Gators face Vols in Knoxville: Expect a rock fight

Walter Clayton Jr. needs 12 points for 1,000 in his Florida career (Photo by Chris Spears)

Asked Thursday to describe last weekend’s Auburn-Tennessee game, won by Auburn, 53-51, Todd Golden replied, “Rock fight.”

That’s probably what the 5th-ranked Gators (18-2, 5-2 SEC) can expect today when they face 8th-ranked Tennessee (17-4, 4-4 SEC) in Knoxville (12 noon, ESPN). The Gators come into the game flying high and within shouting distance of No. 1 Auburn (7-0 SEC) and No. 4 Alabama (6-1 SEC). Tennessee, on the other hand, has lost two in a row and three of their last four.

Desperation might be the key word when describing the state of the Vols. Today’s game with the Gators marks the halfway point of the SEC portion of the schedule for Tennessee. A loss would be their fifth in league play, placing them in the precarious position of needing six wins the rest of the way to post a winning record in the SEC. Six of Tennessee’s last nine games are against ranked teams.

Florida knows what it takes to beat Tennessee. Back on January 7 when the Vols were the No. 1-ranked team in the nation, Florida put on a defensive clinic in scoring a 73-43 win, the largest margin of victory over a No. 1 team in more than 50 years. The Gators held Tennessee to 12-56 shooting from the field overall and a miserable 4-29 from the 3-point line. Chaz Lanier came into the game the SEC’s leading scorer and one of the nation’s more lethal 3-point shooters. Dogged all night by Will Richard, Lanier went 3-16 from the field including 1-9 from the 3-point line. The straw that stirs the Tennessee offense, Zakai Ziegler scored 10 but he was only 1-6 from the 3-point line and managed only one assist. Ziegler leads the SEC at 7.4 assists per game.

It might be ludicrous to think the Gators could hold the Vols to similar numbers today. Although the Gators will likely employ a similar defensive strategy of taking Lanier and Ziegler out of the game while making the other Vols pick up the slack, Tennessee has a habit of shooting exceedingly well at Thompson-Boling Arena where they are egged on by crowds of 20,000 or more for SEC games.

Golden knows the Vols will come into this game with a backs against the wall mentality. The best way to handle that is for Florida to impose its will at both ends of the floor.

"Listen, we know we are going to see a really, really fired up team.” Golden said.  “Sometimes on the road, you have to absorb it a little bit. We will definitely try to be proactive and set the tone, get it up and down the floor a little bit and push tempo, which should help. We will push tempo regardless whether we play here or on the road, but it was physical enough, they were incredibly physical against us here in our place. Obviously, they missed some shots and we were able to get out in transition some and get that lead and not relinquish it. It will be different up there and it will be a super challenge that way.

“We have to be physical. We have to be strong with the ball. We have to make them earn their offensive baskets, and we have to make them guard us. That will be key, and obviously they are the best defensive team in the country. So we have to handle it. We have to not turn it over, avoid live ball turnovers, got to play off two feet, take smart shots. We have to have great mental discipline to win."

Game notes: The Vols hold opponents to an average of 59.3 points per game, best in the SEC and fourth nationally. The Gators are seventh in the country in scoring at 85.2 per game, third in scoring margin at 19 … The Gators are third in the country in rebounding (44.43 per game), fourth in offensive rebounds per game (15.25) …The Gators hold opponents to 27.9 percent from the 3-point line which is third nationally. Tennessee leads the country, limiting opponents to 26.5 percent …Walter Clayton Jr., who leads the Gators in scoring at 17.8 per game, needs only 12 points for 1,000 in his Gator career. Counting his two years at Iona, Clayton has scored 1,759 points, an average of 14.7 per game.

Anticipated starting lineups

No. 5 FLORIDA (18-2, 5-2 SEC): Alex Condon (6-11, 230, SO); Rueben Chinyelu (6-10, 255, SO); Will Richard (6-4, 206, SR); Alijah Martin (6-2, 195, GR); Walter Clayton Jr. (6-2, 195, SR)

No. 8 Tennessee (17-4, 4-4 SEC): Igor Milicic (6-10, 225, SR); Felix Okpara (6-11, 235, JR); Jahmai Mashack (6-4, 202, SR); Chaz Lanier (6-5, 207, SR); Zakai Ziegler (5-9, 172m SR)

SEC BASKETBALL

Today’s games

No. 5 FLORIDA (18-2, 5-2 SEC) at No. 8 Tennessee (17-4, 4-4 SEC)

No. 1 Auburn (19-1, 7-0 SEC) at No. 23 Ole Miss (16-5, 5-3 SEC)

Georgia (15-6, 3-5 SEC) at No. 4 Alabama (18-3, 7-1 SEC)

Arkansas (12-8, 1-6 SEC) at No. 12 Kentucky (15-5, 4-3 SEC)

No. 13 Texas A&M (16-5, 5-3 SEC) at South Carolina (10-11, 0-8 SEC)

No. 20 Missouri (16-4, 5-2 SEC) at No. 14 Mississippi State (16-5, 4-4 SEC)

No. 24 Vanderbilt (16-4, 4-3 SEC) at Oklahoma (15-5, 2-5 SEC)

Texas (14-7, 3-5 SEC) at LSU (12-8, 1-6 SEC)