The last time the Florida Gators played the Tennessee Vols, the Vols were dead last in the SEC in three-point shooting but best in the league in rebounding. Logic said back off the three and pack the paint, which is exactly what Billy Donovan did. The only problem is the Vols picked that night to shoot the ball better from the perimeter than they had all season.
Nothing Tennessee had done all season long would indicate that the Vols were capable of a game like that. Tennessee hit eight three-point shots in the first half and 12-28 for the game (42.8 percent) and that was the difference as the Vols scored a 79-63 win.
The Gators face the same dilemma Sunday afternoon when they face Tennessee at the Stephen C. O’Connell Center (2 p.m., CBS) in a nationally televised game that could have serious implications on where both these teams play their post season basketball. Do the Gators pack it in the paint to limit the Vols bigger, more physical front line or do they try to clamp down on the perimeter?
There was no question what Donovan was going to do when the two teams squared off back on January 31 in Knoxville.
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