Some complain that the Tennessee orange is ugly, but it wasn’t the ugliest thing on the court Wednesday night.
Florida traveled north to Knoxville, Tennessee, on Wednesday night for its first Southeastern Conference road game of the season, and the Gators went ice cold.
The Volunteers outplayed Florida on both ends of the floor en route to a 83-69 drubbing of a UF team that, from the beginning, seemed to lack energy and intensity – two key factors when playing on the road.
With the win, Tennessee (8-6, 1-1 SEC) remained perfect at home this season, while the Gators dropped the second of their last three games.
"(Tennessee) destroyed us," Florida coach Mike White said. "They beat us in every facet of the game...very, very disappointed in our effort tonight."
Senior guard Kevin Punter led the way for the Vols with 26 points, shooting 9-for-16 from the field and 3-for-3 from beyond the arc. Entering Wednesday night’s contest, Punter ranked second in the SEC in points per game with 22.8, trailing only Ole Miss’ Stefan Moody (23.7) and just ahead of Louisiana State freshman phenom Ben Simmons (20.1).
Freshman Admiral Schofield added 17 points and eight rebounds for Tennessee in the win while Robert Hubbs III contributed 12 points and nine boards.
"Defensively and on the glass, it was hands down our worst performance of the year," White said. "I don’t understand, I’m searching as a coach why we can come into a game like tonight with the opportunities that we had and not play with the same character, mental make up, mental and physical toughness."
Florida (9-5, 1-1 SEC) started the game shooting the ball well, but went cold midway through the first half and could never get back in a groove until late in the second half when it was too late. Offensive struggles are nothing new for the Gators this season, but they usually have the defense to help even things out.
That wasn’t the case against Tennessee.
Florida had been giving up 62.0 points per game before Wednesday night, but the Vols were already up to 53 at halftime. As a team, Tennessee shot 47 percent from the field, but it wasn’t just the made field goals that hurt the Gators. Florida committed 14 turnovers and Tennessee took advantage, outscoring the Gators 22-18 in points off turnovers. The Vols’ largest lead reached 30 at the 13:03 mark of the second half.
As for Florida on offense, the numbers were ugly. Kasey Hill finished 0-for-7 with one point, Chris Chiozza 1-for-5 with three points and Brandone Francis-Ramirez 0-for-5 without scoring.
Freshman KeVaughn Allen led the team with 18 points, Devin Robinson added 13 points off the bench and Justin Leon scored 11. Dorian Finney-Smith recorded the game’s only double-double with 12 points and 11 rebounds
As a team, the Gators shot just 34.3 percent (24-for-70) from the field and 34.6 percent (9-for-26) from three.
John Egbunu, Florida’s second leading scorer, started to cash in on scoring opportunities in the second half but his early struggles against a smaller Tennessee defense were part of the reason Florida’s offense stalled. Egbunu, who finished with eight points and seven rebounds, was hounded in the paint and had trouble even catching the basketball at times as his teammates continued to try to feed him down low.
The Gators were outrebounded again, this time 49-40 by an undersized Tennessee lineup.
It doesn’t get any easier for Florida as Simmons and LSU (9-5, 2-0 SEC) come to town on Saturday fresh off a home win over Kentucky for a 1:30 p.m. SEC matchup in the O’Connell Center.
"We gotta find five guys that are ready to fight at the tip against LSU," White said. "Win or lose, that mentality (against Tennessee) is not who we’re going to be as a basketball program."
Follow Alex Maminakis on Twitter @alexmaminakis
UF’s Dorian Finney-Smith looks to pass during Florida’s 77-63 win against Georgia on Jan.2, 2016, in the O’Connell Center.
