Florida Gators to Face Vanderbilt in Second Round of SEC Tournament

Freshly removed from a 79-68 victory over Texas A&M, the No. 12 Vanderbilt Commodores (9-15) will take the court again on Thursday night to face the No. 5 Florida Gators (13-8) in the second round of the SEC Tournament.

It marks the first contest for the Gators within the tournament as Vanderbilt and Texas A&M played for rights to enter the thick of the bracket. The game, set to be aired on SEC Network, will begin at 2:30 P.M. ET from Bridgestone Area in Nashville, Tenn.

Florida enters its first matchup in the tournament as its up-and-down regular season freeps towards a close. After its first three games of the 2020-21 campaign were postponed due to COVID-19 concerns, the Gators kicked off an impressive three-game win streak.

Game four of that stretch saw star forward Keyontae Johnson collapse on the court at Florida State (now 11-4), seemingly throwing a wrench in UF's hot start. Including a loss to FSU and since Johnson was ruled out for the season, which came as UF postponed its next four games, UF has gone 10-8.

Impressive wins were notched over the likes of West Virginia (11-6), Tennessee (17-7), and LSU (16-8), while the Gators have also disappointingly dropped games to Kentucky (8-9), Mississippi State (8-10), South Carolina (4-12), and Missouri (8-8) since the beginning of January.

UF had a third stretch of games postponed in the latter half of the season due to COVID-19 concerns, seemingly eliminating any chance to obtain momentum entering the conference tournament.

Will that prove pivotal as Florida prepares to take on Vanderbilt, a team that the Gators defeated by double-digits in late December and again, although by seven points the second time, a month later? The Commodores are a quietly stingy team, playing it close in a two-point loss to Alabama (21-6) and defeating Mississippi State (14-13) in February.

Florida will look to guard Tre Mann for production when it matters most, after the projected borderline first-to-second round NBA Draft pick missed the regular-season finale in a loss to Tennessee this past Sunday. Finding sustainability from a complementary contributor - such as big man Colin Castleton - as well as an improved effort all around from Florida's role players, will be key as Florida aims for a favorable spot in the NCAA Tournament.