Pregame Stuff: Florida at Vanderbilt (Saturday, 4 pm ET)
Friday, February 16, 2018 | Men's Basketball, Chris Harry
Share:
A nuts and bolts look at UF's road trip to Nashville.
By: Chris Harry, Senior Writer
FLORIDA at VANDERBILT
When: Saturday, 4 p.m. (EST) Where: Memorial Coliseum, Nashville, Tenn. Records: Florida (17-9, 8-5); Vanderbilt (10-16, 4-9) TV: ESPN2 (Tom Hart and Sean Farnham) Radio: Gator IMG Sports Network (Mick Hubert and Bill Koss)
STAKES (The Setup)
The Gators have won just once at Memorial Coliseum (capacity 14,316) since 2012, with that lone victory (in five tries).
Florida is likely still stinging from Wednesday night's collapse at home against Georgia, which erased an 11-point deficit over the final 10 minutes, and a seven-point hole over the final 1:26, to stun the Gators 72-69 and complete the first sweep in a UF-UGA regular-season series in 21 years. The loss snapped a two-game winning streak for the Gators and dumped them into a tie for third place in the Southeastern Conference standings alongside Alabama and Missouri, and one game behind second-place Tennessee. ... Vanderbilt has spent the entire season in the league cellar, but has won two of three -- including a buzzer-beating home defeat of Mississippi State on Wednesday -- and now share that last-place spot with two other teams (South Carolina and Ole Miss). ... Vanderbilt leads the all-time series 70-64, including a 47-17 record at home. The Commodores had beaten the Gators five straight until UF's 81-74 win Dec. 30 at Gainesville that marked the start of the SEC season. In that one, UF held Vandy to just 28-percent shooting in the first half to take a 40-20 lead, but the Commodores shot 51 percent and scored 54 points after halftime to make things close before Egor Koulechovhelped put the game away with 22 points, eight rebounds and a 10-for-10 effort from the free-throw line. ... Florida's win eight weeks ago was first for Coach Mike White in the series. STARTERS (Probable Lineups)
He's only 6-6, but forward Jeff Roberson, the senior from Houston, has made a career out of playing much, much bigger. He's certainly had some moments against the Gators, including 18 points and seven rebounds in the first meeting this season. Roberson has been a poster child for the Vanderbilt program, what with his SEC All-Academic honors last season, in addition to helping guide the Commodores to the 2017 NCAA Tournament. This season, Roberson ranks seventh in the league in scoring, fifth in rebounding, is hitting 48.7 percent overall and 39.7 from the 3-point line. He's savvy in the post and knows how to use his body, evidenced by his team-high 144 free-throw attempts (more than 40 than his closest teammate), of which he's converted 84.8 percent. Florida's season-long issues with matching up against quality post players will come into play against Roberson, no matter who gets the assignment.
STUFF (Need-to-Know Info)
Egor KoulechovABOUT THE GATORS: They're 2-4 over the previous six SEC games, with three of those losses coming at home. In overall league play, UF is 4-2 on the road, so maybe a trip to Nashville is what this team needs right now. ... This will mark White's 50th conference game on the UF sidelines. He's 31-18 against the SEC, with those 31 wins the second-most (behind Kentucky's John Calipari's 53) among the seven coaches who have been in the league during White's three seasons. ... Florida leads the SEC in turnover margin (plus-4.0), is second in 3-pointers per game (9.1) and third in steals per game (7.0). As for that middle statistic, it's mostly inflated by the early season prowess from deep, as the Gators have come back to the pack considerably when it comes to their productivity from the arc. Florida has averaged just five made 3s over the last three games and just six over the previous six SEC contests (which has a lot do with the aforementioned 2-4 mark in those games). Meanwhile, UF remains last in the SEC at defending the 3-point line (.358). Though the Gators only gave up 6-for-18 shooting from deep against Georgia, half of those makes came in the final 1:08 when the Dogs erased a seven-point lead to force overtime. ... Point guard Chris Chiozza, perhaps through the fatigue of logging 31 minutes a game this season, is just 10-for-35 from the floor, 1-for-9 from the arc, and 3-for-7 from the free-throw line over the last four games. ... Leading scorer Jalen Hudson, who started the last four games after coming off the bench the six before that, went scoreless for the first time in a UF uniform Wednesday, despite playing 22 minutes. ... GuardKeVaughn Allen had his best game offensive game in nearly a month in scoring 19 points against the Bulldogs. His 14 shots exemplified his aggression, but he still turned down opportunities to drive the basketball and get the free-throw line, where he leads the SEC at 91.7 percent. ... Forward Egor Koulechov 19 points, hit three
