College basketball witnessed another upset Wednesday night when unranked Florida earned a 67-54 victory over No. 2 Tennessee.
Senior Colin Castleton led the Gators to a monumental victory with 20 points and nine rebounds at home. Florida, which began the game on a 17-4 run, held Tennesee to a 27.9 field-goal percentage (19-of-68).
The Volunteers aren’t the first legitimate men’s basketball title contender shocked this season. According to ESPN’s Stats & Info, they’re the 10th top-two team to lose, setting a single-season record with ample time remaining.
The college basketball world processed Wednesday’s unexpected SEC outcome.
“And Florida just finished off a win at home over Tennessee.
Because college basketball,” Seth Davis of CBS Sports wrote.
“Todd Golden gets the biggest win of his career,” WUFT News’ Will Levenson said. “Absolutely massive, season-changing win for the Gators.”
“I don’t care if this is a road game. The number 2 team in the country and to some ‘The Best Tennessee Team Ever’ does not lose to a garbage 12-9 Florida team,” FOX Sports Knoxville’s Jake Miller said.
“Someone remind me about this Tennessee-Florida game on Selection Sunday when I’m tempted to write the Vols into the Elite Eight,” CBS’ Matt Norlander requested.
Tennessee dropped to 18-4 following its most lopsided loss of the season. The Volunteers had won nine of their previous 10 games, suffering their only other conference loss to Kentucky.
Meanwhile, the Gators improved to 13-9, bouncing back from Saturday’s road loss against No. 5 Kansas State. Wednesday’s win will look good on Florida’s resume when making the case for an NCAA tournament invitation.