Fresh off their fifth straight week at No. 1, a men’s Tennessee basketball program record, the Vols will face their biggest test of the year in a crucial SEC road matchup. UT heads to the Sunshine State to take on the Florida Gators, who are ranked No. 8 in both polls.
Rick Barnes’ team, 14-0 overall and 1-0 in league play, is coming off a 76-52 win over the Arkansas Razorbacks this past weekend. At the time, the Hogs were No. 23 in the AP Poll and the second top 25 win for this Tennessee basketball program.
Florida, led by Todd Golden, is 13-1 overall and 0-1 in league play. They suffered their first loss of the season Saturday 106-100 at the Kentucky Wildcats, who are now No. 6 in the AP Poll and No. 7 in the Coaches Poll. Here is all the information you need for this matchup.
Tennessee Volunteers at Florida Gators
Where: Exactech Arena at Stephen C. O’Connell Center; Gainesville, Fla.
When: Tuesday, Jan. 7 at 7 p.m. ET
TV: ESPN2
Live stream: WatchESPN
Radio: Vol Network (Click here for affiliates); Gator Radio Network (Click here for affiliates)
Listen online: UTSports; FloridaGators.com
If the Vols are able to pull off the victory Saturday night, it will match 1922-23 for the best start in men’s Tennessee basketball history. Despite losing J.P. Estrella for the year and Cameron Carr to transfer in December, UT has been dismantling opponents with ease and looks like the best team in program history.
Florida is one of the better teams in a loaded SEC that is deeper than it has ever been in basketball. Golden has built the program up from an NIT bid to an NCAA Tournament bid to now being a title contender his third year on the job. A win Tuesday would solidify what he’s built.
Life doesn’t get any easier for either team after this. To be fair, that’s the case for everybody in the SEC this year. Tennessee will travel to the Texas Longhorns to face Barnes’ old program after this on Saturday, and Florida will visit Arkansas that same day.
