It was a night to remember for Florida Basketball as the Gators handed Tennessee one of the worst defeats an AP No. 1 team has ever suffered. Florida beat the Volunteers 73-43 to move to 14-1 on the season and 1-1 in SEC play.
If Florida can handle business on Saturday against Arkansas, the Gators should shoot their way into the top five in the country. The following are two truths and a lit for Florida after the win.
Truth: The Gators bullied the Volunteers down low
Two games into SEC play, it is evident that Florida's size is going to continue to be a problem for the conference in 2025. Tuesday was a physical contest and Florida seemed to revel in any opportunity to bang bodies down low.
Emblematic of the physicality was the night Rueben Chinyelu had. He only had four points to go along with four fouls, but he also had 15 rebounds on the night, five on the offensive end and ten on the defensive side, to set a career-high.
Truth: Denzel Aberdeen was the low-key MVP
Most of the headlines on the offensive side have focused on the 18 points Alijah Martin had, but don't sleep on the night that Denzel Aberdeen had either.
As is normal, Aberdeen came off the bench, but he entered in a deceptively key spot early as Walter Clayton ran into some early foul trouble with two fouls five minutes into the game.
Aberdeen finished with 16 points, including two three-pointers. He was also fouled on another three-point attempt and made all three free throws.
16 points in 20 minutes of action is a great clip for anyone.
Lie: The offense was a smooth operation
Lost in the fact that Tennessee looked like a freshmen JV team trying to shoot the ball is that Florida didn't exactly have their greatest shooting night either.
Florida only shot 39% from the field and was just 30% from three.
Tennessee tried to press Florida up top, and there were times when it gave the Gators some problems. Other times, it felt like Florida was just launching a shot without trying to be in rhythm.
It's nitpicking on a night when the Gators won by 30, but it is worth evaluating as Florida navigates their SEC slate.