GAINESVILLE, Fla. – It’s not yet time for finals for the Florida men’s basketball team, but it’s getting close with only six regular-season games remaining.
A good prep test comes on Saturday night when Tennessee visits the O’Connell Center.
The Gators won in overtime, 81-75, at Tennessee a month ago. But a lot has happened since then for both teams.
Florida immediately came home and lost to South Carolina, but the Gators are 6-1 since and playing some of their best basketball of the season, returning to the AP Top 25 at No. 17 this week after home wins over Vanderbilt and Kentucky.
In a rematch with South Carolina on the road Wednesday, the Gators rolled to a 79-60 win behind a near triple-double from Chandler Parsons (14 points, 12 rebounds, 8 assists) and a season-high 25 points from Erving Walker.
Meanwhile, as the Gators opened some distance between themselves and the rest of the SEC East, the Volunteers have struggled to find the same winning formula. Tennessee has been hampered by a pair of ankle injuries to key players – forward Tobias Harris and guard Scotty Hopson – and is now adjusting to the return of head coach Bruce Pearl from a suspension handed down by SEC Commissioner Mike Slive.
Pearl returned on Tuesday only to see his team lost 73-61 at Kentucky. Next up: a trip to Gainesville to face a rejuvenated Florida team.
“When Commissioner Slive levied his suspension against me for eight games, I think he really punished me by allowing me to come back by going to Rupp Arena and the O-Dome,’’ Pearl said on the SEC media teleconference earlier this week. “What a wonderful reward to be able to come back and go to those two places.’’
Parsons has been the catalyst for Florida’s recent surge, recording 10 or more rebounds in six consecutive games. Still, for the Gators to thrive, everyone has to contribute.
Florida coach Billy Donovan called it “playing without intention’’ on Thursday. By that, he means Parsons and the rest of the team is letting the game come to them instead of taking the court with preconceived notions of what they must do.
That approach has helped as the Gators are closing in on a 13th consecutive 20-win season – which is tops in the SEC – and a big opportunity to gain a stronger grip on the SEC East with a win over the Vols.
“They’re playing hard and I think they’re locked in and focused in on what they need to do each game,’’ Donovan said. “I think guys understand that every single time they step on the floor, we’re playing against very, very good teams. You look at this stretch right now for us … it’s been a grind for our team. I don’t know if it’s a confidence thing as much as it is our guys having a focus level. They know how good these teams are.’’
While they won’t face Tennessee again after Saturday unless it’s in the league tournament, the Gators still have to go to LSU, Kentucky and Vanderbilt, and have home games against Georgia and SEC West leader Alabama on the schedule.
Nothing is going to come easy and that’s the approach Donovan has tried to instill on a veteran team that returned all five starters and has faded down the stretch in past seasons.
Walker understands the message. After his 25-point performance on Wednesday – a single-game high for any Florida player this season – he didn’t realize he had scored that many points until teammate Vernon Macklin pointed it out on the team plane.
He said a team-first attitude and better all-around play of late has the Gators in a good frame of mind for the stretch run.
“I would say we definitely have more confidence in the way we’ve been playing,’’ Walker said. “You can see it in the chemistry that we have right now. Everybody is leaning on each other.’’
Walker quickly added a disclaimer with the Vols coming to town.
“It could go away any second,’’ Walker said. “Tennessee is a great team. We know they could care less that we’re in first place.’’
Pearl’s return is the biggest difference since the teams last met on Jan. 11 in Knoxville. Tennessee trimmed Kentucky’s lead to five early in the second half on Tuesday, but the Wildcats responded with a 13-0 run.
While his return didn’t materialize into a win, Pearl is hoping his added presence on the bench can make a different in the final portion of the regular season for a Volunteer squad still searching for consistency despite big wins over Pittsburgh and Villanova out of conference.
“When I’m out, it’s one less voice,’’ he said. “I hope I can come back and help. Obviously, the schedule is very, very challenging.’’
Parsons is aware of the added charge that could give the Vols on Saturday with Pearl back on the bench.
“They’re just coming off a loss at Kentucky, so we know they’re going to come in ready to play,’’ Parsons said. “They’ve got Coach Pearl back, so they are going to have energy. They are definitely going to come in here with a chip on their shoulder trying to get a win.’’
GATOR GAMEBOX
Tennessee at Florida
Tip-off: 6 p.m., O’Connell Center
Records: Tennessee 15-9 (5-4 SEC); Florida 19-5 (8-2 SEC)
TV: ESPN
