Three Takeaways: Florida Gators Eliminated From SEC Tournament Play
The Florida Gators' hopes of an SEC Tournament push have come to an end.
Following a six-point victory in the second round over Vanderbilt on Thursday afternoon, the Gators returned to the court in Nashville to face the Tennessee Volunteers for the second time in five days.
Falling in defeat to the Vols in their previous meeting by 11 points, Florida struggled to ward off the length that Tennessee possesses.
Looking to produce a different result with the presence of Tre Mann on the court for this rendition of the rivalry, Florida was set on replicating the early upset of the sixth-ranked Volunteers in mid-January.
Following an egregious elbow delivered by Omar Payne to Tennessee big man John Fulkerson, the game took a turn as the Volunteers found the momentum to fight off the Gators — who were ultimately buried by self-inflicted wounds (16 total turnovers) — and post a 78 to 66 victory to advance to a matchup with Alabama on Saturday.
Here are three takeaways from UFs abysmal outing against Tennessee.
Florida continued to be dominated by Tennessee in the paint
Rebounds and points in the paint: two battles that were consistently dominated by the Volunteers in both matchups with Florida in the past weeks.
Possessing an above-average length that permits a towering presence inside the lane against the three-guard lineup the Gators consistently employ, the Volunteers found sustained success on the boards.
Out rebounded by nine on the offensive end — the difference overall — in the previous matchup, the Gators were set on crashing the glass early and often in round three of SEC tournament play.
However, that gameplan did not come to fruition.
This time, not only did Tennessee continue their offensive dominance inside — coming away with a plethora of second chance opportunities on 38 total rebounds (12 on the offensive end) — but Yves Pons anchored down the defensive end with eight blocks on the day, including six in the first half.
The Gators have been subject to struggling with size throughout the past few years and Friday afternoon was no different.
Despite the athleticism Florida employs in the frontcourt in the form of Anthony Duruji and Colin Castleton, the inability to control the paint will continue to plaque their goals of turning the corner in the NCAA tournament.
Tre Mann struggles to find a rhythm in first-half but surges for a career high second-half outing
Rounding out the half at just 22 total points, the Florida Gators were facing a daunting task to rally back against a Tennessee squad that continued to keep its distance throughout the longevity of the contest.
In their previous matchup, Mann was held out of action due to a migraine that significantly hindered Florida's ability to score the basketball against the relentless and long Vols defense.
Looking to provide a spark back to the Gators unit in this rematch, Mann struggled out of the gate and remained scoreless in the game until three minutes left to go in the first half. A large part due to the near-triple teams the Gators star guard would face when the ball touched his hands.
Starting the contest 1-for-8 from the field, Florida’s offensive total in the first half put them behind the eight ball to make a comeback.
Scoring just 0.68 points per possession in the first half, Mann’s inconsistency early on was a substantial factor in the game's outcome.
Finding his groove too little too late, Mann finished with a more than respectable stat line (30 points, 3 rebounds and 1 assist) to record his sixth-straight game with double-digit points and a career-high in points. Aiding a comeback attempt midway through the second, Mann did all he could to surge the Gators forward in the tournament, posting more points in the second half than the Gators did in the first half as a whole.
Ultimately, more productivity early on puts the Gators in a position to apply pressure down the stretch.
A disappointing stretch of SEC play has come to an end
The roller coaster ride of an SEC league play has come to an end for the Gators in the 2020-21 season.
When looking back at the year of conference play for Florida basketball, times of insurmountable highs and shallow lows define the disappointing season for White’s squad.
Acquiring the resilience gene that saw them overcome the loss of their best player four games into the season, the Gators looked as if they would exceed expectations to overcome the adversity set in their path. However, they struggled to find the consistency to remain atop the league for a long period of time.
Whether it was the coming and going of big man Castleton inside or the overall inability to hang in on a game-to-game basis as a team, Florida brought a frustrating product to the floor in and away from Gainesville for GatorNation to view throughout the year.
Struggling against lesser competition at times than competing with the conference's heavyweights, Florida’s destiny of inconsistency would be realized with a loss to a middle-of-the-pack South Carolina team following a road victory against 11th-ranked West Virginia the game prior.
With a difficult loss on the court on Friday afternoon, Florida’s SEC season came to an end in disappointing fashion, a veracious summarization of their year as a whole.
The Gators will now await Selection Sunday to determine their fate in the big dance of March Madness.
