The Official #21 Tennessee @ Florida Game Thread, 12:00 PM ET, ESPN

#1
YankeeVol

YankeeVol

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#1
#21 Tennessee Volunteers: 11-4 (1-1 SEC)
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Florida Gators: 10-5 (1-1 SEC)
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GAME 16 | TENNESSEE vs. FLORIDA - Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026 | 12 p.m. ET | Gainesville, Fl.

Line: UT +5.5
O/U: 150.5

TV: ESPN / Watch
Radio: Vol Network / Listen / Live Stats
Satellite Radio: SiriusXM 106 & 190 / Internet: SXM App
Online: WatchESPN.com


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#2
#2
THE MATCHUP
• Tennessee's 82 wins over Florida are tied for its fourth-most versus any foe. It has 132 victories against Vanderbilt, 100 versus Georgia, 91 versus Mississippi State and an equal 82 against Auburn.
• UT is 9-4 in its last 13 matchups with Florida, dating to 2/21/18, after going 1-5 in the prior six.
• The Vols have won eight in a row over Florida at home, but dropped their last three on the road.
• Ranked UT teams are 16-8 all-time against unranked Florida teams, including 11-3 since 1/14/81. The Volunteers are 3-8 in Gainesville in such matchups.
• The two sides met three times last year, all with both in the AP top eight. Tennessee fell by 30 on the road, won by 20 at home (without two starters) and lost by nine in the SEC Tournament title game.
• After going 36-4 (14-4) and winning both the national title and the SEC Tournament last year, the Gators were picked to win the SEC this season.
• Junior forward Thomas Haugh, a Wooden Award Midseason Watch List pick, leads Florida at 17.5 ppg.
 
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#3
#3
NEWS & NOTES
• Per KenPom, Tennessee (45.2) and Florida (44.2) rank first and second, respectively, in offensive rebounding percentage.
• The Vols own a 13-17 all-time ledger against reigning NCAA champions, including 6-12 away from home (3-9 on the road). The road wins came at Kentucky on 1/20/79, at Kentucky on 1/12/99 and at Florida on 3/5/08.
• Tennessee is 9-4 in its last 13 games against defending national champions, dating to 1/12/99. UT's last such outing was a 64-50 victory over Kansas on 11/25/22 in Paradise Island, Bahamas.
• The Volunteers' 64-44 win over Florida last season, on 2/1/25, was their fourth against an eventual NCAA champion. All four are against Florida, as the Gators lost to UT in each of their title-winning seasons (twice in 2005-06, once in 2006-07 and once in 2024-25).
• UT's win over Texas marked Rick Barnes' 113th in SEC play, moving him past Hank Crisp for sole possession of No. 18 all-time.
• Amari Evans is shooting 76.0% (19-of-25) in the last five games.• With 847 wins, Rick Barnes co-leads active DI coaches and is co-ninth all-time (min. 10 years in DI).
• Ja'Kobi Gillespie is one of just 14 DI players with multiple 32-point games this season. The only others in a Power Five league are Cameron Boozer, A.J. Dybantsa, Josh Hubbard, Nick Martinelli and Bruce Thornton.
• Gillespie, Boozer and Christian Anderson are the only three DI players with 34 points, five assists, four rebounds and three steals in a regulation game this year.
• Tennessee, Alabama and Houston are the only schools to make the last three Sweet 16s. Tennessee, Alabama and Duke are the only three in the last two Elite Eights.
• UT finished a program-best fifth in the AP Poll, Coaches Poll and KenPom in 2023-24 and 2024-25.
• The Vols' 212 wins the last nine years (2017-26) rank seventh in DI. Only Houston (257), Gonzaga (255), Duke (234), Kansas (223), Purdue (220) and Saint Mary's (215) own more. Auburn (211), Liberty (210) and Arizona (209) round out the top 10.
 
