For about 29 minutes, it looked like the Gators might pull off a surprising victory over No. 18 Tennessee in Knoxville on Wednesday night.
They used 52 percent shooting, including 44 percent from beyond the arc, plus 11 Tennessee turnovers to take a 42-34 lead into the locker room at halftime. The Gators were making a bunch of tough shots and making life miserable for one of the more talented backcourts in the SEC at the other end.
However, they lost starting center Jason Jitoboh for the remainder of the night (and perhaps longer) when he was inadvertently slapped across the face by a Tennessee player while going up for a rebound late in the period.