Tennessee Lady Vols basketball vs. Florida: Scouting report, score prediction

Lady Vols basketball has a rematch already in SEC play.

Tennessee (14-6, 6-0 SEC) faces Florida (12-6, 1-4) at Thompson-Boling Arena on Thursday (6:30 p.m. ET, SEC Network+), just three weeks after squaring off in Gainesville to start conference play. The Lady Vols notched an important 77-67 win to fuel an undefeated start and the Gators have struggled ever since.

Here's what you need to know about the rematch:

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Florida's defense unable to hold back opponents

The Gators are on a three-game losing streak, and each of those opponents have scored more than 80 points.

Arkansas did the most damage, blowing Florida out by a score of 102-74. Georgia beat the Gators 82-77 and Kentucky beat them 81-75 – both losses were at home. The last two games were lost by slim margins, but there's a common theme: opponents getting to the free throw line.

The Razorbacks managed to pair that with great 3-point shooting, going 12-for-30 behind the arc. But all three teams got 28 or more free throw attempts, and all three teams made at least 20. Kentucky made 23-of-28, Georgia went 20-for-30 and Arkansas hit 26-of-35.

Alberte Rimdal hasn't replicated Tennessee performance

For the first three quarters, Alberte Rimdal was the only player finding success against the Lady Vols' defense.

She scored a career-high 21 points, but she has yet to score more than 12 points in a game since. KK Deans and Nina Rickards have led Florida's offense since the Tennessee game. In Florida's last three games, Deans is averaging 20 points and Rickards is averaging 13.7.

But the Gators also have their leading scorer back. Leilani Correa averages a team-leading 15.1 points off the bench, and she returned to play Sunday against Kentucky after missing six games.

The Gators can be turnover machine on offense

Florida only committed fewer than 20 turnovers against Arkansas in its last three losses.

Georgia forced Florida into 23 turnovers, nine of them steals, and scored 26 points off them. Kentucky tallied a whopping 17 steals to force 24 turnovers and score 28 points off them. Tennessee faced a similar struggle against Georgia, but played better defense to limit scoring opportunities from the live-ball turnovers.

Florida's turnover problem should be an emphasis for Tennessee's defense with Jordan Horston, Jordan Walker and Tess Darby racking up steals in SEC play.

Tennessee needs to look sharp before tough stretch

Thursday is the last game before a very tough stretch for the Lady Vols.

Tennessee plays at Missouri on Sunday, which won't be an easy road game despite the Tigers' 3-3 SEC record. Then the Lady Vols have UConn at home on Jan. 26, followed by LSU on the road Jan. 30.

So, Tennessee needs to look sharp in its rematch with Florida. It's a chance to build some confidence in areas like limiting turnovers, playing disciplined team defense for 40 minutes and controlling the pace of the game. The Lady Vols are undefeated in conference play, but they need to prove they can win the big games like UConn and LSU.

Score prediction

Tennessee 82, Florida 65: The Lady Vols' defense has not arrived by any means, but they held Georgia to 55 points and Georgia scored 82 against Florida. Tennessee has built off of each game, and I don't believe it will make the same mistakes as the first matchup. Thursday should be a solid win for the Lady Vols going into a crucial stretch of the schedule.

This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Lady Vols basketball vs. Florida: Scouting report, score prediction