The NCAA game of the night Tuesday is in Knoxville, Tenn., where the No. 7 and SEC-favorite Volunteers (91-2, 6-1) host the two-time defending national champion Florida Gators (18-4, 5-2).
Tennessee is a 9.5-point favorite on WagerWeb.com.
If you could say any team has had the Gators’ number in the past few years, it is Tennessee. The Vols have won three of the four games against Florida since Bruce Pearl took over as head coach.
Tennessee's three wins came over Gators teams that were ranked No. 2, No. 12 and No. 5. The Vols' only loss in that stretch was a 94-78 defeat on the road against top-ranked Florida on Feb. 3 of last season - and Vols star Chris Lofton missed that one with an ankle injury.
”We've been competitive against them, and that's something that we should certainly be proud of," Pearl said. ”It doesn't mean anything unless you continue to be competitive with them."
UT is coming off an impressive 76-71 win at Mississippi State, while the Gators are looking to rebound after getting throttled by Arkansas 80-61; that loss knocked UF out of the Top 25.
Lofton's improved play of late is one of the major reasons Tennessee has been rolling. After spending much of the season in a prolonged slump, the senior is averaging over 20 points per game and shooting 51.2 percent (21-for-41) from behind the arc in the Vols' last four games.He has averaged 19.2 points and 53.3 percent from the field in five career games against Florida, shooting 19-for-41 (46.3 percent) from 3-point range in those contests.
The Vols have Division I's fourth-longest home win streak. They've won 27 in a row at Thompson-Boling Arena, including 11 this season. With a win over Florida, Tennessee can match the second-longest home win streak in school history, set Feb. 18, 1935-March 1, 1937. Its longest home win streak is 33 games from Jan. 2, 1966-Feb. 24, 1968.
The Vols' last loss at Thompson-Boling Arena came against Kentucky in March 2006.
Leading the way for Florida has been freshman guard Nick Calathes. The former McDonald’s All-American averages 15.8 points and 6.1 assists per game to lead the Gators in each category. Sophomore Marreese Speights is UF’s other main threat, averaging 14 points and 7.7 rebounds.
But the Gators will need to improve on defense – that 19-point loss to Arkansas was the program's most lopsided since an 82-62 setback at Kentucky in the 2004 regular-season finale. UF allowed the Razorbacks
to shoot 54.2 percent from the field.
"We played awful defense," guard Walter Hodge said. "Every time we shoot poorly (UF was only 4-for-25 from 3-point range), we can't lose a game. We have to become a better defensive team."
Hodge said the Tennessee game has become a big rivalry because "they don't like us.
"They are proud of what they are doing and they don't respect anybody," Hodge said. "We have to go over there and go with the same mentality and keep playing hard. ... It's just that game, You want to win every time you play against them."
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