Halftime Report
The last time Tennessee and Florida met, the game was decided by 30 points, but it sure doesn’t look like the final score will be so lopsided this time. After one quarter, neither team has the match in the bag, but Tennessee leads 24-21 over Florida.
Tennessee came into the contest with some extra motivation after the defeat they were dealt the last time these two teams faced off. We’ll see if they’re able to flip the script or if it’ll just be more of the same.
Who’s Playing
Florida Gators @ Tennessee Volunteers
Current Records: Florida 18-2, Tennessee 17-4
How To Watch
What to Know
We’ve got another exciting SEC matchup on schedule as the Florida Gators and the Tennessee Volunteers are set to tip at 12:00 p.m. ET on Saturday at Thompson-Boling Arena. The Gators are strutting in with some offensive muscle as they’ve averaged 85.2 points per game this season.
Tennessee is hoping to do what Georgia couldn’t on Saturday: put an end to Florida’s winning streak, which now stands at three games. Florida took their game with ease, bagging an 89-59 victory over Georgia. The Gators have made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won ten contests by 21 points or more this season.
Florida can attribute much of their success to Walter Clayton Jr., who went 7 for 12 en route to 17 points plus five assists and five steals. Alijah Martin was another key player, going 7 for 11 en route to 17 points plus four steals.
Florida smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 16 offensive rebounds (they’re ranked fourth in offensive rebounds per game overall). That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they’ve now pulled down at least ten offensive rebounds in 22 consecutive matches dating back to last season.
Meanwhile, Tennessee entered their matchup against Kentucky on Tuesday without any home losses, but there’s a first time for everything. Tennessee took a 78-73 hit to the loss column at the hands of Kentucky. The Volunteers have been going strong on the season, but this is now their second loss in a row.
The losing side was boosted by Igor Milicic Jr., who almost dropped a double-double on 19 points and nine rebounds. The dominant performance also gave him a new career-high in threes (four).
Florida’s win bumped their record up to 18-2. As for Tennessee, their defeat ended an 11-game streak of wins at home and dropped them to 17-4.
Keep an eye on the arc in Saturday’s game: Florida has made nailing deep shots look easy this year this season, having averaged 9.3 threes per game. However, it’s not like Tennessee struggles in that department as they’ve been averaging 8.7. Given these competing strengths, it’ll be interesting to see how their clash plays out.
Everything came up roses for Florida against Tennessee in their previous matchup back in January, as the team secured a 73-43 victory. In that contest, Florida amassed a halftime lead of 34-15, an impressive feat they’ll look to repeat on Saturday.
Odds
Tennessee is a solid 5.5-point favorite against Florida, according to the latest college basketball odds.
The line on this game has moved quite a bit since it opened, as it started out with the Volunteers as a 2.5-point favorite.
The over/under is 143.5 points.
See college basketball picks for every single game, including this one, from SportsLine’s advanced computer model. Get picks now.
Series History
Tennessee has won 7 out of their last 10 games against Florida.
- Jan 07, 2025 – Florida 73 vs. Tennessee 43
- Jan 16, 2024 – Tennessee 85 vs. Florida 66
- Feb 01, 2023 – Florida 67 vs. Tennessee 54
- Jan 26, 2022 – Tennessee 78 vs. Florida 71
- Mar 12, 2021 – Tennessee 78 vs. Florida 66
- Mar 07, 2021 – Tennessee 65 vs. Florida 54
- Jan 19, 2021 – Florida 75 vs. Tennessee 49
- Feb 29, 2020 – Tennessee 63 vs. Florida 58
- Feb 09, 2019 – Tennessee 73 vs. Florida 61
- Jan 12, 2019 – Tennessee 78 vs. Florida 67
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