How could you not be happy with what Tennessee just did? The Vols got their most impressive win of the year, their first this season against a top 10 team, as they blew out the Florida Gators 64-44. Most impressively, they did it without two starters, Igor Milicic Jr. and Zakai Zeigler.
Tennessee, ranked No. 8 in both polls, used a dominant defense on Saturday at noon to snap a two-game losing streak, and they did it with seven scholarship players. Milicic had flu-like symptoms, and Zeigler was out due to a knee injury. It didn’t matter for Rick Barnes’ team.
After shooting 4-of-29 from three in a 73-43 loss to Florida on the road earlier this year, the Vols seemed to turn the tables. Todd Golden’s Gators, ranked No. 5 in the AP Poll and No. 6 in the Coaches Poll, shot 4-of-27 from three in this game and a school-record low 24.5 percent from the field.
Chaz Lanier was the offense for the Vols, as he finally showed up when his name was called in a big moment, scoring 19 points while going 5-of-9 from three. Felix Okpara helped with 10 points, and Jordan Gainey added 16 points while getting to the line. However, UT’s half-court defense was the story.
But was it enough?
Look, being short-handed and playing this well defensively, even at home, is commendable, but we know in college basketball that noon games open themselves up to poor shooting performances. Also, it is a bit of luck when a team shoots as poorly as Florida did.
Barnes and co. won’t be able to bank on teams shooting that poorly six times in a row in the NCAA Tournament, even if their defense is that good. The offense will have to do more, and although Lanier showed up, Gainey wasn’t reliable from three, and Darlinstone Dubar, who should’ve taken a huge leap with Zeigler and Milicic out, only had four points.
Simply put, the offense still isn’t where it needs to be for Tennessee to do what it wants to do in March, and that comes even with this impressive victory. Some of it is luck. Florida is 34.3 percent from three on the year, which already isn’t bad but isn’t great, and part of what happened Saturday was just a bad shooting game.
So UT should celebrate the win, and fans should be impressed by them doing so without two key starters, but major concerns about this team’s offense remain. As a result, the Vols still have plenty of work to do if they’re going to become a championship contender within the next month.
As far as this game, it pushes Tennessee to 18-4 and 5-4 in SEC play with a visit from the Missouri Tigers next Wednesday. Florida, meanwhile, falls to 18-3 and 5-3 in league play with a visit from the Vanderbilt Commodores set for next Tuesday.
