Better Bring It All Against High-Powered, Relentless, 3rd-ranked Vols

Saturday, January 12

Gainesville, FL

6 PM

Florida Gators

Tennessee

UF guard KeVaughn Allen took just three shots and was flustered into the first scoreless game since his freshman seasons when Florida last faced Kyle Alexander (11) and Tennessee, last Feb. 21 in Knoxville. [AP photo]

Better Bring It All Against High-Powered, Relentless, 3rd-ranked Vols

Saturday, January 12, 2019 | Men's Basketball, Chris Harry

By: Chris Harry, Senior Writer

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — The three members of the Florida freshman class got to talking among themselves about what they could expect when the Gators (9-5, 1-1) host third-ranked Tennessee (13-1, 2-0) Saturday night in what looms as the biggest game on the Exactech Arena/O'Connell Center schedule this season.

The Volunteers, defending Southeastern Conference co-champions, have all five starters back from the 2017-18 squad that won 26 games. Every game they've been in this season has ended in double-digit victory, except for the two times they played the nation's top-ranked team. UT lost to then-No. 1 Kansas in overtime and later defeated then-No. 1 Gonzaga, with both games played at neutral sites. The Vols won their first two SEC games by — get this — a combined 70 points.

The UF players know how big the game is and, obviously, so do the Florida fans, who have done their part by selling out the O'Dome for the first time this season. Which brings us back to that conversation between the trio of freshmen, guards Noah Locke and Andrew Nembhard, and backup forward Keyontae Johnson. Of the three, only Nembhard has been in the house for a fever-pitched, maxed-out environment. He was here for the big regular-season finale and victory over No. 23 Kentucky last March, a festive occasion that doubled as the senior day sendoff for popular point guard Chris Chiozza. It was madness that night, to be sure.

The best reference point to date for Locke and Johnson was a visit earlier this season from Michigan State. The joint was jumpin' that day, as well. This one, however, will be different.

"We asked Andrew, 'Will it be like that? Will it be like Michigan State?' " Locke said. "He was like, 'No, man, not at all. It'll be way, way more crazy than that.' "

And it'll need to be.

[Read senior writer Chris Harry's comprehensive "Pregame Stuff" setup here]

Fact: Florida has not taken down a top-five opponent since beating No. 2 Michigan State in the Legends Classic at Atlantic City, N.J., on Nov. 27, 2009. The Gators, rather surprisingly, are 0-15 against top-five foes since that defeat of the Spartans, with all but three of those losses coming under former Coach Billy Donovan. Tennessee, with its handful of future NBA players and the first- and second-leading scorers in the conference, will represent the highest-ranked opponent not named Kentucky to visit the O'Dome since Ohio State in 2010.

CHARTING THE GATORS
Here's a look at the 15 losses since Florida last defeated an opponent ranked in the Associated Press top five.

Date	Team	Rank	Score	What happened?
Jan. 12, 2010	Kentucky	No. 2	L 89-77	Eric Bledsoe goes for 25, John Wall for 19 points, 6 assists.
March 7, 2010	@Kentucky	No. 3	L 74-66	Patrick Patterson: 13 points, 5 rebounds, 4 steals, 2 blocks
Nov. 16, 2010	Ohio State	No. 4	L 93-75	Jared Sullinger scores 26, Buckeyes shoot 63 percent in second ahlf.
Nov. 15, 2011	@Ohio State	No. 3	L 81-74	William Buford scores 21, but again it's Sullinger (16 pts, 6 rebs), this time at the O'Dome.
Dec. 2, 2011	@Syracuse	No. 4	L 72-68	Brandon Triche nets 20 on a tough night for freshman Bradley Beal (7 points, 0-for-5 from 3).
Feb. 7, 2012	@Kentucky	No. 1	L 78-58	All five Wildcats starters in double figures; Anthony Davis 15 points, 12 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 blocks.
March 3, 2012	Kentucky	No. 1	L 74-59	Davis (22 pts, 12 reb, 6 blocks) helps spoil Erving Walker's senior day.
March 10, 2012	vs Kentucky	No. 1	L 74-71	Gators throw scare at Cats in SEC Tournament semifinals at New Orleans. UK went on to win NCAA title.
Nov. 28, 2014	vs North Carolina	No. 5	L 75-64	Tar Heels take 12-0 lead, never challenged. Kennedy Meeks has 19 points, 13 rebounds; Marcus Paige 16 points, 6 assists at Battle 4 Atlantis in Bahamas.
Feb. 7, 2015	Kentucky	No. 1	L 68-61	UF led by unbeaten UK by two when Michael Frazier III left with ankle injury with 12 minutes to go.
March 7, 2015	@Kentucky	No. 1	L 67-50	Karl Anthony-Towns with 13 points, 9 rebounds, 6 blocks, as UK joins 2014 Gators as only SEC team ever to go 18-0 in league play.
March 13, 2015	vs Kentucky	No. 1	L 64-49	Final, unceremonious game under Coach Billy Donovan, as it turned out, as Gators finish 16-17 for first losing record in 17 seasons after loss in SEC quarters at Nashville.
Dec. 12, 2015	@Michigan State	No. 1	L 58-52	Gators scrap with Spartans, but Denzel Valentine (19 pts, 5 reb) pull away late.
Dec. 6, 2016	vs Duke	No. 5	L 84-74	Luke Kennard nets 29, freshman Jayson Tatum goes for 22 points, 8 rebounds in Jimmy V Classic at Madison Square Garden.
Nov. 26, 2017	vs Duke	No. 1	L 87-84	Gators blow 18-point second-half lead, as freshman Marvin Bagley has 30 points, 15 rebounds in stunning comeback at PK80 Invitational in Portland, Ore.

