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Tennessee's rally falls short in SEC Tournament championship loss to Florida

IMG_3593by: Grant Ramey03/16/25GrantRamey
Jordan Gainey, Tennessee Basketball | Andrew Nelles / The Tennessean / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
(Andrew Nelles / The Tennessean / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images) Tennessee guard Jordan Gainey (11) pushes past Florida guard Alijah Martin (15) during the first half of the Southeastern Conference tournament championship at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tenn., Sunday, March 16, 2025.

NASHVILLE — Tennessee beat what is likely to be the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament in the SEC Tournament semifinals on Saturday with the 70-65 win over No. 3 Auburn. In the championship game on Sunday, the Vols didn’t have enough for another win over a No. 1 seed, losing 86-77 to No. 4 Florida.

Jordan Gainey starred for No. 8 Tennessee (27-7), scoring a season-high 24 points off the bench to carry the Vols, but couldn’t rally his team from down 13 in the second half. Zakai Zeigler had 18 points, eight assists and five rebounds and Chaz Lanier finished with 11 before fouling out, after battling foul trouble all afternoon.

Tennessee now turns its attention to the NCAA Tournament Selection Show Sunday evening, scheduled for 6 Eastern Time on CBS. The Vols are comfortably a No. 2 seed after winning 27 games, finishing fourth in the SEC regular-season standings and playing for the SEC Tournament title.

Florida (29-4) took control of the title game in the first half, with the Gators going to work with its size advantage in the post and leaning on its veteran guards on the perimeter.

Walter Clayton Jr. led the way with 22 points, Will Richard scored 17, Alex Condon had 13 and Thomas Haugh scored 11.

Tennessee was down 13 when Gainey scored eight straight midway through the second half. He hit a three, followed with a three-point play, then hit two foul shots on three straight possessions to turn a 60-47 deficit at 10:46 into a five-point game at 8:56.

Tennessee got the deficit down to five points three different times in the second half — at 8:56, 8:31, 7:57 and 7:07 — but each time the Gators either answered with free throws or a three.

The lead was back to 12 after Haugh delivered a dagger three with 4:42 left and Richard hit two foul shots on the next possession to make it 14.  

Tennessee trailed by as many as 12 points in the first half

Tennessee trailed by as many as 12 points in the first half and was down 39-30 at halftime, after Denzel Aberdeen made a deep three at the horn to close the half.

Two Zeigler threes had helped the Vols turn a 32-20 deficit into a six-point game, at 36-30, before Aberdeen’s shot stretched the lead back to nine. 

Gainey had 10 points in the first half and Zeigler had nine. Lanier scored five but picked up his second foul midway through the first half. 

Richard scored 11 in the first half to lead Florida, which shot 45.2% from the field and 35.7% from the 3-point line. Aberdeen and Clayton scored seven each in the first half.

Up Next: Selection Sunday, 6 p.m. ET, CBS

Tennessee will likely be a No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament when the 68-team bracket is released Sunday evening.

The Vols entered Sunday widely projected as the top No. 2 seed after beating Auburn on Saturday, while Alabama lost 104-82 against Florida. 

Most projections have Lexington as the first weekend location for Tennessee, which would have the Vols playing at Rupp Arena on Thursday in the first round.

Tennessee has been a No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament four times: 2006, 2008, 2019 and 2024. The Vols went to the Elite Eight last season, went to the Sweet 16 in 2019 and 2008 and lost in the second round in 2006.

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