No. 6 Florida Basketball Deals Commodores Second Straight Loss
No. 6 Florida Gators (19-3, 6-3) bounced back from an embarrassing weekend performance by exploding in the second half for an 86-75 victory over the Vanderbilt Commodores (16-6, 4-5).
The Gators, without leading scorer Walter Clayton Jr., turned a one-point halftime deficit into an 11-point victory thanks to hot shooting as Florida converted 10-of-21 from the 3-point line with guard Will Richard leading the way making five of seven from deep, scoring 16 of his 21 points in the second half.
Florida’s Urban Klavzar hit back-to-back 3-point shots off the bench to put the exclamation point on a 17-6 second-half run that vaulted the Gators into a double-digit lead that the home team maintained until the conclusion.
Vanderbilt fought the entire game as they looked for their third top-10 victory in three weeks, however, the Commodores' cold shooting from beyond the arc made the difference. Vanderbilt made just six-of-19 from deep with only three coming in the second half. The Commodores' second problem came from the free throw line as they were outscored from the charity stripe 14-to-7.
Vanderbilt's Jason Edwards let the Commodores, scoring 21 points but didn't get enough help to pull off the upset. Forward Jaylen Carey pitched in with 15 points and five rebounds, but fouled out with 4:47 left to play, virtually ending any Vanderbilt hope of a victory.
Florida was more aggressive along the interior outrebounding the Commodores 35 to 29 as Vanderbilt struggled to contain Alex Condon inside, particularly after Carey fouled out. Condon finished with 19 points, nine rebounds and four assists.
The Commodores return to Memorial Gymnasium on Saturday to face the Texas Longhorns at 12 p.m. CT.
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My name is Joe Gaither and I graduated from the University of Alabama in 2018. I began my sports media career in radio in 2019, working for three years in Tuscaloosa covering the University of Alabama and other local high school sports. In 2023 I began my career with On SI writing and covering predominantly college athletics with a focus on the University of Alabama, University of Missouri and Vanderbilt.