GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Colin Castleton scored 20 points — 16 of which came in the second half — and led the Florida Gators to a 67-54 upset over the second-ranked Tennessee Volunteers on Wednesday night.
The loss snapped a five-game win streak for the Volunteers, who were sporting their highest ranking in four year. They also became the 10th different team to lose while being ranked in the AP top-two this season.
As Castleton registered a game-high in points, Kyle Lofton added 14 points, Myreon Jones and Will Richard chipped in nine points each to help aid the Gators in giving coach Todd Golden his most significant victory in his first season in Gainesville.
Florida came out red hot to start the game, hitting six of their first eight shots from the field — including 3-of-3 from behind the arc — to build up a 17-4 lead.
But Tennessee and it's nation's top defense would cool the Gators off, who went on the miss nine of their next 11 shots. Behind the defensive effort, the Volunteers would cut the deficit to 22-21.
The Vols (18-4, 7-2 SEC) seemed to take control of the game midway through the second half, getting Zakai Zeigler into the paint and attacking the Gators. Tennessee would outscore Florida by 10 points in the early going and hold a six-point lead.
But the Gators (13-9, 6-3) would not go away, as Castleton scored 11 of the next 14 points to help Florida rally back. The senior scored in a variety of ways — a dunk, two free throws, a three-point play, a layup and a short jumper — to lead his team down the stretch.
Zeigler led all Vols scorers with 15 points on 6-of-19 shooting. Olivier Nkamhoua scored 11 points and nine rebounds, and Santiago Vescovi added 11 points and eight boards.
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