Riley LaChance
of five 3s, and grabbed six rebounds last game. ... For the first time in six games, center Kevarrius Hayesgrabbed at least seven rebounds, but Georgia's Yante Maten gave Hayes (and anyone guarding him) fits in the post. Roberson is not as versatile or skilled with his offensive moves at Maten, but he's a high-motor and physical player who can take Hayes, Keith Stone, Dontay Bassett low or bring that out of the lane with the ability to hit 3s. ... Freshman guard Mike Okauru (4.0 ppg) has provided a big lift off the bench of late, averaging 10.3 points over the previous three games after scoring 14 on 5-for-6 shooting against Georgia. That was Okauru's season-high in SEC play. He also had a couple steals. ... ABOUT THE COMMODORES: In Year 2 under Coach Bryce Drew, they opened the SEC season by losing five of the first six, but they've gone 4-4 since, including an 15-point blowout of Georgia last week. Their lone win during that ugly 1-5 start was over Alabama, which pummeled the Gators by 18 in Gainesville. This is a capable bunch, especially when it gets things going from the outside. ... The team is 4-5 since losing senior forward Matthew Fisher-Davis (11.9 ppg, 5.1 rpg), a noted Gator-killer, to a season--ending shoulder injury. ... Vandy is coming off a thrilling 81-80 home win over Mississippi State, as guard Riley LaChance nailed a 3-pointer with 0.5 seconds left. In that game, the Commodores went 14-for-27 from the 3-point line. They're shooting 34.3 percent from deep in SEC play, which rates sixth. ... The Commodores' biggest weakness is on the defensive end, as they rank last in the conference in field-goal percentage defense (.481) and defending the 3-point line (.436). ... LaChance, a senior who also has been known to stick it to the Gators over the years, had 16 points in the win over MSU, as did sophomore guard Payton Willis (6.2 ppg, 2.6 rpg), a solid off-the-bench guy the last two seasons. ... Roberson had 22 points and 11 rebounds in the last outing. ... Saben Lee, who ranks fourth on the team in scoring and second in assists with 78, is on pace to be named to the SEC All-Freshman team. ... If the Gators want to take a rare sweep of a regular-season series against Vandy, this may be their best chance. The Commodores have a top-10 freshman class due in next season, with a pair of consensus top 20 prospects s in the Class of '18 in forward Simisola Shittu (No. 7 by Rivals) and point guard Darius Garland (No. 18), plus guard Aaron Nesmith (No. 68).
STATS (Some Numbers of Note)
Former UF star Dorian Finney-Smith and a scene from 2014, the last time the Gators defeated Vanderbilt on the road.
* .593 — UF's free-throw percentage in the home loss to Georgia, based on 16-for-27 from the line.
* 900 — UF's free-throw percentage in the first meeting against Vanderbilt, based on 27-for-30 from the line.
* 4 — Losses by Florida this season after building double-digit second-half leads (Duke, Clemson, South Carolina and Georgia, the latter two both at home).
* 35 — Bench points by the Gators against Georgia, a season-high in SEC play -- and one more than the 34 tallied by the five starters.
* 2014 — The only year over the past six the Gators have defeated the Commodores at Memorial Gym. That, of course, was the UF team that made history by becoming the league's first program to go 18-0 in SEC play. The date was Feb. 26 and it was the first night of the season (and first time in seven years) the Gators played as the nation's No. 1-ranked team, and it was sophomore Dorian Finney-Smith's 19 points and nine rebounds off the bench that keyed a 57-54 win. Finney-Smith went into the game having missed 22 of his previous 23 shots from the 3-point line, but made three long balls, the last coming with 30.6 seconds left to help seal the outcome. Senior center Patric Young had 12 points and seven rebounds. Florida improved to 26-2 overall and 15-0 in league play.
STATEMENT (Random thought)
Five regular-season games remaining, and this road date at Vanderbilt (normally a house of horror for the Gators) looms as the easiest of them all. That pretty much sums up the daunting task the team faces in the home stretch of their season.
Florida Baseball | Orange & Blue Series RecapFlorida Baseball | Orange & Blue Series Recap
Wednesday, November 19
Gator Insider presented by Talon Wealth (November 18, 2025)Gator Insider presented by Talon Wealth (November 18, 2025)
Tuesday, November 18
Inside Gators Football presented by UF Health (November 18, 2025)Inside Gators Football presented by UF Health (November 18, 2025)
Tuesday, November 18
Florida Men's Basketball | Rueben Chinyelu and Alex Condon Post Double-DoublesFlorida Men's Basketball | Rueben Chinyelu and Alex Condon Post Double-Doubles
