5 Takeaways: No. 3 Tennessee 78, Florida 67

Photo by Andrew Ferguson/Tennessee Athletics

Tennessee traveled to Gainesville to take on the Florida Gators on Saturday evening. It was the Vols’ second road test of the week and they handled business accordingly, winning 78-67. Jordan Bone and Yves Pons made early 3-pointers, as the Vols led 8-2. The Gators slowly narrowed their deficit, eventually taking a 23-17 lead after their 12-0 run.

Later, a 6-0 run by the Vols cut Florida’s lead to 28-27, but the Gators extended their lead once again, leading 36-29 with 3:00 left in the first half. Lamonté Turner’s 3-point shot late in the half trimmed Tennessee’s halftime deficit to 38-35. The Gators shot 9-22 from 3-point range in the first half, which aided them tremendously.

Admiral’s dunk early in the second half was part of the Vols’ 8-0 run. Then, Lamonté threw down a transition dunk to give Tennessee a 43-41 lead. Near the halfway point of the second half, Kyle Alexander corralled 2 offensive rebounds on the same possession. Grant ended up getting an and-1, putting the Vols up 53-48.

Then, Jordan Bowden decided to take the game over. He scored 12 consecutive points for the Vols in a stretch of just 1:49. He scored on 5 free throws, a layup, a dunk and a 3-pointer. Tennessee led 65-63 after Bowden’s burst. The Vols could not extend that lead, and were ahead 69-67 with 45 seconds remaining. At that point, a double-digit win did not appear to be in the realm of possibility. Frankly, Tennessee was still fighting for a win.

The Vols reeled off 9 points in the game’s final 41 seconds to secure an 11-point victory. Admiral’s 3 increased the Vols’ lead to 5, before a breakaway dunk from Bone and a layup from Bowden capped off the night.

Admiral finished with 14 points, 8 rebounds and 2 assists. Lamonté had a nice day, with 12 points on 4-8 shooting. Jordan Bone recorded 8 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists and a steal. As a team, the Vols shot 53% from the floor (29-55) and 9-23 from 3-point range. They had 15 assists, 7 steals and 3 blocks.

Here are 5 Takeaways from Tennessee’s third SEC win of the season.

Never Count This Team Out

Tennessee has been tested early in SEC play. After coming back from a 9-point deficit in their win over No. 1 Gonzaga this season, the Vols have responded after being down by 7 points to Missouri and 9 to Florida. The fact that they have trailed in SEC road games shows that the conference slate will not be easy, but their veteran leadership will be able to withstand some of the adversity on the road.

This team is relentless. Fans should no longer be worried when Tennessee trails in the first half. They will respond when an opponent jumps out to an early lead. That’s just what great teams do.

Bowden Continues to Make a Tremendous Impact

Jordan Bowden has seriously stepped up in SEC play. He began conference play with a pair of 20-point performances and scored 17 against the Gators. He had 12 of those 17 in a span of less than 2 minutes, but that stretch was key to Tennessee winning the game. Bowden also accounted for 2 rebounds, an assist and 2 steals.

I’ll continue to say it, if Bowden continues to contribute in this fashion, opponents are in a heap of trouble. There are just too many weapons for defenses to defend.

Tennessee’s Offense Overcame Florida’s Dominant Defense

Entering this game, Florida had the nation’s sixth-best scoring defense, allowing just 60 PPG. The Gators gave up 78 points to Tennessee, their most since surrendering 81 to Florida State in their season opener. The Gators even held Michigan State, the No. 10 team in the country at the time, to 63 points. It’s no secret that Tennessee has an elite offense, but this certainly adds validation.

Vols Do the ‘Gator Chomp’

As the final horn sounded, every Tennessee player on the court did the ‘Gator Chomp’ to Florida’s student section after an emotional win. The victory was full of emotions for many reasons. First, it marks Tennessee’s first win in Gainesville since February 11, 2012, a 75-70 win over No. 8 Florida.

Admiral further explained why the ‘gator chomp’ was used. He said, “Their fans were chirping a lot, even behind our bench. Some things were said from fans that were older fans, not even students. Alumni, maybe. Just disrespectful. Inhumane.”

I loved that the Vols did this. Rick Barnes was not necessarily a fan of it, because he feels that it may be a small distraction. Sure, Tennessee should not taunt the fans after every game, but this is Florida. The Vols won the game and deserved to celebrate, especially since Florida fans were being obnoxiously classless.

Grant Dominates… Again

Grant was the SEC Player of the Year last year and has a great chance of repeating this season. He is also in contention for the National Player of the Year. Grant is an incredible talent and is nearly unstoppable. He finished with 20 points on 8-11 shooting, 9 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals and 2 blocks against Florida.

Many times, I’ll look up at the scoreboard and be surprised by how many points he has. It’s not that he’s not impressive, its just that he doesn’t try to be flashy. He is consistent and dominates down low in the post. He knows his goal and he takes advantage of any weakness defenses show. That’s what makes him a special player.

Player of the Game: Grant Williams