Florida eliminated from SEC tourney by Tennessee, 78-66
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Different day, same results against Tennessee for Florida's basketball team.
The Vols eliminated Florida in the quarterfinal round of the Southeastern Conference Tournament by pounding out a 78-66 win Friday at Bridgestone Arena, their second consecutive over the Gators in the span of six days.
No. 4 seed Tennessee (18-7) now plays top seed Alabama (22-6), ranked No. 5 nationaly in the coaches' poll, in the tourney semifinals at 1 p.m. Saturday on ESPN. The Tide defeated nine seed Mississippi State 85-48 in the day's first quarterfinal.
More:Omar Payne ejected from SEC Tournament quarterfinals after getting start vs. Vols
The SEC five seed Gators (14-9), projected as a No. 8 or 9 seed, will await their NCAA Tournament fate on Selection Sunday after the third loss in their last four games. Tre Mann had a game and career-high 30 points for Florida by scoring 28 second-half points.
Santiago Vescovi scored 14 points to lead five Volunteers in double figures, as Tennessee advance to the semifinals for a third straight tournament. Yves Pons nearly had a triple-double with 11 points, eight rebounds and nine blocked shots that tied the SEC tournament single-game record set by Kentucky's Andre Riddick in the 1993 title game. Keon Johnson and Jaden Springer each had 13 points, and Josiah-Jordan James added 10 with nine rebounds.
Omar Payne's ejection cost Gators dearly
Florida's bid to get back in the game all but disappeared at the 17:10 mark of the second half when Omar Payne was ejected from the game for throwing a flagrant elbow to the head of Tennessee senior John Fulkerson, who left the court and did not return. Replays showed Payne caught Fulkerson' with a left, forearm shiver to the face, then put his right elbow into Fulkerson's head. Officials ejected Payne after review.
Vols coach Rick Barnes said Fulkerson was taken to a Nashville hospital “just for observation.” Barnes was told that Fulkerson’s eye was being evaluated.
“I don’t know if I could say we could count on him (Saturday),” Barnes said. “Again, we’ll wait and see. My gut feeling, he took two pretty good licks right there. I would be surprised if he is available.”
Vescovi made both free throws to put the Vols up 37-26.
“That was a dirty play,” Pons said. “That is nothing to do on a basketball court. We took it personally. We love John. We play for him. We had his back.”
Florida coach Mike White said after the game he hadn't seen a replay of the foul.
“I hope he’s OK,” said White, who gave Fulkerson an ovation on Senior Day last weekend. “Got a lot of respect for him, the way he plays, the way he approaches the game.”
UT took over from there, as the closest the Gators got was eight points on a Noah Locke 3 with 11:20 remaining that cut the deficit to 47-39. The Vols weren't really threatened the rest of the way.
Tennessee took a 31-22 lead at the break playing much like it did in last Sunday's win over Florida, playing strong defense and outrebounding the Gators, who were only 9 of 30 (30 percent) from the field. UF also had nine turnovers.
The Vols clamped down on Mann, who scored 22 points Thursday but had only 2 at the half on 1-of-8 shooting.
The Gators did manage to cut a 23-10 deficit when Jordan-James made a 3-pointer for the Vols at 7:53, by going on a 7-0 run later that ended on Mann's basket to make it 28-19 with 2:55 remaining. Tennessee also missed 10 of its last 11 shots.
The SEC's best shooting team couldn't outshoot the Vols as they shot only 34.5 % (20 of 58) compared to 46.% (28 of 60). The Gators also struggled with their composure a bit too. Not only was Payne ejected for the flagrant foul, they picked up another technical with 11:49 to go during a media timeout.
“I think we lack the emotional maturity that you need day in and day out to be a championship-level team,” White said.
Tennessee 78, Florida 66
FLORIDA (14-9)
Castleton 2-7 0-0 4, Payne 1-1 0-0 2, Appleby 3-13 5-5 14, Locke 2-5 0-0 6, Mann 8-19 9-10 30, Lewis 0-4 0-0 0, Osifo 1-3 0-0 2, Duruji 1-3 1-1 3, Jitoboh 2-3 1-2 5, Lane 0-0 0-0 0, Ruzhentsev 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 20-58 16-18 66.
TENNESSEE (18-7)
Fulkerson 3-4 2-2 8, Keo.Johnson 6-11 1-2 13, Springer 5-13 3-4 13, Vescovi 4-9 2-4 14, Pons 4-9 1-2 11, James 3-4 2-2 10, Bailey 2-9 2-2 7, Plavsic 1-1 0-0 2. Totals 28-60 13-18 78.
Halftime_Tennessee 31-22. 3-Point Goals_Florida 10-24 (Mann 5-11, Appleby 3-8, Locke 2-4, Lewis 0-1), Tennessee 9-25 (Vescovi 4-9, James 2-3, Pons 2-3, Bailey 1-5, Keo.Johnson 0-2, Springer 0-3). Fouled Out_Keo.Johnson. Rebounds_Florida 28 (Castleton 7), Tennessee 36 (Keo.Johnson, Pons, James 9). Assists_Florida 7 (Castleton, Lewis 2), Tennessee 21 (James 7). Total Fouls_Florida 18, Tennessee 18.