With the Gators down just 5 points and 16 seconds still left on the clock, fans began to file out of the O'Connell Center.
At that point, they must have known what was coming.
Tyler Smith scored 19 points Sunday and Tennessee (18-10, 9-5 Southeastern Conference) beat UF (21-8, 8-6 SEC) 79-75.
It was the Volunteers' fifth straight win against the Gators and their seventh in the last eight contests.
With the loss, UF's 17-game home winning streak came to an end.
"I can't say they just have our number because there are always different players in the game, but we just have a hard time (with them)," said guard Erving Walker, who finished with 16 points.
Tennessee came into the game as the conference's second-worst 3-point shooting team.
They knocked down 10 against UF, with seven coming in the first half.
The Volunteers made 12 during their win against the Gators earlier this year in Knoxville.
Tennessee has shot 32 percent from downtown this season against the rest of the SEC, but has managed to shoot 48 percent in its two meetings with UF.
"We have a hard time guarding them on the perimeter," UF coach Billy Donovan said. "Their speed and athleticism, without question, causes us problems."
Tennessee shot 78 percent from long range and 66 percent from the field in a first half that saw the Volunteers lead by as many as 15 points.
Smith hit a leaning 3-pointer at the buzzer, and Tennessee took a 45-33 lead into halftime.
Meanwhile, the Gators struggled, shooting 39 percent from the field in the first half.
"When you get down that much, it's hard to come back," forward Chandler Parsons said. "We fought, but when you get down like that, it hurts."
The Gators chipped away at the Volunteers' lead in the second half, almost closing the gap.
Back-to-back threes from Dan Werner and Walker and two foul shots by Nick Calathes (20 points) cut the lead to 3 with 1:30 to play.
But again, the Gators failed to finish late in a close game.
Five UF fouls in the last 2:04 gave Tennessee enough free throws to hold on for the win.
"They have to understand what kind of plays that really affect the outcome of a game," Donovan said. "They have to understand that their margin for error is not very good."
With just two games left in SEC play, the Gators are once again scrambling for their NCAA Tournament lives.
"Each game that goes by is more important. We don't have many left," Werner said. "We didn't figure it out last year, so honestly I don't know (if we will)."
With games against Mississippi State and Kentucky still on the schedule, UF will likely have to win out to safely land a spot in this year's field of 65.
"Last year, we weren't even in the ballpark of being a good team. But we're right there now. We're just missing a few things," Werner said. "If we can figure them out, it can be a successful year still."
