At the Buzzer: Florida 50, Vanderbilt 47 (Instant Analysis)
Thursday, February 19, 2015 | Men's Basketball, Chris Harry
AT THE BUZZER
FLORIDA 50, VANDERBILT 47
WHAT HAPPENED: At Gainesville, freshman forward Devin Robinson took a baseline pass from point guard Kasey Hill, elevated and power-slammed a dunk with 2.1 seconds left to help give the tail-spinning, undermanned Gators a much-needed Southeastern Conference victory over the Commodores at the O'Connell Center. UF, playing with leading scorer Michael Frazier II still out with a sprained ankle and second-leading scorer and top rebounder Dorian Finney-Smith suspended for violation of team rules, overcame an horrific offensive first with a 13-point second half run and built a seve-point lead. Vandy came back, though, to take a 47-46 lead with 44 seconds to go, but Robinson's play -- 17 seconds after Hill missed two free throws -- gave Florida the lead back and freshman guard Chris Chiozza's two free throws with 1.2 seconds left iced.
WHAT IT MEANS: Florida snapped a four-game losing streak that was longest for the program since the 2007-08 season. It also kept the Gators floating above the final four teams at the bottom of the Southeastern Conference standings. Those four teams will have to play the unenviable Wednesday night draw -- ie, the first night -- of the 5-day league tournament in Nashville next month.
IN THE SPOTLIGHT: With Finney-Smith out, junior forward Alex Murphy got just the second start of his brief UF career -- the first since Dec. 30 at Florida State -- and stepped up. Murphy came in averaging 4.7 points and 2.0 rebounds, but finished with a career-best 11 points, matching the most he scored during his time at Duke before transferring to UF last year.
STAGGERING STATISTICS: Both teams had woeful scoreless droughts, with UF going the final 8-plus minutes of the first half without a field goal and Vandy going nearly nine minutes in the second half. When it was over, though, the Gators actually won a game despite shooting 36 percent from the floor, 23.5 percent from the 3-point line and 50 percent (just 10 of 20) from the free-throw line.
UP NEXT: The Gators (13-13, 6-7) go back on the SEC road with a Saturday nationally televised game at LSU (18-8, 7-6). The Tigers, smashed UF 79-61 on Jan. 20, figure to be in a sour mood, having lost three of their last five and fighting to up their NCAA Tournament resume, which is a precarious 52nd. For Florida coach Billy Donovan, the game will mark his first chance to hit the 500-victory milestone, as he'll head to Baton Rouge with a 21-season record of 499-202.
