Tennessee basketball heads to Gainesville Saturday to face the defending national champion Florida Gators. Florida (9-5, 1-1 SEC) is off to a slower start this season after having to replace their top four guards from a season ago. But the Gators retained and boast an elite front court.
“But think more than anything, just the physicality and the size they had inside, but last year we went down there, we didn’t get the job done,” Tennessee guard Bishop Boswell said about facing Florida last season. “So the mindset this year, totally different.”
Florida gave Tennessee issues on the glass in two of the three meetings a year ago. Part of the Vols’ bigger roster build this season was to better combat teams like Florida with both quality starters and depth in the front line.
That means both teams have similar roster builds and physical identities. Florida’s 44.2% offensive rebound rate ranks second nationally. Gator opponents are rebounding 23.5% of their misses— a mark that ranks fifth nationally. The 20.7% difference between the two ranks second nationally.
Florida starts not only center Reuben Chinyelu and power forward Alex Condon, but also starts the 6-foot-9, 215-pound Thomas Haugh at the three-spot. That trio, plus the 7-foot-1, 260-pound Micah Handlogten off the bench makes the Gators elite on the interior and on the glass.
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“The depth, first off. They have four of them that they can roll in there at you,” Tennessee associate head coach Justin Gainey said of Florida’s front court. “They all have experience, they’re older, been through the fire, they won a national championship. Obviously they’re talented. … It’s a really good collection of post guys. And so all of that combined kind of makes them tough to deal with.”
Tennessee has a quartet of big men including Felix Okpara, Jaylen Carey, JP Estrella and DeWayne Brown playing over 30% of minutes in games played this season. Nate Ament is far lankier than Haugh but also gives Tennessee length at the starting three-spot.
The Vols 45.2% offensive rebounding rate is the nation’s best. Tennessee is far worse on the defensive glass with opponents rebounding 28.9% of missed shots. Still, the 16.3% difference is the nation’s fourth best behind only Florida, Arizona and Michigan State.
It should lead to one of the most physical games not only that Tennessee plays this season but one of the most physical games in the entire SEC this season.
“The physicality that’s going to come at you on every possession. When that ball goes up, it’s going to be a battle,” Gainey said. “And so you can’t relax on one play because that’s all they need to get that offensive rebound, to get that second shot. And that’s a huge part of what they do and they do it really well.”
Tipoff between Tennessee and Florida is at noon ET on Saturday. Dan Shulman and Jay Bilas are on the call for ESPN.
