Despite holding a seven-point lead at halftime, Tennessee fell to the No. 1 ranked Florida Gators 56-49 in the semi-final round of the SEC tournament Saturday afternoon.
Tennessee entered the game playing its best basketball of the season. The Vols had won five straight games by an average of 23 points and never trailed, at any point, during that span. And they carried that momentum into the game against the Gators, but they only maintained it for one half.
The Vols took a 35-28 lead into intermission, having shot 54 percent from the field and holding a 20-12 advantage in points in the paint. Then the second half happened. Things pretty much went to hell.
After handling Florida’s full-court pressure well in the first half — committing just five turnovers — Tennessee nearly had as many turnovers (11) as it did points (14) in the second half. I’m trying to decide which is worse, the lack of points or surplus of turnovers. I’m legitimately torn.
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Stokes made a layup with 12:18 left in the game, and Tennessee didn’t score again until a pair of Stokes free throws at the 4:57 mark. So that’s a little over 7 minutes with no field goals. Tennessee’s lead went from five to zero, and then senior Jeronne Maymon was ejected. Florida hit the four accompanying free throws and never trailed again.
Maymon’s ejection seemed… gratuitous… to UT fans during the game, and it left Coach Martin searching for answers afterward.
“Wasn’t really told anything Maymon,” Martin said. “They called a technical foul. I watched his body language. He didn’t use any curse words, swear, whatever you want to call it. He didn’t do any of that. Maybe his tone or maybe his approach and his body language caused him to get the technical.”
Jordan McRae led the scoring charge for Tennessee, dropping 15 points on 7-15 shooting. But McRae was only 1-5 from behind the 3-point line — a microcosm of the Vols’ 2-13 performance as a team.
The aforementioned Stokes added 13 points and seven boards but was limited in the second half by Florida’s defense. The Gators doubled the Vol big man consistently which forced him away from the low block and hindered his ability to score the basketball. That was the key to Florida’s strong second half: Without Stokes operating down low, the Tennessee offense bogged down, resulting in five baskets for the Vols in the second half.
McRae’s take on the matter was simplified.
“No, I think we had many some shots that we normally make,” McRae said. “Today they didn’t fall. But I don’t think they did anything different than they did in the first half.”
Quick tidbit: Tennessee’s record in games decided by five points or less falls to 0-5 on the season.
Looking forward, though a win would have all but guaranteed the Vols an NCAA tournament birth, it seems likely they make it in regardless.
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