At the Buzzer: Tennessee 62, Florida 57 (Instant Breakdown)

AT THE BUZZER
No. 18 TENNESSEE 62, FLORIDA 57

WHAT HAPPENED: Forward Grant Williams scored 23 points and sidekick Admiral Schofield added 16 more, as the host and 18th-ranked Volunteers used their physicality to overpower the Gators inside and finish off a win at Thompson-Boling arena. Florida didn't do itself any favors, what with a listless start that turned into a 27-percent shooting period and just 18 first-half points, as the Vols went to the locker room up 27-18. Three times though, UF cut the lead to one, the last time at 37-36 with 11 minutes to go. From there, though, guard Jordan Bowden worked for a dunk, then Schofield posted for a dunk and worked for an old-fashion 3-point play on the very next possession to push the Vols back out by eight and closed out from there. Junior swingman Jalen Hudson led the Gators with 13 points and five rebounds, while senior point guard Chris Chiozza had 11 points, six rebounds and nine assists. UF shot just 35 percent for the game and hit only six of 24 shots from the 3-point line (25 percent). Junior guard KeVaughn Allen went scoreless for the first time this season (for just the fourth time in his career, and first time since playing at Texas A&M on Jan. 12, 2016), missing the lone three shots he took in 29 minutes on the floor. Of the Vols' 62 points, more than half (32) came in the paint.

WHAT IT MEANS: That's six losses over the last eight Southeastern Conference games, including three straight, as the Gators dropped into a six-way mega-tie for third place in the league standings, alongside Arkansas, Missouri, Mississippi State, Alabama, and surging Kentucky. Meanwhile, the window to secure an NCAA Tournament at-large berth continues to shrink. The Gators have just three regular-season games left to pad their postseason résumé and get to the magic number of 18 or 19 wins.

IN THE SPOTLIGHT: Williams continued his push for 2018 SEC Player of the Year. The 6-foot-7, 241-pound sophomore posted the Gators silly, getting basically wherever and whatever he wanted. Despite taking a seat 31 seconds into the second half after picking up his third foul, Williams finished 8-for-13 from the floor, made seven of eight free throws and also grabbed six rebounds.

STAGGERING STATISTIC: You'd think scoring 18 first-half points would be a season-low, right? Nope. The Gators managed only 17 in the second half of the 68-50 home loss to Alabama on Feb. 2 when they were outscored 41-17 after taking a six-point lead into intermission. Did those days of multiple 3s and 100-point games back in November really happen?

STAGGERING STATISTIC II: Florida has now lost 11 of its last 14 games at Knoxville, dating to the 2003 season.

UP NEXT: The Gators (17-11, 8-7) return home Saturday night to face SEC front-runner and No. 10 Auburn (24-4, 12-3), which cruised Wednesday night at home against rival Alabama. The Tigers need just one win to clinch at least a tie for the regular-season conference title. The game is sold out.

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At the Buzzer: Tennessee 62, Florida 57 (Instant Breakdown)

Players Mentioned

Chris Chiozza

Jalen Hudson

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