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Turnovers doom No. 21 Tennessee in historic loss to Florida
Tennessee Volunteers forward Nate Ament drives to the basket at Florida Gators forward Thomas Haugh during the first half at Exactech Arena at the Stephen C. O'Connell Center. Matt Pendleton-Imagn Images

Turnovers doom No. 21 Tennessee in historic loss to Florida

Saturday's meeting between the 21st-ranked Tennessee Volunteers and Florida Gators quickly turned into a runaway in Gainesville.

In a game that was tied at 26 late in the first half, Florida (11-5) took advantage of a 15-2 run to pull away and pick up a dominant 91-67 rout of the Volunteers (11-5), securing its second consecutive win over a ranked opponent after defeating No. 18 Georgia, 92-77, on Tuesday.

Tennessee must take better care of the ball after historic loss to Florida 

Entering the game, Tennessee was tied for 222nd in the country (out of 365 Division-I teams) with an average of 12.6 turnovers per game. Those ball-security issues were apparent in the loss to Florida with 18 turnovers.

According to CBS Sports' Jake Winderman, Florida has now defeated Tennessee by at least 20 points in consecutive games in Gainesville for the first time in program history. In the first of two meetings last season, the Gators prevailed 73-43.

The giveaways were a major factor during Tennessee's latest loss to Florida on Saturday. Guard Boogie Fland was Florida's leading scorer (23 points, 9-of-13 FG), and he followed up one of his three long-range shots in the game with this steal and layup to extend the lead to eight.

Freshman Nate Ament led Tennessee with 17 points (5-of-11 FG), but aside from him, the scoring was hard to come by for the Volunteers. Look no further than senior guard Ja'Kobi Gillespie, who only had 12 points (3-of-10 FG) one game after scoring a season-high 34 points in Tuesday's win over Texas.

Along with giving up the 30 points off turnovers, Tennessee was outrebounded, 41-30, and was completely outplayed after the first 15 minutes of the game. In four of Tennessee's five losses, it has committed double-digit turnovers and has struggled to score, scoring 67 points or fewer in three of the five defeats.

The SEC is clearly not as strong as it was last season, but the depth of the conference is still there. Tennessee found that out against an unranked Florida team that has failed to put everything together for most of the season until its recent stretch.

If the turnovers continue to be a problem and the Volunteers cannot match the physicality from opposing teams, it could be a challenging road ahead in conference play until those issues are resolved.

Colby Colwell

Colby Colwell is a freelance contributor with a bachelor’s in Computer & Information Technology and a minor in Psychology from Western Kentucky University. With a deep passion for sports, especially NASCAR, he offers his substantial knowledge along with his adept writing skills. When he’s not writing, Colby enjoys traveling, cooking, and spending time with his family

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