Florida Plays at No. 5 Tennessee on Sunday
Sunday, February 14, 2010 | Women's Basketball
Florida continues its challenging final stretch, traveling to Knoxville, Tenn., to face fifth-ranked and Southeastern Conference leader Tennessee on Valentine's Day. Tip-off from Thompson-Boling Arena is set for 2 p.m. ET, and the game will be televised on the SEC Network. Fans should check www.GatorZone.com for a complete list of affiliates throughout the country.
Both teams experienced opposite emotions in its most recent outing.
Florida is coming off a tough 70-30 home loss to LSU on Feb. 11. Tennessee rallied at Ole Miss and got the game-winning three-pointer from Angie Bjorklund in the final seconds for the thrilling 61-58 road victory. It was the second time this season Bjorklund hit a game-winner in the final moments of a SEC game. The Lady Vols junior also broke the Gators' heart with her reverse layup with 2.3 seconds remaining that gave UT the 66-64 win on Jan. 14 in Gainesville.
Tennessee holds a commanding 39-3 all-time lead in the 42-game series against Florida, which snapped a three-game slide to the Lady Vols last season with a 66-57 victory on Feb. 8 in Gainesville. The Lady Vols got their revenge in the next meeting, when UT took the 71-67 victory in the quarterfinal round of the SEC Tournament and followed that with a thrilling 66-64 victory in Gainesville on Jan. 14, 2010, when Bjorklund sank the game-winner.
The Gators have earned two wins against the Lady Vols at home (Feb. 8, 2009 and Jan. 21, 1997) and one in Knoxville (Feb. 26, 2006), where they became just the second unranked team ever to defeat the Lady Vols at home.
Five of Florida's final six regular-season games are against teams ranked in the top-25 of the national polls.
The daunting final stretch began Feb. 11, in Gainesville, where the Gators were topped by LSU, 70-30. Following Sunday's game against Tennessee, Florida plays at No. 17 Kentucky, hosts No. 19 Georgia on Feb. 21 and travels to No. 22 Vanderbilt on Feb. 24. The Gators end the regular season on Feb. 28, hosting Alabama, a team that handed them an 82-58 loss on Jan. 21 in Tuscaloosa.
Tennessee is the ninth of Florida's last 10 opponents that is at least receiving votes at game-time in the national polls. The Lady Vols are No. 5 in this week's Associated Press and ESPN-USA Today Coaches polls.
“We have to find the players who are going to step up offensively, unlike we did against LSU,” UF head coach Amanda Butler said. “That's something we've worked on the last two days in practice. We have to have a champion's response.”
The SEC standings are so close, the Gators jumped from tied-for-sixth to tied-for-third following their 80-78 double-overtime win against Mississippi State on Sun., Feb. 7. One game prior to that, Florida fell from tied-for-third to tied-for-sixth after its disappointing 66-58 loss to Vanderbilt on Feb. 4. And the game before that, the Gators jumped from sixth to tied-for-third place in the league race after winning at Ole Miss.
Entering the games of Feb. 14, Florida, Ole Miss and Vanderbilt (6-5) are tied for fourth in the SEC standings, a half-game ahead of South Carolina and Georgia, both sporting a 6-6 SEC record.
Tennessee sits alone in first place in the SEC with a 10-1 record entering Sunday's games, one ahead of Kentucky (9-2).
The Gators have just five regular-season games remaining prior to the SEC Tournament, and Sunday's game is one of three away outings during the final run.
Game Day Information
What: Florida (13-11, 6-5 SEC) at No. 5 Tennessee (22-2, 10-1 SEC)
When: Sunday, February 14 * 2 p.m. ET
Where: Knoxville, Tenn. * Thompson-Boling Arena (21,678)
Radio: LIVE on WBXY-FM (The Star 99.5) in Gainesville with Steve Russell & Brittany Davis
Internet Audio: LIVE thru GatorZone.com (FREE of charge)
Online Streaming Video: LIVE thru www.espn360.com
Television: LIVE on SEC-Network (see www.GatorZone.com for a complete list of affiliates; airs in Gainesville on WJXT (COX cable channel 19) with Dave Baker & Stephanie Ready
Post-Game Satellite Feed: none
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