Big Picture Takeaways from Florida's 13-Point Upset Win Over Tennessee

Photo: Myreon Jones; Credit: Zach Goodall

The Florida Gators took the court on Wednesday night looking for a signature win to add to their resume for March.

Welcoming No. 2 Tennessee into Gainesville, the Gators had the daunting task of combatting the nation's highest-rated defense amid offensive struggles. However, the unit produced its best two-way product of the season en route to upending the Volunteers, 67-54.

The contest marked Florida's second Quad I victory of the season, instilling momentum in the unit to compete with other tournament-caliber teams moving forward.

Before moving on to the upcoming stretch — which includes two more Quad I win opportunities against Kentucky and Alabama on the road — here are three takeaways from the season-altering victory over their SEC rival.

Plus, All Gators analyzes what the win means big picture.

Gators find offensive success against the unlikeliest of opponents

Allowing 54.2 points per game and 84.2 points per 100 possessions, Tennessee entered the Stephen C. O'Connell Center as the top-rated most efficient defense in college basketball.

For perspective, Florida ranked 148th in offensive efficiency and has struggled to find its spots on that end — particularly in the first half — of late.

Finding early and sustained success was imperative as a result.

The game plan was to get Colin Castleton involved early and often. Having struggled out of the gate in multiple of Florida's latest losses, finding early success on the inside for the big man was a must. Whether that came from a scoring or facilitation standpoint was the largest question, as Florida looked to feel out Tennessee's plan of attack for how they would guard him.

Before the game, in our All Gators preview, we pointed toward Will Richard, Myreon Jones and Kowacie Reeves Jr. to provide complementary help to Castleton as the primary scoring option with shots from beyond the arc. At least one needed to provide reliability when double teams crashed down on Castleton inside, but Florida likely needed two to elevate the unit.

In the first half, the offense came as a team-wide affair as seven players found their way onto the scoreboard.

The attack was led by Richard, Jones and Trey Bonham, who knocked four triples before halftime. Two of the shots came from Richard. That equalized the contest to account for Castleton's four first-half points. Kyle Lofton accounted for a crucial four assists.

Meanwhile, sharing of the rock opened the floor in the second half. 

Florida found more sustained product from Castleton directly in the final 20 minutes, where he scored 16 of his 20 points on the night. Working one-on-one with Olivier Nkamhoua or Uros Plavsic, Castleton consistently displayed his elite footwork and assortment of post moves to finesse his way to the bucket. He also accounted for three assists in that span.

In the close stages of the game, Castleton played a crucial role in Florida's ability to fend off Tennessee as he finished through contact to post multiple And-1 buckets.

The Gators shot 43.8% from the floor and connected on seven triples on the night to elevate themselves over the Volunteers. It didn't live up to Todd Golden's standards of knocking down ten threes (a number he believed his team would have to meet to upend Tennessee), but it was still enough to accomplish the ultimate goal.

As a unit in dire need of continued success offensively to earn tallies in the win column, a promising scoring outing against the best college basketball has to offer is enough to spur more strong performances.

Florida took physicality and intensity to Tennessee

Heading into the Wednesday night matchup, Florida understood the challenge of facing off against arguably the most physical team in the SEC (up there with Texas A&M). In an effort to combat that, the Gators took the attack to Tennessee in a personal matchup following Jason Jitoboh's injury last season.

The intensity and physicality that usually rest as attributes of Rick Barnes-coached teams — and have again this season — leaned in the Gators' favor for most of the 40 minutes.

Golden exuded intensity from the sideline, passing it off to those donning all blue on the floor.

That was evident as Florida hit the floor for loose balls, fought for contested rebounds on the defensive end and frequently finished through contact at the rim. Multiple sequences displayed those efforts, including in the early 17-4 stretch and on back-to-back hard takes to the cup by Castleton and Riley Kugel as the Gators surged from down six points in the second half.

"It was huge," Castleton said postgame. "Just to go on those little momentum swings when it’s back and forth, neck and neck. We were able to just separate ourselves a little bit and go on that little mini-run.

"Like we talked about, they’re a super physical team. ... Those plays are crucial, just being able to out-tough their team."

Ultimately, Richard capped off the uber-physical outing from Florida in an impressive late-game sequence. Working against the full-court press, where the Gators produced teach-tape for press break with six passes and no dribbles, Richard caught the ball with two steps to the basket.

He fought through Nkamhoua's legal contact to put the nail in Tennessee's coffin.

The display was a foundation Florida will look to replicate throughout February and March.

Gators' defense continues to live up to its "elite" billing

I didn't plan on discussing the defensive end, due to the redundancy, but the No. 8 defense in college basketball per KenPom got things done against UT.

After working through some easy kinks defending in transition and out on the perimeter, the Gators have firmly established themselves as a defensive force to be reckoned with.

They've neglected to crash the offensive glass to limit transition opportunities and set up the defense in the half court, excelling to boast one of the top ball-stopping unit's in college basketball, regardless of conference.

The Gators held Tennessee to a season-low 54 points on 27.9% from the field. It marked the 13th of Florida's last 14 opponents to shoot below a 40% clip, furthering the idea that the effort on that end of the floor allows it to remain within striking distance on any given night.

Wednesday was that night.

In addition, the unit's premier play came at the start and finish of the contest. It allowed Florida to build a 17-4 lead, while Tennessee went on a near-seven-minute scoring drought after going up 4-2 early on. Down the second-half stretch, the Gators dug their heels in again, finding a way to limit the Volunteers' open looks while forcing late shot clock heaves or contested jumpers.

Florida went on an 18-3 run during the final 10 minutes to close out the contest.

The Gators excel defending on the ball, have the versatility for multiple players to guard multiple positions without any cracks in the armor and have length from top to bottom of the roster to contest shots from any position an opponent looks to pull up from.

The impressive display can only be defined as elite. Statistics agree.

What does this win mean for Florida?

Well, simply, it makes the case that the Gators are a tournament team.

That doesn't necessarily mean they're a lock to make the Big Dance in just over a month. In fact, they still have an uphill battle to reach that accomplishment. But, it does mean they will have a spot at the discussion table when the time comes.

Their resume doesn't pop off the page as a team anything better than mediocre at first glance. Heading into Wednesday night, Florida was 1-7 in Quad I and 1-2 in Quad II games, albeit, Golden and Co. are winning the games they were supposed to at a perfect 10-0 in Quad III and IV contests.

However, the upending of Tennessee immediately bolsters their claim for a place in March Madness when decision-makers fill out brackets for the 2022-23 rendition. It's a monumental victory over the AP Poll No. 2 team, the No. 2 team per NET rankings and the now former No. 1 team per KenPom.

The signature upset illustrated the vast progression from Florida's early-season state.

It showed the aforementioned improvements on the offensive end against the top defense in the country, continued excellence as a top 10 defense nationally, intensity that exuded from the head coach down the totem pole on and off the court and, most importantly, the perseverance to overcome a six-point second-half deficit despite leading by 13 in the first half.

In the past, under similar circumstances, Florida would have folded to the pressure of an opponent the caliber of the Volunteers. But it didn't.

They're 6-3 in SEC play, with two losses coming to the same Texas A&M team, have a resume-defining win over a top-five opponent and are seemingly finding their stride at the right time, fitting the bill for a berth in recent memory.

The Gators will have to continue performing at a high level in the upcoming road matchups against Kentucky and No. 4 Alabama, as they present more Quad I win opportunities that could propel Florida off the bubble and into the field of 68 throughout the closing stretch of the season.