The heralded showdown between the No. 8 Gators and No. 1 Tennessee never evolved into a barn-burner, which requires a degree of flammability from both parties. Instead, the Gators (14-1, 1-1 SEC) held the Vols to 12 field goals — and a 4-for-29 effort from 3-point range — in a 73-43 romp before an Exactech Arena crowd of 11,011.

The Florida Gators defeated a No. 1 team in the regular season for the first time in program history behind an 18-point effort from Alijah Martin.

Tennessee basketball is No.1 no more. The Florida Gators greeted the Volunteers with a harsh welcome on Tuesday night, obliterating Rick Barnes’ squad, 73-43, in the Stephen C. O’Connell Center. It was a brutal beatdown that puts the program in the kind of ratified air no one wants to breathe.

The last undefeated team in Division I college basketball finally fell in Gainesville Tuesday night, when the Florida Gators ran the top-ranked Tennessee Volunteers out of the O'Connell Center, 73-43.

While Florida is one of the country’s best offenses — No. 5 in Division I, scoring 88.3 points per game — Tennessee boasts one of the best defenses in the country, allowing just 55.9 points per game. That number is good for No. 2 across Division I.

The Gators moved to 3-17 all-time the Associated Press’s No. 1 team, picking up their first win since the 2007 national title game against Ohio State and first home victory in six tries.