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Led by their stellar backcourt and their forwards’ prowess on the glass, Florida torched No. 1 Tennessee, 73-43, Tuesday night in Gainesville.

The Gators opened the game with a 12-0 lead and limited Tennessee’s open opportunities throughout the first half. The Volunteers finally got on the scoreboard nearly seven minutes after the opening tip, from a Felix Okpara free throw. Florida would stretch the lead to nineteen at the halftime break at 34-15.

Tennessee made just four of twenty-nine field goal attempts in the opening twenty minutes. Additionally, the defense forced the Vols to shoot 0-14 from beyond the three point arc in the opening period of play.

Tennessee’s knack for hot shooting forced the Gators to come out strong and not give an opening to UT. The team came out strong and built on an already large lead. Before the first media timeout of the second half, Florida had built it’s lead up to twenty-five at 43-18. From there it became a matter of how many field goals the Gators would surrender to Tennessee and if the Vols would surpass double-digits.

With 1:39 remaining in regulation, Igor Milicic knocked down a three for Tennessee’s tenth made basket of the contest. It made the score 67-39.

The Gators knocked off the final unbeaten team in division one by limiting Tennessee to just 21% from the floor and 4-29 from deep. Meanwhile, Florida shot 40% overall and 30% from three.

This was the first time the Gators had beaten the nation’s number one ranked team at home in program history.

Alijah Martin finished with a team high 18 points. Denzel Aberdeen added 16 points off the bench. The front court duo of Alex Condon (12 points, 12 rebounds) and Rueben Chinyelu (4 points, 15 rebounds) combined for ten offensive boards that extended many possessions. The Gators outrebounded Tennessee 55-38.

Florida did exactly what they needed against the nation’s No. 1 ranked team. They managed a 1-1 record against the cream of the SEC crop in Kentucky and Tennessee. The Gators return to action on Saturday against Arkansas.

The Razorbacks are 0-1 in SEC play after falling to Tennessee 76-52 on Saturday. Arkansas will face No. 23 Ole Miss Wednesday before hosting Florida. The game will air on ESPN with tipoff schedule for 4:00 PM.