Florida vs. Tennessee, Game Thread: Gators face tough test on Rocky Top

The Florida Gators are coming off a surprising — still, somehow, this team can surprise — week in which a resounding win over South Carolina gave way to agonizing losses to Georgia and South Carolina. They could really use a painless win to get back on the right side of the ledger.

Instead, they play the SEC’s second-place team, a tough and surprising Tennessee squad, in Knoxville on this Wednesday night (9 p.m., ESPN2 or WatchESPN).

That’s not exactly what a team that is literally doing Mikan drills to focus on layups needs.

But Tennessee, for all of the brilliance that has come with its third season under Rick Barnes, has been a little less great of late than it had been for much of the…