Florida held a 31-17 lead over Tennessee late in the first half of Sunday’s winner-takes-a-day-off-at-the-SEC-Tournament clash in Knoxville.
Then Tennessee resolved to take the game — and the Gators were all but powerless to stop them, going down 65-54 in a dispiriting loss that will instill little confidence in their chances of proceeding far in Nashville.
Tyree Appleby led the Gators, who played without Tre Mann — left at Florida’s hotel after suffering a migraine — in one of their most important games of the season. Appleby’s 19 points were one of just two double-digit tallies the Gators notched, however, and his three assists were symptomatic of Florida’s struggles to incorporate its entire roster in its offense against Tennessee’s swarming defense.