Tennessee 64, No. 6 Florida 58: Jordan McRae had 27 points, seven rebounds and four assists as the host Volunteers improved their NCAA Tournament resume substantially with their sixth straight win.

Tennessee (17-10, 9-6 SEC) won the only regular-season meeting behind McRae and a grinding defense that held Florida (22-5, 12-3) to 4-of-17 shooting from beyond the arc.

The Gators cut the deficit to 58-54 on Scottie Wilbekin’s driving layup with 2:03 left. After a Tennessee miss, Kenny Boynton (1-of-7, 0-of-4 on 3-pointers) missed an open 3-pointer from the wing and the Volunteers' Jarnell Stokes all but sealed it with a putback three-point play.

The Gators, whose lead over Alabama shrunk to one game, failed to clinch a double-bye in the conference tournament despite Mike Rosario's 16 points. Florida has dropped seven of its last eight visits to Thompson-Boling Arena.

McRae scored 17 points in the first half, helping the Volunteers to a 35-32 lead at the break. Stokes finished with 14 rebounds and eight points.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Florida played without guard Michael Frazier II, who suffered a concussion in Saturday’s win over Arkansas. … The Volunteers are 13-3 in February under second-year coach Cuonzo Martin. … Under coach Billy Donovan, Florida is 16-18 against Tennessee.