Tennessee basketball: 3 keys for Vols to defeat the Florida Gators
By Ian McBride
Tennessee basketball hosts the Florida Gators Wednesday night coming off a road loss to the Georgia Bulldogs. Here are three keys for the Volunteers to win.
Tennessee Basketball returns home to TBA to face the Florida Gators on Wednesday night. The game will air on ESPN2 at 9:00pm. This will be the first and only regular season meeting between the two teams.
Both Florida and Tennessee are coming off road losses to lesser competition. Tennessee went down to Georgia on the road 73-62 and the Gators fell to Vanderbilt 71-68.
Florida is a very tough matchup for the Vols. They have four players that average double figures in scoring and are very ‘guard-centric’ team right now.
The Gators will prove to be a very formidable opponent for the Vols with the way the Tennessee guards have been playing lately. Let’s look at how the Volunteers can take down the Gators…
1. Work the post
I already mentioned that Florida is driven by their guards. Their top four scorers are all guards-even their top rebounder plays the guard position. Tennessee basketball’s Kyle Alexander is coming off a double-double and will have the opportunity to continue to put in work against Florida.
Grant Williams, however, will not be building on a great performance. He is coming off an ugly 5 point (on 1 of 8 shooting), 4 rebound performance. The Gators frontcourt should provide him the chance to come back from that. Look for him to take advantage and redeem himself in this one.
2. Improved Guard Play
I am starting to feel like a broken record here, but this is a MUST against Florida. Again, Florida is a guard-driven team that takes care of the ball. Led by Chris Chiozza, the Gators turn the ball over less than any team in the conference at just 10 turnovers per game. Chiozza also leads the conference in assists per game, averaging 5.9.
The Vols have been lacking a true ‘floor general’ that can produce opportunities through and for others when the shots are not falling. The game against Florida is one in which someone will need to step up and fill that role. Tennessee basketball is averaging just 61 points and just 8 assists per game in their last 4. 61 points can win some games for Virginia, but the Vols need more than that. If Tennessee’s guards cannot step up and improve on their past few performances, Wednesday will be a very long and painful night. That is just simple fact.
3. Settle down, play their game, and have fun
This is admittedly a bit abstract. However, this young Vols squad has shown they can play with and beat anyone throughout this season. Every one of Tennessee basketball’s losses either contained a big moment or fell at a time when the Vols were on the verge of having a lot of momentum. Tennessee had both Villanova against the ropes and it was like the moment was too big for them.
The start of conference play and the Alabama game occurred when they were riding a wave and surging in the polls. Again, the moment got too big and they faltered. It shows in the pattern of their rankings this year. Multiple times they’ve moved closer to the top 15 or landed inside of it. It is as if they dip their toe in the top 10 water and find it too cold to dive in.
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The Vols are young and play best when they play their game. They need to tune out all the outside noise and forget about tournaments, rankings, or seeds. This team has been trying to force it lately when a team shuts down their primary option. They need to settle into their game, trust their teammates, and have fun doing it. They have been their most successful when they have found that place this season.
Prediction
Fellow AllforTennessee contributor Billy Williford has the Vols winning 72-68 in his preview. My head tells me that I won’t be surprised if the Gators edge the Vols out in a close one here. After all, a road win here for Florida would move them out of bubble-ish territory. However, I also have the Vols winning by four points. Tennessee basketball takes them 76-72.