Next-Day Takeaway (Tennessee 83, Florida 69)

Wednesday, January 6

Knoxville, TN

7:00 PM

Florida Gators

9-5, 1-1SEC

Tennessee

8-6, 1-1SEC

Florida

Tennessee

Coach Mike White wasn't pleased with the product his Gators rolled out Wednesday night at Tennessee.

Next-Day Takeaway (Tennessee 83, Florida 69)

Thursday, January 7, 2016 | Men's Basketball, Chris Harry

Box Score

By: Chris Harry, Senior Writer

GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- Three follow-up observations from Tennessee's blowout win in Knoxville that dropped the Gators to 9-5 on the season and 1-1 in the Southeastern Conference.

1) Two weeks ago, forward Dorian Finney-Smith chastised himself after a win over Jacksonville -- a game UF played a listless first half, especially on defense -- by saying the responsibility of the team to play hard from the opening tip, "starts with me." After Wednesday night's debacle at Tennessee, one of the program's ugliest wire-to-wire displays in memory, Finney-Smith again turned a finger at himself. "It starts with me." To be clear, there was blame enough to go around, and then some. But "Doe-Doe" is right. When it comes to locker room liability, he's the fifth-year senior and UF's best player. Teammates look up to him, watch him and see his body language. The previous coaching staff had many a conversation with Finney-Smith about his "motor." He needs to jumpstart it himself, but it's also not all on Finney-Smith. The players around him need to be better, play harder and make everyone accountable for the product on the floor. Example: John Egbunu. He was four inches taller and 25 pounds heavier than any Vol in the UT rotation. Waves of double- and triple teams really had him frustrated. It was obvious in his body language. Egbunu finished with seven rebounds. Four Vols had that many. Three had more. Egbunu would be the first to say his performance wasn't good enough. He may even say, when it comes to commanding the paint, "It starts with me." If the Gators are going to bounce back, it starts with everybody. And it all starts by playing hard.

2) Think about this: Coach Mike White's basketball career, from high school to Ole Miss, was about overachieving. He wasn't blessed with size or athleticism, but he was a mental bulldog who competed harder than anyone on the court and thus, at 6-1 and 175 pounds, was able to be a starting point guard in the Southeastern Conference for four years. His teams at Louisiana Tech mirrored those traits for four seasons. Now, for the first time in his adult life, White is forced to confront underachievement and, for that, he's holding himself accountable, also.

3) Tennessee is not expected to be an upper echelon team in the SEC. If that's a scary thought, check out Florida's remaining conference road dates: at Texas A&M (picked to challenge for the league title), at Vanderbilt (always tough), at Georgia (Bulldogs will be looking for revenge), at South Carolina (one of two remaining unbeaten teams in the nation), at LSU (see Simmons, Ben) and at Missouri (picked to finish last in the league). It's entirely possible the date against the Vols marked the second easiest road game on the schedule, behind Mizzou, which won three games in SEC play season ... one against the Gators.