The Gators aren't exactly used to this.
Fourth-seeded UF sat and watched No. 5-seed Tennessee and No. 12-seed Alabama duke it out on Thursday night in the first round of the Southeastern Conference Tournament, waiting to see who it would play.
The watching and waiting is over.
No. 21 UF (23-6, 9-5 SEC) will face No. 19 Tennessee (21-9, 9-5 SEC) tonight at 7:30 in the quarterfinals of the SEC Tournament in North Little Rock, Ark.
The Gators held the head-to-head tiebreaker with the Volunteers for the first-round bye, having already defeated Tennessee 66-57 during the teams' first meeting this season in Gainesville on Feb. 8.
"Being able to earn that bye is a big deal," UF coach Amanda Butler said. "We've got to feel good about putting ourselves in the position where on Thursday we get to watch and hopefully get an upper hand on the team that we'll be playing the next day."
There won't be any home-court advantage for the Gators this time against the Volunteers, but if there is anything UF will have an edge in, it's the extra day of rest and preparation.
"This is a great thing because, what is it, four games you have to play if you don't (have a bye)?" senior forward Marshae Dotson said. "That'll take a toll on you."
"I can remember from last year getting in a tub of ice-cold water and getting massages and trying to get ready and enough sleep for the next day. Hopefully we can use that to our advantage when we get in the tournament."
In the first meeting between the Gators and Volunteers, senior point guard Sha Brooks single-handedly willed her team to victory, scoring 29 points. Dotson was the only other player in double figures (10).
What stands out to Brooks just as much about that game was her team's defensive effort. UF held Tennessee to 57 points.
"That wasn't my best performance," Brooks said. "I know I missed a lot of free throws, a lot of layups. But we're going to have to be really tough on defense and stop their shooters and stop the penetration and stop them from scoring in the paint."
The winner of Friday's quarterfinal will advance to take on the winner of No. 1-seed Auburn and No. 9-seed Mississippi on Saturday night at 6:30 in a semifinal matchup.
"It's a big opportunity because it's so wide open," Brooks said. "Anybody can beat anybody in the SEC. Nobody is undefeated. You have to look at the teams that are really working hard this year to be a champion. That's what we're working towards this week."
"The SEC Championship is right there. We can literally grab it if we wanted to. We've just all got to fight for it."
