Live Blog: No. 4 Seed Vanderbilt Basketball vs. No. 1 Seed Florida, SEC Tournament

It is an opportunity for revenge for No. 4 seed Vanderbilt as it takes on No. 1 seed Florida in the first semifinal of the SEC Tournament.

The Commodores take on a red hot Gators team for the right to play in the SEC Tournament Championship. The two teams played just one time this season this season, where Vanderbilt fell to Florida 98-94 in Nashville on Jan. 17.

But after nearly two months, Vanderbilt and Florida meet again. A lot has changed since the first meeting. The Commodores had just one loss at the time of the first meeting while Florida was just starting to get its footing after a slow start to the season.

Since then, Florida has lost just one game, falling to Auburn on Jan. 24. The Gators have catapulted up the rankings and are considered among the best teams in the country with a legitimate shot to win back-to-back National Championships.

But Vanderbilt will look to spoil the momentum Florida has right now. The Commodores went through a rough stretch in mid-February where they lost three out of four games, but have since won three consecutive games. With two of those wins coming against its in-state rival, the entire vibe and feel of the team heading into the NCAA Tournament has changed.

The keys for Vanderbilt today are going to have to be holding its own against Florida’s versatility and physicality. The Commodores were able to match Tennessee’s physicality yesterday, but today presents an even heightened challenge in the paint.

Vanderbilt is also going to have to defend the perimeter better this time around against Florida. In the first meeting, Florida hit nine three-pointers as Gators’ guard Xavien Lee scored 20 points on 8-for-13 shooting. Today, Vanderbilt’s guards are going to have to outduel Florida’s in order to win.

Tipoff between Vanderbilt and Florida is set for approximately 12 p.m. CT on ESPN

Follow the live blog here for live updates from today’s Vanderbilt-Florida game.

Live Blog

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Second Half

Vanderbilt calls timeout after a 6-0 Florida run. Commodores lead 84-70 with 2:22 to go.

We have arrived at the final media timeout and Vanderbilt is up 82-64 with 3:23 to go. Florida has clearly grown frustrated by how well Vanderbilt has played today.

Devin McGlockton drills a three to go up 74-51 and Florida head coach Todd Golden was just t'd up. What an atmosphere and day for the Commodores.

Chandler Bing just dunked it so hard a piece of equipment fell off the backboard. 67-46. That is quite the way to get to 67 points.

What a great sequence for Chandler Bing, grabbing a defensive rebound off a missed Florida free throw before getting an o-board on the other end of the floor that results in an and-1 opportunity on the other side of the timeout. 64-46 Vanderbilt.

“VU” chants are ringing out in Bridgestone Arena with Vanderbilt up 60-44 at the 14 minute mark. What a game we have right now.

“VU” chants are ringing out in Bridgestone Arena with Vanderbilt up 60-44 at the 14 minute mark. pic.twitter.com/3usoaVzwfz
— Graham Baakko (@GrahamBaakko) March 14, 2026

Alex Condon has four fouls, Chinyelu has three fouls. What a position Vanderbilt has found itself in up 55-39 at the under 16 minute mark.

First Half

By the way, Tyler Tanner has two steals. He has just broken the single-season program record for steals in a season. His 78 steals just passed James Strong's 77 that he had in the 1998-1999 season.

HALF: Vanderbilt leads 47-34 at half. What a half for the Commodores, who were highly efficient for nearly the entire half.

Vanderbilt is out to its largest lead of the game with a 36-23 lead. Leverett has given great minutes these past couple minutes while Tyler Nickel has hit a three and gotten the Commodores to score in transition.

26-19 Vanderbilt at the under-8 media timeout. The Commodores have now hit four threes and and have defended really well these past few minutes.

Duke Miles completes a four-point play and Florida is called for an offensive foul the next possession. Momentum is all in Vanderbilt's favor with a 11-0 run. 23-14 Vanderbilt.

Florida challenged for a hook and hold and was wrong, so Florida loses a timeout. Vanderbilt fans behind me cheered for official Doug Shows as the call was made.

AK Okereke picks up his second foul at the 12-minute mark of the first half. Not good when trying to defend against a talented frontcourt like Florida's.

A really entertaining first five minutes of play here as the two teams are combined 10-for-16 from the floor. Vanderbilt leads 12-10 early on. Commodores have played solid defense on most possessions, but Florida has hit some tough shots.

Pregame

We are a little over an hour from tipoff as media members start to fill into the stadium. It is currently the calm before the storm of the two games begin. I imagine fans are also going to be filing any minute soon as well.

What a game we have here today as Vanderbilt looks to avenge its loss to Florida in the semifinals of the SEC Tournament. As with all conference tournaments, the deeper the tournament goes, the larger the crowd. I expect a large crowd on hand. What will be interesting to see is the division between Vanderbilt and Florida fans today.

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