Coach Mike White, who is 0-3 at UF against top-five foes, reminded his team about the pack of wolves they faced last year in Knoxville (where then-junior shooting guard KeVaughn Allen was so shaken by the UT defense he attempted just three shots and went scoreless for the first time since early his freshman season). The Vols held the Gators to 18 first-half points and eventually won 62-57.

They're much, much better this season. Just as physical, but more seasoned.

"Watching Tennessee puts it all in perspective relative to what a really, really good team looks like and what you hope to be," White said.

The statistics back up the tape. Tennessee is one of five teams in the country — along with No. 1 Duke, No. 4 Virginia, No. 6 Michigan State and No. 12 North Carolina — ranked in the top 20 in both offensive and defensive efficiency, according to KenPom.com advance metrics. The Vols have the No. 4 offense and No. 19 defense. They have power forward Grant Williams, the reigning SEC Player of the Year, leading the league in scoring at 18.8 points per game. They have guard (in title only) Admiral Schofield, who goes 6-foot-6 and 241 pounds, checking in second in the conference in scoring at 18.0 points per game and shooting 44.9 percent from the 3-point line.

The duo is relentless in its exertion on the court, but make up just 40 percent of a starting five that plays all out, all the time. The backcourt of point guard Jordan Bone and Jordan Bowden will by the shorts of Nembhard and Locke. Six-foot-11 forward Kyle Alexander grabbed 31 rebounds in the first two SEC games.

The Gators will have their hands full with both **Grant Williams** (2) and **Admiral Schofield** (5), who are the heart and soul of arguably the hardest-playing basketball team in the country.

"In order to beat them, you have to match or surpass their energy and their effort. Not many teams can do that, and that's why when you play a team of this caliber — like when we had Michigan State come in here — it represents a great opportunity," said UF assistant coach Jordan Mincy, assigned the pre-game scout of the Vols. "Our guys know they have a big challenge in front of them and, I believe, they have the right mindset for that challenge. No one is unbeatable. We know that. This is college basketball."

When the Spartans came in last month, they brought one of the nation's highest-scoring offenses at 87 points per game, but struggled to score in a 63-59 win against a top-shelf Florida defense, one currently ranked fifth nationally in efficiency. The Gators have held four high-major teams (West Virginia, Michigan, Butler and Arkansas) to at least 24 points below their season's average.

**Kevarrius Hayes** (13), UF's best defender, has been limited to a combined 26 minutes in two SEC games due to foul trouble.

As far as the mindset MIncy mentioned, the Gators exhibited some of that Wednesday night in going on the road, four days after a gruesome home meltdown loss to South Carolina, and beating Arkansas in a game they could very well have lost in a equally stomach-churning manner. UF, which held the Razorbacks to 30-percent shooting for the game, led by 15 with six minutes to go, but by just two inside 30 seconds before coming up with a big defensive stop and hitting free throws to ice the game in the closing seconds.

"You can't get too comfortable or too lax just because you have a lead," Florida senior center Kevarrius Hayes said. "You have got to keep up the intensity."

The team wearing bright orange today will do exactly that, no matter the score. Want an example?

Tennessee led Missouri by 25 on the road Tuesday, but kept a core of its starters in the game. In one late sequence, Schofield sailed out of bounds to chase a loose ball and shovel it back into play, where Alexander, with 14 points and 17 rebounds, took a nasty spill to the floor in a scrum for possession — and there were two seconds remaining.

"They're as good as anyone in the league offensively, defensively, on the glass. Their depth is as good as as anyone in the league; athleticism, toughness, execution, you name it," White said. "They have a chance to win a national championship. They're a really, really good college basketball team. They're tough, they're physical, no weaknesses. We're going to have play our best basketball just to have a chance."

He paused.

"Anything I've left out?"

Nope.

Except for the part about the opportunity to do something special; something the program hasn't done in 10 seasons.

"Great opportunity, a huge opportunity to show what we can accomplish," Locke said. "Coach White tell us not to go out there thinking we have to do something crazy for us to win. We just need to come out, play our game, listen to what the coaches tell us and do our jobs. If we do those things, we'll be there with a chance at the end."