conference play.
The Vols (14-0, 1-0 SEC) began SEC play with a 24-point blowout win over Arkansas at home, while Florida (13-1, 0-1) dropped a shootout with Kentucky.
No. 1 Tennessee holds the top spot in college basketball for the fifth consecutive week in the polls. It knocked off Illinois on the road in December, but now it faces a tough top-10-ranked Gator team in opposing territory.
Here’s how to watch Tennessee and Florida, along with some notes and storylines to follow.
How to watch Vols battle Gators on road
Tuesday’s pivotal conference showdown will be broadcast on ESPN2 in the Stephen O’Connell Center. Karl Ravech and Jimmy Dykes will handle duties on the call for the second straight game.
Bob Kesling and Bert Bertelkamp will have the call on the radio with the local Vol Network affiliate.
A quick look at the Gators
Florida began the season with 13-straight wins, lasting as one of the final undefeated teams left in the country. It battled with Kentucky until the end, but fell short in a scoring bout, 106-100. The Gators have one common opponent with the Vols to this point in the Virginia Cavaliers. Florida ran away with an 87-69 win, much as Tennessee was able to do earlier in the year.
The Gators have reached a successful start to the season through the scoring ability of Walter Clayton Jr. The senior guard paces the team with a 18.3 point per game average — including a 33-point outburst against the Wildcats last time out. Alongside Clayton is a tandem of two more guards with a solid scoring ability in Alijah Martin and Will Richard. Sophomore forward Alex Condon rounds out a quartet of Gators that score double-digits per game.
Clayton, Martin decision-making on display
While Clayton and Martin both have the ability to light Tennessee up, it will be a tough task with the Vols’ nation-leading defense. Between the on-ball pressure of Zakai Zeigler and Jahmai Mashack, and the interior presence of Felix Okpara, Florida will have a challenge moving the basketball — which brings the decision-making key to fruition for the Gators’ backcourt.
Though Clayton scored 33 points against Kentucky, it was his low-lights that proved crucial. The guard posted five turnovers and miss four free throws in the six-point loss. Martin scored 26, but also struggled with two turnovers and four misses from the line.
“They’re really good,” assistant coach Gregg Polinsky said. “I know we’re supposed to say all that but they really, really are good. No holds. To answer your question directly, I think experience at the guard position, I don’t know that we’ll see a better trio.”
Tennessee’s defense will be challenged mightily by KenPom’s third-ranked Florida offense, bringing a true battle of offense vs. defense to Gainesville.
Injury news
Tennessee will be without J.P. Estrella as usual with a season-ending foot injury suffered earlier in the year. The scare comes from sophomore forward Cade Phillips, who is listed as questionable on the SEC student-athlete availability report with a shoulder injury suffered against Arkansas.
Florida will be at full strength it appears, posting a clean sheet on the availability report.
