No. 8 Tennessee dominates No. 5 Florida 64-44 without Zakai Zeigler, Igor Milicic

First Darlinstone Dubar blocked the Florida shot. Then Cade Phillips blocked the next one. Then, after Jahmai Mashack grabbed the loose ball, Chaz Lanier pulled up for a transition three as a capacity, checkerboard crowd at Food City Center roared to life. 

Lanier went the other way yelling, jumping up and down and raising his hands after finally seeing a couple shots go in. Lanier was desperate and so was No. 8 Tennessee in shorthanded domination, beating No. 5 Florida 64-44 win Saturday afternoon in Knoxville.

Tennessee (18-4, 5-4 SEC) was missing starting point guard Zakai Zeigler (knee) and forward Igor Milicic (illness), a duo that combines to average 22.7 points, 11.6 rebounds and 9.5 assists per game. 

In their place, Lanier rallied the Vols with a team-high 19 points on 5-for-9 shooting from the 3-point line. Jordan Gainey started at point guard and finished with 16 points, five assists and four rebounds.

Felix Okpara had 10 points and eight rebounds, Phillips had seven points, three boards and three blocks and Mashack had eight points, eight rebounds and four assists. Darlinstone Dubar finished with four points, five rebounds and three assists while making his first start.

Florida (18-3, 5-3), which handed the Vols their first loss of the season in a 73-43 thumping in Gainesville on January 7, got a team-high 10 points from Walter Clayton, all in the first half.

The Gators, who entered with the third-best offense in the country in the KenPom ratings, were held below 70 points for the first time this season — they had scored in the 70s only four times in 20 games — after shooting 24.5% from the floor, 14.8% from three and committing 13 turnovers with just five assists on their 13 made shots.

Tennessee closed the first half on an 8-2 run to take a 24-21 halftime lead, then started the second half with six straight points to force a Florida timeout.

The lead was 10 when Mashack drove and scored at the 16:12 mark. It was 20 when Lanier made a three, his fourth of the game, with 6:14 left. It was 21 when he hit his fifth three just 35 seconds later.

Vols rallied to take lead late in first half

Tennessee led 24-21 at halftime despite trialing for just under 14 minutes, missing 11 of 13 3-point attempts, missing five of nine foul shots and shooting just 29.0% from the floor.

The Vols forced eight Florida turnovers and grabbed seven offensive rebounds, though, combining for eight points off turnovers or second-chance opportunities. 

Jordan Gainey got Tennessee back within one with 2:33 left in the half on a pair of free throws, then Chaz Lanier made a transition three to put the Vols up 21-19 a minute later. 

Lanier had six points and four rebounds in the first half and Gainey and Phillips had five each. Jahmai Mashack had four points and five boards and Darlinstone Dubar scored four points. 

Florida shot just 25.9% from the field and went 2-for-13 from the 3-point line, but got a game-high 10 points from Clayton in the first half.

Up Next: No. 8 Tennessee vs. No. 20 Missouri

Tennessee finishes its three-game homestand against No. 20 Missouri on Wednesday, a 7 p.m. Eastern time start on SEC Network.

The Vols then go on the road for four of the next five, going to Oklahoma next Saturday, to Kentucky (February 11), to Texas A&M (February 22) and to LSU (February 25). A home date with Vanderbilt on February 15 divides the four road games. 

After that, Tennessee closes the regular-season schedule with games against Alabama (March 1), at Ole Miss (March 5) and home against South Carolina (March 8), before the postseason begins with the SEC Tournament on March 12 in Nashville.