No Zakai Zeigler and no Igor Milicic Jr. for Tennessee basketball against Florida? It turns out it was no problem for the Vols, as they were able to take down the No. 5 Gators 64-44 in Knoxville. This was perfect revenge for the 30-point loss last month.
With two key standouts not available for Tennessee, and only seven scholarship players suited up, there was a mountain to climb to post the victory. That's why Saturday's performance meant so much to head man Rick Barnes and he couldn't be more proud of his players. During his locker room speech to the guys, Barnes really couldn't have been happier:
we got enough pic.twitter.com/Z8bCRobTKN
— Tennessee Basketball (@Vol_Hoops) February 1, 2025
Tennessee's Rick Barnes was beyond proud of his team after beating Florida
"Shack (Jahmai Mashack) said it yesterday. He said, 'we got enough' and you know what, we had more than enough," Barnes said. "You know? Great job. I'm glad you guys took it personal too by the way. It was incredible. Really one of the great wins ever, I'm telling you."
Barnes looked pretty emotional following the final whistle and it's easy to see why. Tennessee entered this weekend's tilt with Florida having lost two of its last three games. The Vols let things slip away late against No. 1 Auburn last weekend and then the setback against Kentucky was tough to watch.
This time around, the Vols were able to overcome adversity and take down one of the best teams in the country. Florida was Top 5 nationally on offense, scoring more than 85 points per game. Tennessee's defense nearly chopped that in half by holding the Gators to 44 points.
Chaz Lanier led the way on offense with his 19 points, while Jordan Gainey stepped up big time with Zeigler hurt, adding 16 points. This was the kind of performance that will remind everyone around the country of how talented this team can be when things gel. There's once again plenty of reason to believe this can be a campaign to remember for UT following the dominant showing vs. Florida.