Tennessee
No. 8 Florida rolls over No. 1 Tennessee, hands Vols first loss of season in 30-point blowout
It took them several months, but the Volunteers have finally fallen.
No. 8 Florida absolutely rolled over top-ranked Tennessee on Tuesday night in a massive statement win for the Gators. Florida picked up a dominant 73-43 win over Tennessee at the Stephen C. O’Connell Center, which marked the Volunteers’ first loss of the season. It was the first time Florida had beaten a No. 1 team at home in program history.
That paved the way for a new team to overtake them in the rankings next week and kept the door open in the SEC after the Vols’ historic start.
Florida dominated in the first half and got out to a 34-15 lead in the first 20 minutes. The Gators held Tennessee to just 4 of 29 from the field in the first half, too, and 0 of 14 from beyond the arc. The Vols didn’t even get on the board until a Felix Okpara free throw nearly seven full minutes into the game. Nothing was working at all.
Though Tennessee improved slightly in the second half, it was way too late. Florida still came out of the locker room on a 30-15 tear to put the game away with more than five minutes left on the clock. Tennessee was way too out of it to make a difference.
Alijah Martin led the Gators with 18 points and six rebounds, and Denzel Aberdeen added 16 points off the bench. Florida went just 6 of 20 from the 3-point line, but it out-rebounded Tennessee by 18.
Chaz Lanier led Tennessee with 10 points and seven rebounds after he shot 1 of 9 from the 3-point line. Zakai Zeigler was the only other player to hit double figures. He had 10 points and a rebound, and went 1 of 6 from behind the arc. Tennessee finished the game shooting just 21% from the field and 4 of 29 from the 3-point line as a team.
Tennessee had been the top-ranked team in the country for over a month. The Vols entered conference play with several major wins under their belt, including double-digit victories over Louisville, Baylor, Syracuse and Miami. They even beat then-No. 23 Arkansas by 24 points on Saturday, which pushed them to 14-0 for the first time in more than 100 years.
The Gators entered Tuesday night needing to make a statement. While they started out the season a perfect 12-0, they didn’t play a single ranked team in that stretch. Then they fell on Saturday to No. 10 Kentucky in their SEC opener.
But after Tuesday night, it’s clear their start wasn’t a fluke. While Tennessee will be fine after putting this off night behind it, the Gators are clearly ready to compete with the top tier in the SEC.
Tennessee
Deputies perform ‘life-saving measures’ after 5-year-old falls into swimming pool in Tennessee
FAYETTEVILLE, Tenn. (WSMV) – A Tennessee sheriff’s office is asking the community to pray for a family whose 5-year-old was hospitalized after falling into a swimming pool.
The Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office said deputies and family members were “administering life-saving measures” Thursday afternoon after pulling the child out of the water.
The child was then transferred to a hospital, where they are still being treated.
“The child was subsequently transported to the hospital, where they are currently receiving medical care‚” said a Facebook post from the sheriff’s office. “Out of respect for the family’s privacy, no further details will be released at this time.”
Copyright 2025 WSMV. All rights reserved.
Sam Purcell felt good about the game plan for Mississippi State women’s basketball’s matchup with Tennessee.
But the Bulldogs gave up 26 points in the first quarter and trailed by seven points. It was a deficit they never recovered from in a 90-80 loss to the Lady Vols at Humphrey Coliseum on Jan. 8.
“You look at that that first quarter, I thought it was crucial. We had a great scout, a great game plan, but we didn’t talk on ball screens,” Purcell said. “Their largest quarter was that first quarter, and we’re going to watch back and go, dang it, we need to be more vocal. And you got to give them credit – top to bottom, they’re probably as good as anybody in the country with athleticism. So you can’t let those athletic kids turn the corner for wide open layups, and we did.”
Kharyssa Richardson and Madison Francis led the Bulldogs with 22 points each, but MSU didn’t have enough defense to pull off the upset.
Had Mississippi State been able to slow down Tennessee’s drivers in the first quarter, it may have been a different result. But once the Bulldogs started slowing that down, the Lady Vols were “phenomenal hitting some big-time shots,” Purcell said.
Tennessee only had the edge in points in the paint, 42-40, but it also went 10-for-27 on 3-pointers, which was an area Mississippi State couldn’t match. The Bulldogs shot 2-for-13 from deep.
MSU also couldn’t stop Tennessee freshman point guard Mia Pauldo, who scored a game-high 26 points on 8-for-12 shooting. The Bulldogs sent her to the foul line time and time again, and she went 8-for-9 on free throws.
“I thought (Pauldo) was poised, she was clutch,” Purcell said. “Obviously, that’s what you need in games like this that are gonna come down the to the wire. You need players to step up, and I thought she was the X factor for them.”
The Tennessee Volunteers have been one of the main teams when it comes to producing talent and sending talent to the NFL, which is something that has often been discovered as a standard for the football program. This is something that has been going on for quite some time and isn’t anything new to the news cycle, as the Vols have been able to produce plenty of talented prospects.
Tennessee is the home of many stars, including some of the best defensive players in SEC history. Guys like Eric Berry have found their way through the Tennessee program and onto the NFL, where they would have legendary careers. However, the defensive side of the football is the only side that has produced plenty of talent, as Tennessee has produced a lot of offensive talent as well. With the likes of Peyton Manning and company, the Vols have shown a great track record in getting talent drafted.
The Vols have produced someone who could be considered as one of the best players to play the Tide end position, as the Knoxville, Tennessee program is the home to Dallas Cowboys legend, Jason Witten. Witten is someone who made the most of his career and has been viewed as a top player at the Tide in position, and someone who is often referred to as a legend for the Cowboys, along with being a legend in the game of football as a whole.
Jason Witten Accepts TE Coach Position For Oklahoma
Witten is now taking a new gig, which has him in a huge role inside the Southeastern Conference. The Vols legend is now the tight end coach for the Oklahoma Sooners. The Sooners have had some success out of their tight ends in the past, but the sky is the limit with a guy like Witten coaching up the players. Witten has the opportunity to do really well, as coaching tight ends won’t be an issue, and you have to imagine that he will be able to recruit very well, considering he has a huge name around him, as this is something that we have seen from positional coaches as well as head coaches who have done great work in the league. You have to imagine that the Vols will now have stiff competition for his son, Cooper, who is a five-star recruit for the upcoming 2027 class at the linebacker position.
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