Florida Gators vs. Vanderbilt: Preview, Info, Where to Watch and More

Photo: Todd Golden; Credit: Zach Goodall

Florida (13-11; 6-5 SEC) is looking to put a 28-point bludgeoning at the hands of the Alabama Crimson Tide behind it as Vanderbilt (12-12; 5-6 SEC) enters Gainesville on Saturday.

The two squads enter on polar opposite ends of the momentum spectrum following the Gators' blowout loss and the Commodores' buzzer-beater victory over No. 6 Tennessee on Wednesday. However, UF is in must-win mode as it vies for a last-second entry to the Big Dance come March 12.

For the Gators to make their push for an at-large bid in March Madness, sealing a victory against the Commodores in the first of two meetings in the next 14 days is crucial.

You can find everything you need to know about the matchup below.

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Florida Gators vs. Vanderbilt Commodores

Where: Exactech Arena at the Stephen C. O'Connell Center, Gainesville, Fla.

When: Saturday, Feb. 11 at 3:30 p.m. EST

Watch: SECN

Radio: Gator Sports Network from LEARFIELD / SiriusXM 85/191 / SXM App 962

Odds: Florida is a nine-point favorite over Vanderbilt, according to the Sports Illustrated Sportsbook. The over/under is set at 139.5 points.

Series history: The Gators are 73-71 all-time against the Commodores, including 45-20 at home. In the last matchup between the two on March 1, 2022, Florida outlasted Vanderbilt 82-78 in Nashville.

Important stories

The rundown

Win the games you're expected to win. That's the motto for Florida at this point in the season, and something they've done — for the most part — throughout the year.

In the closing stretch of the season, the Gators are in a unique spot of contention with seven games remaining. After giving themselves a chance with a victory over Tennessee on Feb. 1, they're in control of their own destiny.

That involves knocking off the teams beneath them in the NET rankings.

"I feel like we need to win the games that we're supposed to win – Vandy and teams like that," freshman Riley Kugel said on Feb. 3. "No disrespect, they're good teams, but we should be able to beat those teams."

"I feel like we're just a very good team. We can compete. We should be able to get the job done the rest of the season."

The Gators fell in both the offensive and defensive efficiency categories per KenPom after uncharacteristically allowing 97 points on 49.3% from the field and nine threes to Alabama on Wednesday. The unit, which ranked as high as the eighth-best defensive team in the nation not too long ago, fell to No. 11 in AdjD after the loss.

Vanderbilt presents an opportunity to reconcile that performance. Sitting as the nation's No. 48 offense, scoring 71 points per game in conference play, the Commodores are led by center Liam Roberts and guard Tyrin Lawrence on the scoreboard. They've accounted for 13.4 and 11.4 points on average, respectively.

Ezra Manjon leads the team with 3.3 assists per game.

The unit saw early success offensively, scoring at a high clip six games into the SEC slate, but has declined rapidly since. In the last five games, Vandy is posting just 60.6 points per game, nearly 11 points behind their SEC total.

Florida's top 15 defense will look to force Vanderbilt to maintain that recent slump.

With Colin Castleton — one of the league's best rim protectors — working on Roberts, the Gators will have a perfect formula for combatting what the Commodores attempt to produce.

On the flip side, the Gators will have a chance to overcome their volatility on the offensive end against the No. 180-ranked defense in the nation. Castleton will hope to add his fourth-straight game of 20 points, but a second contributor will have to step up to propel UF to a victory.

Florida hopes for at least one of Kugel, Kyle Lofton, Will Richard or Myreon Jones to emerge as that guy.

The matchup, as a whole, bodes well to get back on track quickly after the bitter loss on the road. Golden's unit — on paper and based on the on-court production this season — should find ways o win the strength-on-strength and weakness-on-weakness matchups.

If it can't, it's time to hit the panic button on the dream of a spot in March Madness.

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