Undermanned Gators stun No. 6 Tennessee
Florida coach Mike White did not sugarcoat it Monday: the Gators were simply not NCAA Tournament material.
A day later White’s undermanned and presumably outgunned team proved their coach wrong, stunning No. 6 Tennessee 75-49 Tuesday at the O’Connell Center.
With Hall of Fame announcer Dick Vitale courtside and a national audience tuned in, the Gators (7-4, 4-3 SEC) stunned the Vols (10-2, 4-2) as several role players rose to the occasion.
The Gators entered the night having lost three of four games, but outclassed the Vols in every phase of the game. UF outshoot UT 49% to 29% from the field, outscored the Volunteers 42-24 in the paint, held a 44-36 rebounding edge and scored 27 points off turnovers.
White’s team was without starting guard Scottie Lewis for the third straight game due to COVID-19 and missing center Colin Castleston after the team’s leading scorer and rebounder in SEC play rolled his ankle during Saturday’s loss at Mississippi State.
Backup big man Omar Payne stepped in for Castleton and played with a level of energy and confidence that has been missing all season. Payne, a Montverde Academy product, finished with nine points on 4-of-5 shooting, nine rebounds and five blocked shots in 27 minutes of action.
The performance came exactly one year to the day of Payne’s first — and only — career double-double against fourth-ranked Auburn. It was kind of effort the 6-foot-10 sophomore and the Gators had failed to duplicate ever since.
Payne was not the only Gator who enjoyed surprising success against the highest-ranked team
in the SEC.
Osayi Osifo, a transfer from Eastern Florida State College, pitched in four points and six rebounds — both career highs — and plenty of hustle. Third-string point guard Ques Glover scored 10 points in 14 minutes.
A driving layup by Noah Locke — two of his team-high 14 points — gave the Gators a 20-point lead at 53-33 and seemingly command of the game with 14:15 remaining. The Vols then began to chip away at the lead, eventually trimming it to 11 points on a pair of free throws by center Santiago Vescovi with just under 10 minutes to go.
The Gators, though, immediately answered with an 11-0 run, highlighted back-to-back steals — the second ending with a 3-pointer by Anthony Duruji.
UF finished the game emphatically with a 20-5 run to leave nothing to chance.
The Gators’ next game is at Georgia (8-4, 1-4) Saturday. Tipoff is at 2 p.m. and the game will air on ESPN2.