Florida Gators

FLORIDA at VANDERBILT 

When: Wednesday, 9 p.m. (EST)
Where: Memorial Gymnasium, Nashville, Tenn.   
Records: Florida (16-11, 8-6), Vanderbilt (9-18, 0-14)  
TV: SEC Network (Mike Morgan and Barry Booker) 
Radio: Gator IMG Sports Network (Mick Hubert and Lee Humphrey) 



STAKES (The Setup)  A game between two teams moving in very different directions. Florida, with Saturday's 64-60 come-from-behind home defeat of Missouri, has won four straight and played itself back into contention for an NCAA Tournament at-large berth, providing the Gators can navigate the end of a Southeastern Conference schedule that will pit them against the two worst teams in the league (by record) this week and two of the three first-place teams (presently) next week. Vanderbilt, which is coming off a 68-61 loss at Alabama, is a team with some very good young players that belies a confounding winless league mark and should frighten the wits out of the Gators (maybe it does) and their coaching staff (it definitely does). ... UF trails the all-time series, 71-65, including a 17-48 mark at historic Memorial Gymnasium, where the Gators have lost four straight by a combined 15 points, with a blown double-digit lead in the second half there a season ago. ... The two teams last played two weeks ago in Gainesville, on Feb. 13, when UF got a career-best 15 points from forward Keyontae Johnson, plus 10 points off the bench from guard/forward Jalen Hudson. It was the Florida, defense, though that fueled the victory and helped snap a three-game losing streak by limiting the Commodores to just 27-percent shooting after halftime and by forcing 19 turnovers for the game. ... Florida is 2-6 vs. Vanderbilt in the four seasons under Coach Mike White, both wins coming the last two seasons.

STARTERS (Probable Lineups)

Florida	Pos.	Ht.	Wt.	Class	Per Game
Keyontae Johnson	F	6-5	225	Freshman	7.6 pts / 6.0 reb
Kevarrius Hayes	F	6-9	227	Senior	7.1 pts / 5.9 reb
Noah Locke	G	6-3	205	Freshman	10.7 pts / 2.5 reb
KeVaughn Allen	G	6-2	193	Senior	13.0 pts / 2.9 reb
Andrew Nembhard	PG	6-5	191	Freshman	7.7 pts / 2.7 reb / 5.3 ast

Vanderbilt	Pos.	Ht.	Wt.	Class	Per Game
Simisola Shittu	F	6-10	240	Freshman	11.6 pts / 6.9 reb
Matt Ryan	F	6-8	209	R-Junior	8.5 pts / 2.8 reb
Clevon Brown	F	6-8	240	Junior	3.1 pts / 2.6 reb
Aaron Nesmith	G	6-6	213	Freshman	11.6 pts / 5.9 reb
Saben Lee	PG	6-2	183	Sophomore	12.7 pts / 3.6 reb / 3.9 ast

STANDING OUT (One to Watch) 
STUFF (Need-to-Know Info)  ABOUT THE GATORS: They're the second-lowest scoring team in the SEC at 68.7 points per game, but during the current four-game winning streak UF is averaging 72.5 points per game (granted, one of those was an overtime game). White and his offense have been criticized this season for being too reliant on the 3-point shot. That has not been the case during this recent run, as 60 percent of Florida's field-goal attempts have been from inside the 3-point arc and 64 percent of the

Gators' field goals (25 of 69) have been 2s during the four consecutive wins. UF has averaged 28.3 points in the paint, but even better is what the Gators have done as far as getting to the free-throw line and knocking down shots. They've attempted 85 the previous four games. That's better than 21 per game. In the first 10 SEC games UF averaged 14.9 free throws per. The Gators also are shooting nearly 78 percent from the line in league play, which ranks third. They were a collective 25-for-30 against Missouri (.833), including 16 of 19 in the second half. ... Shooting guard KeVaughn Allen is at 15.5 points against SEC opponents, shooting nearly 42 percent from the floor, 39 from 3 and 92.6 from the free-throw line, with the latter stat upping his UF all-time best mark to 87.8 percent. ...  Since joining the starting lineup Jan. 19 at Georgia (11 games ago), forward Keyontae Johnson has averaged 8.1 rebounds and gone just one game where he's grabbed fewer than six and had five games where he's hauled in at least nine (with double-figure games, including that career-high 13 in the win at Alabama). He only had six boards against Mizzou, but three were in the final 1:18 when the Gators needed them to close the win. ... Center Kevarrius Hayes played just two minutes in the first half Saturday due to foul trouble, and only 16 total, but still finished with a plus-9 in the box score on his way to eight points. ... Backup guard and fifth-year senior Jalen Hudson was a plus-10, best on the team, in his 26 minutes off the bench against Mizzou when he made four of seven shots on the way to 11 points and his fourth double-figure scoring output over the last five games. He had three such games over the previous 18. ... After a three-game stretch when point guard Andrew Nembhard made 17 of 23 field goals, he went 0-for-4 in 35 minutes vs. last game, with four assists, three rebounds and a couple turnovers. .... Shooting guard Noah Locke was just one of six from the floor over 31 minutes against the Tigers, but his lone field was a 3-pointer (a big one in the second half). He's now made 71 3-balls, which is one from tying Kenny Boynton (2009-10) for second-most by a freshman in program history, and three from passing Anthony Roberson (2002-03) as the most prolific 3-point-shooting freshman. ... The opportunities (and minutes) for redshirt freshman power forward Isaiah Stokes (2.9 ppg, 0.8 rpg) will continue as long as his progress and day-to-day commitment continue. Stokes flashed more nifty moves in the low post on his way to six points in a career-high 18 minutes last game. He has 19 points the last four games, which is more than he tallied the previous 16 games combined, five of which were DNPs. ... ABOUT THE COMMODORES: They're now in the third season

