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SEC Basketball: Key 2018-19 storylines for Tennessee at Florida

By Jason Burgess

KNOXVILLE, TN - DECEMBER 22: Yves Pons #35 of the Tennessee Volunteers, Brad Woodson #12 of the Tennessee Volunteers, and Kyle Alexander #11 of the Tennessee Volunteers walk off the court after their game against the Wake Forest Demon Deacons at Thompson-Boling Arena on December 22, 2018 in Knoxville, Tennessee. Tennessee won the game 83-64. (Photo by Donald Page/Getty Images)
KNOXVILLE, TN - DECEMBER 22: Yves Pons #35 of the Tennessee Volunteers, Brad Woodson #12 of the Tennessee Volunteers, and Kyle Alexander #11 of the Tennessee Volunteers walk off the court after their game against the Wake Forest Demon Deacons at Thompson-Boling Arena on December 22, 2018 in Knoxville, Tennessee. Tennessee won the game 83-64. (Photo by Donald Page/Getty Images) /
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NEW YORK, NEW YORK – DECEMBER 04: Deaundrae Ballard #24 of the Florida Gators smiles as he high-fives his teammates during a timeout in the second half of the game against the West Virginia Mountaineers at Madison Square Garden on December 04, 2018 in New York City. (Photo by Sarah Stier/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NEW YORK – DECEMBER 04: Deaundrae Ballard #24 of the Florida Gators smiles as he high-fives his teammates during a timeout in the second half of the game against the West Virginia Mountaineers at Madison Square Garden on December 04, 2018 in New York City. (Photo by Sarah Stier/Getty Images) /

Florida hosts No. 3 Tennessee on Saturday in a key SEC game for both teams, but for different reasons. Here are some storylines heading into the game.

The reigning SEC co-champs, Tennessee Volunteers have come out this season on a mission, and that mission is to show that they are not satisfied with just making the 2nd round of the NCAA Tournament, they want to contend for a National Championship.

The top three teams in the conference are undoubtedly the 13-1 Volunteers, Auburn and Kentucky in some order. But, the middle of the conference is riddled with dangerous teams like Alabama, who has already knocked off Kentucky, Mississippi State, LSU, and Tennessee’s opponent on Saturday, Florida.

Head coach Rick Barnes takes his No. 3 ranked Volunteers into one of the toughest environments in the conference, the Exactech Arena, also known as the O’ Dome to face the 9-5 Gators.

Not only does Tennessee have 13 wins, with its lone loss coming in the finals of the NIT Season Tip-Off in overtime to then No. 2 Kansas, but aside from their signature 76-73 win over No. 1 Gonzaga, the closest game Tennessee has had been a 10-point win over in-state rival Memphis.

As for Florida, Mike White’s Gators have struggled a bit coming out of the gate. The Gators lost a lot of leadership and production to graduation, but the cupboard was hardly bare for Florida with the likes of KeVaughn Allen, Kevarrius Hayes, and Jalen Hudson returning, but, the Gators have struggled to find an offensive rhythm, failing to crack 70 in any of their losses, averaging just 68 points since hanging 98 on North Florida on Nov. 27, and currently have just two players averaging double figures.

Tennessee has all the momentum, but a raucous home crowd and a hungry bunch of Gators could make things difficult for the Vols. Here are three storylines to watch as this one unfolds.

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