Florida Gators

GAINESVILLE, Fla. - The University of Florida women's basketball team begins a two-game road swing Thursday, Jan. 31 when it travels to Knoxville to take on the Lady Vols at Thompson-Boling Arena.

Florida continues its search for its first road victory of the season and aims to snap a three-game losing streak when it takes the court at Tennessee.

The contest will be streamed live on SEC Network+ with Roger Hoover and Steve Hamer on the call while Kyle Crooks and Brittany Davis will handle the radio broadcast on ESPN 98.1 FM/850 AM.

Game Notes UF | Game Notes UT

Despite holding a lead as large as 15 against Arkansas, Florida fell 83-73 to the Razorbacks this past Sunday in Gainesville. The Gators put together one of their best offensive performances of the season as they dished out a season-best 17 assists and outrebounded their opponent for the fourth-straight game but couldn't slow down the Razorbacks who finished the game shooting 47.6 percent from the floor.

Sophomore guards, Kiki Smith and Danielle Rainey, both recorded their first career double-doubles in Florida's narrow loss to Arkansas. Rainey went for a career-high 17 points and a career-high 11 boards while Smith poured in a career-high 16 points to go with 10 rebounds.

Tennessee, slated to finish third in the SEC Preseason Media Poll, enters the game in 11th place with a 2-5 league record. The Lady Vols who defeated LSU 74-65 Sunday at home, snapped a six-game losing skid which was their longest since the 1970 season when they went 0-6. The Lady Vols feature four players who average double-figure points, paced by sophomore guard Evina Westbrook who averages 16.3 points along with a team-best 5.0 assists per game. Sophomore Rennia Davis, a native of Jacksonville, leads the team in rebounding at 7.7 per contest while averaging 13.6 points. The Lady Vols average 77.4 points per game which is the second-highest mark in the league, trailing just Mississippi State's 90.3 and their +10.5 rebounding margin is the second-best in the SEC trailing just Mississippi State's 16.4. The Lady Vols are under the direction of seventh-year head coach Holly Warlick who has led the team to a 166-61 record during her tenure.

Tennessee is the only team to make the NCAA tournament every year since it began in 1982.

Tennessee leads the all-time series 51-4 which includes a 22-2 mark in games played in Knoxville. The Gators have dropped the last three meetings and 13 of the last 15 overall. Florida's last win at Tennessee came in January of 2016 when the Gators knocked off No. 12 Tennessee. It was just the Gators' second win ever in Knoxville. The Gators outscored the Lady Vols 21-13 and shot 70 percent in the fourth quarter to seal the win.

The Volunteers will be the 14th team the Gators have faced this season that qualified for the postseason a year ago and the seventh team they have faced to earn an NCAA Tournament bid in 2018. 

Following Thursday's tilt at Tennessee, UF resumes SEC play Sunday, Feb. 3 when it continues its road trip with a stop at No. 19 Kentucky. The Gators and Wildcats will play at Rupp Arena and the contest will air live nationally on ESPNU at 2 p.m. ET.

Florida at Tennessee
Time & Date: Thursday, Jan. 31
Live Stream: SEC Network+
Live Stats: Link
Radio: ESPN 98.1FM/850 AM WRUF
Records: Florida (5-15, 1-6) | Tennessee (13-7, 2-5)

Notables

• Coach Newbauer spent four seasons coaching in the state of Tennessee as he led the Belmont Bruins to a 79-50 record including back-to-back NCAA appearances in his final two seasons in Nashville. Newbauer never faced the Lady Vols during his tenure in the Music City but his former club did battle Tennessee this season as the Bruins lost just 84-76 to then No. 10 Lady Vols on Dec. 30. Former Belmont guard Madison Blevins, who Newbauer coached for four seasons, serves as a color analyst during select Lady Vol SEC Network+ broadcasts.
• Coach Newbauer was an assistant coach with Siena College's men's team for the 2004-05 campaign under head coach Rob Lanier, who would later become an assistant coach (2007-10) at Florida and currently is the associate head coach at the Tennessee for men's basketball.
• Funda Nakkasoglu's 16.9 points per game average is the highest mark for a Gator through 20 games since Ronnie Williams averaged 18.3 through 20 during the 2016-17 campaign. In her 46 game career with UF she has scored 720 points. Her 15.6 points per game average is the sixth-highest in program history. Her 122 three-pointers made are ninth most in program history and her .405 mark from three-point range is the best in program history.
• Kiki Smith has really ramped things up in conference play as the Maryland native is averaging 9.6 points per game through seven league tilts after averaging 5.8 points per game in 13 non-conference matchups. In league play she is shooting 52.4 percent (11 of 21) from beyond the arc. She has hit a three-pointer in five of the last seven games and canned a career-high four triples vs. Arkansas last time out.
• Since joining the Gators at Ohio State (Dec. 16), Danielle Rainey has been provided a spark and been a difference maker in conference action. She has finished with 15 or more points in three of her last four games and has knocked down at least one three-pointer in nine of her 11 games played.
• Florida has finished with at least 10 three-pointers in three of its seven conference tilts. UF knocked down double-digit three-pointers just three times in a total of 13 non-conference tilts. In SEC competition, Florida ranks third with a 7.8 three-pointers per game average. Nakkasoglu has notched three or more 3-pointers in 14 games and has drained 56 total to lead the conference.
• New scoring options are emerging as the Gators have featured three or more in double figures in three of the last four games.
• The Gators racked up a season-high 17 assists vs. Arkansas surpassing the 16 assists they registered against Texas Tech in December. After just four assists in its loss to Mississippi State, Florida displayed tremendous ball movement against the Razorbacks. Smith accounted for a game-high five helpers.
• Florida has won the battle of the boards in four-straight and seven of its last nine contests. This is the longest stretch of games that UF has outrebounded its opponent.
• UF's bench is outscoring its opponent's reserves, 382-281 on the season and the Gators have held the edge in terms of bench production in 13 games.
• UF has featured seven different starting lineups on the season as Coach Newbauer continues to try to find the best way utilize his roster which has seen eight players make their Gator debut in 2018-19. Freshman Kristina Moore is the only player to start all 20.

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