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Tennessee was unbeaten and the top-ranked team in the land when it was annihilated by 30 points by Florida on Jan. 7.

Three-plus-weeks later, the No. 8 Volunteers will try to avenge that shellacking when they face the No. 5 Gators on Saturday afternoon in Southeastern Conference play at Knoxville, Tenn.

Tennessee (17-4, 4-4) has lost three of its past four games, but its decline began with the 73-43 loss at Florida. The Volunteers never led, trailed by as many as 36 points, and shot just 21.4 percent (12 of 56) from the field.

Tennessee coach Rick Barnes knows the Gators (18-2, 5-2) will be itching to finish a regular-season sweep.

“It won’t get any easier,” Barnes said of his team being 3-4 after the 14-0 start. “I know our guys are disappointed — which, I know how much they care, I know how hard they work. … So we can get better and we’ve got to get better. And, knowing what I know about these guys, I think we will get better.”

The Volunteers lost 78-73 at home against No. 12 Kentucky on Tuesday, three days after dropping a 53-51 decision at top-ranked Auburn.

Tennessee was just 11 of 45 from 3-point range against Kentucky, with Zakai Zeigler making just 1 of 11 and Chaz Lanier hitting 3 of 10.

Igor Milicic Jr. led the Volunteers with 19 points and nine rebounds. He ranks fourth on the squad in scoring (10.4) and leads in rebounding (8.1).

Lanier leads Tennessee in scoring (17.8) and 3-pointers (74). Zeigler is averaging 12.3 points and a team-leading 7.4 assists, and Jordan Gainey chips in 10.8 points per game.

Though the Volunteers were blasted by the Gators, their other three setbacks are by a combined eight points.

“You know, we’re in the best league in the country against a team that has had big wins,” Barnes said of Florida. “There’s no given that we’re going to win every game, even if we play well. We want to win every game, but that team we’re playing? They want to win, too.”

The Gators have won three straight games and five of their last six. They are well-rested, as they did not have a mid-week game this week.

Florida coach Todd Golden also feels relieved after the school cleared him of wrongdoing in a Title IX investigation. The 39-year-old Golden was accused of stalking, sexual exploitation and sexual harassment by multiple women, including sending unwanted photos and videos of his genitalia.

“Happy to put it behind us,” Golden said during a Thursday press conference. “Moving forward, we’ll continue to have our full attention on our team and then the game on Saturday. Look forward to talking about basketball with you guys.”

Sweeping Tennessee would be quite an achievement for the Gators, and Golden said the earlier victory should boost his team’s confidence.

“Just going into one of the best venues in college basketball and holding on to your guts enough for 40 or 45 minutes, whatever it takes to find a way to win,” Golden said of the approach. “It would be a great feather to put in our cap. And I think if we can somehow find a way to win on Saturday, I think we, at this time, should be a (No. 1) seed (in the NCAA Tournament), to be honest.”

The Gators are coming off an 89-59 rout of visiting Georgia on Saturday. Walter Clayton Jr. (17 points, five steals) and Alijah Martin (17 points, four steals) led five Florida players in double digits in scoring.

Clayton leads the Gators with a 17.8 scoring average, and Martin averages 16.1.

The recent win was just Florida’s third in the past 11 meetings with the Volunteers.

–Field Level Media