Florida @ Tennessee preview
Bridgestone Arena
Last Meeting ( Mar 7, 2021 ) Florida 54, Tennessee 65
Sophomore guard Tre Mann has been the driving force for the Florida Gators since they lost preseason SEC Player of the Year Keyontae Johnson back in December.
Mann proved it again on Thursday, finishing with 22 points, seven rebounds and six assists and making the clutch plays down the stretch in a 69-63 win over Vanderbilt. It was the Gators' first win when scoring under 70 points this season.
"My mindset was to not let my team lose," Mann said. "That's my mindset for the whole tournament."
Mann, an All-SEC first teamer averaging 15.0 points per game, was back at the team hotel dealing with a migraine last Sunday when Florida lost to Tennessee 65-54 in Knoxville.
Barring anything unforeseen, Mann will be back on the court when the fifth-seeded Gators (14-8) play the fourth-seeded Volunteers (17-7) in an SEC tournament quarterfinal on Friday afternoon. The teams meet for the second time in five days after splitting the season series.
Mann scored 12 points on 6-for-11 shooting in Florida's 75-49 victory over Tennessee in Gainesville on Jan. 19. Noah Locke (14 points) and Tyree Appleby (13 points, seven assists) also had a big role in handing the Volunteers -- then ranked No. 6 in the nation -- their most lopsided defeat this season despite not having Colin Castleton in that game.
Victor Bailey Jr., John Fulkerson and Keon Johnson each scored 14 points to lead a balanced Tennessee attack in the Vols' victory on Sunday. Tennessee did not fare well from 3-point range in either game, shooting 3-for-18 and 3-for-21 respectively.
But Tennessee played much better in the half-court game and was strong at the rim in its recent victory, outrebounding Florida 34-26 and 15-8 on the offensive glass.
Tennessee is also looking for a better performance from leading scorer Jaden Springer (12.4 points per game), who was held to four points on 2-for-7 shooting on Sunday.
"We played hard Sunday," Tennessee coach Rick Barnes said. "We were emotional. Once we settled in, we played 25 good minutes. I'm not saying we didn't play well to start with, but we had the tempo going, we had shots that we didn't knock down. I do like the fact that (the week off) has allowed us to get healthy."
--Field Level Media