under Coach Bryce Drew, who is 40-53 overall and 16-33 in SEC play since arriving at Vandy for the 2016-17 season by way of his Valparaiso alma mater. Woven in that conference mark is a 4-2 record against the Gators, however, and regardless of what the numbers might say, the Commodores, with their size and offensive complexities, have the potential to give UF fits. It was true the first time they played, when the Gators had to rally from behind after halftime, and it's true again for the rematch. ... Vandy ranks toward the bottom third of the league in some key statistical categories, including points per game (71.1 / 12th), field-goal percentage (42.9 / 11th), 3-point percentage (32.7 / 11th), free-throw shooting (68.4 / 12th) and rebounding margin (plus-0.8 / 10th). It's worth noting, the Gators are below the Commodores in all those categories, except free throws. The Commodores are one of five teams in the SEC that have a negative turnover margin (minus-2.6, which is next to last in the conference), which plays into the hands of a UF defense that rates No. 11 in the nation in KenPom.com metrics and first in the conference. ... Point guard Saben Lee was a Freshman All-SEC selection last season and has taken his game to the next level following the exit of some prominent upperclassmen. He's shooting 46 percent from the floor, 33 from long distance and 82 from the free-throw line. Lee, though, can be careless with the basketball, evidenced by his five turnovers in the first meeting. ... Forward Simisola Shittu, a McDonald's All American as a senior at his Vermont prep school last year, is at 47 percent on the season, but is not a stretch-4 threat (1-for-18 from 3). He had five points and six rebounds in 20 foul-plagued minutes in Gainesville. ... Forward Matt Ryan, a transfer from Notre Dame, is at 34.7 percent from the arc and was the biggest reason the Commodores led the last meeting at the break, thanks to his trio of treys. He was also one of the biggest reasons the Gators came back and won the game, thanks to some wide-open missed looks in the second half. . 


STATS (Some Numbers of Note)
 

[Check out UF then-senior guard Scottie Wilbekin, from the cheap/student seats, during the game-day shootaround at Memorial Gym the last time the Gators won at Vanderbilt]

* .823 — Florida's free-throw percentage during its four-game winning streak, based on 70-for-85 efficiency from the line. 

* 2.0 — Average victory margin for Commodores in their current three-game home streak against the Gators, based on wins of 60-59 ('16), 73-71 ('17) and 71-68 ('18). 

* 4 — UF games this season when double-digit leads have been blown in the second half. The Gators are 2-2 in those games. Florida led South Carolina by 14 with 11 minutes left, and lost 71-69, and by 11 inside 13 minutes remaining against Kentucky, and lost 65-54. UF trailed Texas A&M by 13 at halftime, but rallied to win 81-72, and Missouri by 12 inside 17 minutes, then won 64-60. All four games were at home. 

* 26 — Points off turnovers for UF against Vandy earlier this month, when three Commodores committed at least four. 

* 2014 — The last year Florida won at Memorial Gym, the same year the Gators became the first program in SEC history to 21-0 against leagues foes in the regular season and conference tournament. The date was Feb. 25 and the final score was 57-54. The Gators, ranked No. 1 for the first time that season (and first since 2007), led by just two points with a minute to go when backup forward Dorian Finney-Smith hit his third 3-pointer of the day to give the Gators enough breathing room to win a 20th straight and clinch a share of their third SEC title in four seasons. Finney-Smith went into the game having missed 22 of his previous 23 long-distance shots over seven games. That day, he finished 6-for-11 from the floor, hit three of six 3 balls, and scored 19 points. The victory wasn't sealed, though, until Vandy guard Rod Odom missed a game-tying 3 attempt as time expired. 


STATEMENT (Random thought) 

To expect this game, win or lose, to be anything but a trip to the dentist chair would be a big mistake. It's never easy at Memorial.