KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — After taking away the team's best player barely three games into the season, apparently the basketball gods decided to see just how much more the Florida Gators could handle. About 90 minutes before Sunday's regular-season finale against Tennessee, the players learned combo guard and leading scorer Tre Mann, the reigning Southeastern Conference Player of the week, would remain at the team hotel and miss the game after being struck Sunday morning by a wicked migraine. 

Minus Mann, UF managed to hang around for the bulk of the first half, even built a big lead, but ultimately the Volunteers' might, muscle and league-best defense took control and paved the way for UT's 65-54 win that allowed the Vols to snatch the No. 4 seed and double-bye in this weeks' SEC Tournament at Nashville, Tenn., and dumped a second straight loss on the out-manned visitors. A trio of Tennessee players scored 14 points, led by fifth-year senior forward John Fulkerson, in his final home game, hitting six of 10 shots, grabbing seven rebounds and dishing four assists. Guards Victor Bailey Jr. and Keon Johnson combined to hit 12 of 22 shots for a UT squad that finished at just 43.5 percent for the game, but completely manhandled UF defensively and on the glass in the second half by allowing just six field goals and doubling the Gators on the glass, 22-11, including 12-4 on the offensive end. 

"That's just one team playing harder than the other," Florida fourth-year junior Tyree Appleby said. 

Appleby, with Mann out, had to take on an expanded role of full-time point guard and scorer. He did an admirable job, scoring a game-high 19 points and dishing three assists over 35 minutes, but the Gators gave themselves no chance in going 6-for-19 from the floor after the break, with 10 turnovers and getting cleaned on the glass. 

The loss was the second straight for Florida (13-8, 9-7) and dropped the Gators to the No. 5 seed in the SEC Tournament, which means a Thursday second-round date against either 12th-seeded Texas A&M (8-7, 2-6) or 13th-seeded Vanderbilt (7-13, 3-11), who play Wednesday night. UF swept two games from Vandy during the regular season, but had its one game against A&M canceled due to COVID-19 issues in the Aggies' program. 

Whether Mann — and his 15.0 points and 5.7 rebounds — will be back for the tournament remains to be seen, but with or without him the Gators better bring more fight the next time they take the court. 

"We are an emotional team, a team that has struggled with runs, both positively and negatively, all year," UF coach Mike White said. "We got off to a really good start the first 15 minutes. Played really well and gave ourselves a shot to come in here and steal one on the road. And then, man. A couple empty possessions; gave in defensively; weren't as sharp in transition defense; defending the glass really failed us. They just pounded us on the glass. Early second half, we came out of the locker room and it was the same thing for the last 20 minutes."

Inside five minutes to go in the first half, the Gators had a 14-point lead, 31-17, courtesy of a 13-2 run during which Appleby had three straight buckets. The margin still was 13 inside of four minutes when Bailey hit a 3-pointer that started a spree of eight straight to end the period with UF going scoreless its last five possessions. 

The second half was more of the same. Worse actually. 
 
UF was up five, 39-35, when UT grabbed four offensive rebounds on a single possession before forward Yves Pons drew a foul and got a couple free throws. Less than four minutes had ticked off in the half, yet Pons had seven rebounds, including six on the offensive end during that span. 

White called a timeout, ripped into his team and inserted redshirt freshman walk-on Alex Klatsky, presumably to make a point. 

"What are you going to do? You got to block out every time a shot goes up," White asked. "Alex Klatsky? He's a guy who rarely misses a block-out in practice. He's disciplined. It's important to him." 

Klatsky wasn't in the game long (less than a minute), but he did come up with a steal on his one defensive possession. The Gators could have used more of that, plus more points. From anybody. When Johnson crashed the glass without taking contact for an offensive rebound and putback, Tennessee led 53-43, thanks to a run of 34-10 that spanned the two halves. 

"Our defensive intensity, we didn't keep it up for the whole 40 minutes," Appleby said. "They came out and punched us in the mouth in the second half and we didn't respond."

Granted, the Gators didn't have all their weapons (as has been the case basically all season), but with the effort and energy rolled out over the last 25 minutes it may not have mattered, especially as UF's bench was outscored 22-5 and turned the ball over six times. 

"Next man up. That's it," White said. "All these guys want opportunities. A bunch of guys, for all these teams, are waiting for their chance. We had guys who had their chance today."

And now? 

Next game up. With not many left.