This week, Florida played a complete game against South Carolina, including keeping their foot on the Gamecocks' collective throat.
Tonight, here's to hoping that UF can crush the throat of Tennessee and ram Bruce Pearl's orange jacket, SEC suspension and pre-nup down it.
Aside from their 55 percent shooting against South Carolina and blowout against Arkansas, UF is winning games with defense and just enough shooting. UF's biggest weakness is still their free throw shooting, but they commit so few fouls, that it actually neutralizes Florida's awfulness at the line.
But as Florida asserts themselves, especially Chandler Parsons becoming Superfly Jimmy Snuka around the rim, they have to score at the line. Why is that especially necessary today? Tennessee averages 20 fouls a game, six more than UF. When Florida gets into the bonus, they can pull away from an average Tennessee offense. Plus, if you needed any proof that Parsons is the straw that stirs the drink for Florida, the Gators are 9-0 when he is in double figures. Erving Walker and Kenny Boynton should think about this when they shoot their 3-pointers with 20 seconds left on the shot clock.
Tennessee was 5-3 while Pearl was sitting out for lying to NCAA investigators. During that stretch, their biggest problem was a lack of scoring. Aside from victories against three West Division weaklings, Tennessee has averaged 64 points a game since the start of SEC play. Pearl coached UT against UConn, but the Vols could only get to 61 points against the Huskies.