Against the No. 1 Tennessee Vols, the No. 8 Florida Gators have a quick opportunity to bounce back.

Now that they have lost to the Kentucky Wildcats on the road, the No. 8 Florida Gators can relax and move on. They must now put their introspection aside and get ready to meet the Tennessee Volunteers, who are ranked #1, at O’Connell Arena on Tuesday night.

Losing to the Wildcats on the road is not a cause for shame, but the squad can take what they’ve learned from it and utilize it to their advantage when they play the nation’s top team. Tennessee is ranked #1 for a reason—they will put the Gators’ grit and fortitude to the test.

From an outside perspective, Florida will step up and take the Vols right to their current position in the rankings.

Free for a Cause

Because they played aggressively and attacked the basket, UF had 35 free throw attempts throughout the Kentucky game. But collectively, the team was unable to capitalize. Florida lost by just six points after making 62.9% (22/35) of those and leaving 13 points on the table.

With a combined 6 of 15 from the line, Alex Condon and Alijah Martin were the two biggest offenders.

They really need to make their free throws if they play Tennessee to the very end. The Vols are under pressure to follow suit, and the defense is impacted by concerns about foul trouble. You can be confident that efforts at the basket with contact will eventually result in a foul call, even though referee calls are unpredictable.

Walton Clayton was the only one to make nine of his thirteen free throws.

Threes Taketh, Threes Giveth

Making 33 three-pointers shows that you have faith in your shooters and want to force the other team’s defense to cover every inch of the half-court. Even though only making 12 might not seem like a terrible thing, Kentucky’s strategy was far more effective. The Wildcats made two more baskets for a 48.3 percent clip after attempting four less.

The Gators chose to let the ball fly from behind the arc after down by ten points at the half. Long rebounds and the ability to run and push the tempo are the results of missed threes. Tennessee will attempt to stifle the Gators on the perimeter, restricting possession and applying pressure to UF’s defense to keep up. They only give up 55.9 points per game.

Florida has to dominate UT on the glass, particularly offensively, and has a rebounding advantage.

Summary

Against the Gators, Kentucky made excellent field and hoop shots. That highlights a critical need for defensive improvement in addition to UF’s own need to improve their shooting.

Making the defense work for your offense is clearly necessary if you let anyone score 106. With their defense ready, Tennessee will try to stop and impede any Florida offensive momentum when they go to Gainesville on Tuesday night.

If the Gators hope to upset the top-ranked Vols, they will need to be more effective on both ends of the court.