Tennessee basketball 2019-2020 season recap: Vols top five wins

3. Florida Gators

Tennessee wins 63-58

Saturday, Feb. 29, 2020

Similar to their win over the Alabama Crimson Tide, Tennessee basketball needed to get back on track amidst a two-game losing streak. And just like with Alabama, the Vols were able to do it against a rival. Now, Alabama may have been a bit tougher since it was on the road, but the Florida Gators are a more quality opponent, which is why we have them slightly higher on the list.

As this game tipped off, the Vols were desperately trying to etch their way onto the NCAA Tournament bubble. At 15-13 and 7-8 in the SEC, they had lost two straight, including a heartbreaker at the Auburn Tigers the week before when they blew a 17-point lead. Their most recent outing was an embarrassing 86-69 loss at the Arkansas Razorbacks.

In this game, John Fulkerson dropped another 22 points, hitting 10-of-15 shots. Jordan Bowden added 10 points, Josiah-Jordan James added 12 points, six assists and eight rebounds, and Santiago Vescovi had 11 points and four assists. Yves Pons had two blocks. But Fulkerson was the star, and his top moments came late.

A Vols team becoming notorious for collapsing in the final five minutes of games had nearly blown a 15-point lead. Florida cut it to one with just over two minutes to go. But with the shot-clock winding down on the next possession, Fulkerson hit his first three of the year. He then got an offensive rebound with his team up two and made a dunk with 45 seconds left to secure the win.