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#4
#4
DOWNED THE 2024-25 CHAMPION
• Tennessee notched a 64-44 home triumph over Florida (2/1/25) in the teams' second meeting last year. The Gators went on to win the national title.
• Florida's setback marked just the ninth all-time by 20-plus points for an eventual champion. It was the first by an SEC school, with the Volunteers also the first SEC team to earn such a win.
• The last time an eventual national title winner lost by 20-plus was on 12/7/15, a 78-55 neutral-site win by Oklahoma against Villanova. The last such result in league play was on 3/8/14 when Connecticut suffered an 81-48 setback at Louisville.
• Along with Tennessee, Oklahoma and Louisville, the other six schools to achieve the feat are Duke (1/17/02 against Maryland), Wake Forest (1/30/93 against North Carolina), North Carolina (3/10/91 against Duke [N]), Pittsburgh (3/2/85 against Villanova), Washington (2/22/75 against UCLA) and Illinois (12/4/64 against UCLA).
• UT now owns four all-time victories over eventual NCAA champions, all against Florida. The Vols beat the Gators twice in 2005-06 and once in 2006-07.
 
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#5
#5
BEATING THE BEST
• Under Rick Barnes, Tennessee has 48 total victories over 15 (of the 37) NCAA champions: Arizona, Arkansas (8x), Baylor, Cincinnati, Duke, Florida (10x), Kansas (2x), Kentucky (12x), Louisville (3x), Maryland, North Carolina, NC State (2x), Syracuse (2x), UCLA, Virginia and Wisconsin.
• The Volunteers also own wins during Barnes' tenure over non-SEC teams such as Butler, Colorado (2x), Creighton, Georgia Tech (3x), Gonzaga, Houston, Illinois (2x), Iowa, Memphis, Miami, Purdue, Rutgers, St. Joseph's, Southern Cal, Texas (2x pre-SEC), Wake Forest (2x), Washington, West Virginia and VCU.
• In his 39 years as a head coach, Barnes owns 188 total wins over 28 (of the 37) programs with a national title. He has never coached against six of the other nine.
 
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#7
#7
Gators favored by 5.5. Gonna be a tall task to get the win on the road. Nooner tipoff, which team gets up ready to play? UT guards could be the difference maker, need someone to step up besides JakobI. Fouls will play a huge role in this game. Which team will lose key front line players? Made free throws will help tremendously for the Vols. They smashed us the last time we were in Gainesville. Enjoy the game Volnation! As always, in Rick we trust. Go Vols!
 
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#13
#13
We rarely win at Florida so guys don't throw a tantrum when we get beat. They defend their home court pretty good down there. This game doesn't say anything about us unless we go in and get the win. Remember how they throttled us last year and we still made the Elite 8. These road games in the SEC are all difficult so just watch and take away from how we play and don't overreact if it doesn't go our way.
 
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#17
#17
cwbytruckers said:
We rarely win at Florida so guys don't throw a tantrum when we get beat. They defend their home court pretty good down there. This game doesn't say anything about us unless we go in and get the win. Remember how they throttled us last year and we still made the Elite 8. These road games in the SEC are all difficult so just watch and take away from how we play and don't overreact if it doesn't go our way.
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Yesh but got win some on the road in this league or your not going compete any conference championships
 
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#19
#19
TheMookieMonster said:
Like this quote from Boswell. Hope he has a big day. We really do need some road wins and a signature one or two, here’s that opportunity.

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Yes, difficult place to win. All the players will have to wear a clothespin on their nose to avoid the reek of urine smell in building

Then, you have all the garbage and rare sewage smells coming from the adjourning trailer park where the professors live..

Don't get me started, How Joey A drained that dump is beyond me...?

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#21
#21
I have a hard time figuring this one out.

We have the big depth to match with Florida. But our bigs are more offensive (sans Okpara) and theirs are more balanced.

So probably will come down to the guard play.

But We’ll see. I’ve not watched any of Florida’s games this year but I know they have among the worst luck in the nation according to KP. So presumably way better than their record.
 
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#25
#25
omghulkhands said:
I have a hard time figuring this one out.

We have the big depth to match with Florida. But our bigs are more offensive (sans Okpara) and theirs are more balanced.

So probably will come down to the guard play.

But We’ll see. I’ve not watched any of Florida’s games this year but I know they have among the worst luck in the nation according to KP. So presumably way better than their record.
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Florida is 359 and Tennessee is 320 in luck, so fairly close there as they both have that “terribly unlucky” label. Statistically, we shoot better from 2 and 3, and Haugh is the only dangerous big as far as the 3-ball. Condon is 5-30. We have a nice advantage in A/T ratio and in steals. Statistically, we have a great chance to win this game, but the proof will be determined by things that can have huge variants from game-to-game.
 
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