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Florida pulls off historic upset on No. 1 Tennessee

IMG_0985by:Griffin McVeigh•about 23 hours•

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Dec 14, 2024; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Florida Gators head coach Todd Golden reacts during the second half against the Arizona State Sun Devils at State Farm Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jordan Godfree-Imagn Images
Dec 14, 2024; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Florida Gators head coach Todd Golden reacts during the second half against the Arizona State Sun Devils at State Farm Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jordan Godfree-Imagn Images

Tuesday’s most anticipated college basketball game resided in Gainesville, with No. 1 Tennessee facing off against the No. 8 ranked Florida Gators. But from the beginning, Florida controlled the game and wound up big winners. In fact, Todd Golden‘s team wound up making history.

For the first time since 1968, a team ranked No. 1 in the college basketball AP poll lost by 25+ points. Two late free throws meant Florida wound up beating Tennessee by 30. A staple victory for the Gators early in SEC play.

Despite finishing with 73 points, Florida did not have the best offensive day. Just 30% of their three-point shots went down, well below the season average. Alijah Martin was the leading scorer with 18 points and Denzel Aberdeen was the only other Gators player in double figures with 16.

The real story from Gainesville was how poorly Tennessee played offensively. Rick Barnes‘ squad made just 12 shots all night, making 21.4% of shots from the floor. Looking at the three-point numbers were even worse, going 4-29 from deep.

Being the No. 1 team in the country was no mistake for Tennessee, previously being the lone undefeated team remaining in college basketball. People in Knoxville will be hoping this was an off night and one the team can flush down the toilet. Next up for them will be a return to Austin for Barnes, facing off against Texas.

Florida now improves to 14-1 on the season after starting off conference play with a high-scoring loss to Kentucky in Rupp Arena. No better way to get back on the right track, making history in the process.

Florida listed as two-seed in latest Bracketology

ESPN’s Joe Lunardi released a Bracketology entering the important week of college basketball. The SEC is off to a historic start and has a chance to have more conference members participate in the NCAA Tournament than anyone ever has.

Specifically looking at Florida, Lunardi placed them as the two-seed in the South. In a tweet put out by the ESPN expert on Tuesday morning, Florida was Lunardi’s No. 8 overall seed. But this was before they took down Tennessee in impressive fashion.

The Gators likely are not in range for a one-seed quite yet but more wins like these and Lunardi will have no choice but to put them up there.