NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The Florida Gators had not won a road game at Vanderbilt in five years, with four frustrating losses by just a dozen combined points along the way. The current UF seniors were party to three of those defeats. If that sounds bad, consider Coach Mike White had never tasted victory at Memorial Gymnasium, going winless in two tries as a player at Ole Miss in the 1990s, in four visits as an assistant at Ole Miss, plus three cracks alongside his current crop of seniors since taking over at UF four years ago.

The Gators, though, had never been here with Andrew Nembhard. 

Nembhard, the steady, heady and frighteningly efficient freshman point guard, hit his first six field-goal attempt Wednesday, seven of eight for the game and all three of his 3-point tries, on the way to 19 points over 37 minutes in leading the Gators to a fifth straight Southeastern Conference win and out of rustic Memorial with a 71-55 defeat of the Commodores that marked the most lopsided UF road victory in the series since 2009. 

So much for the so-called "Memorial Magic."

"I was very comfortable out there," Nembhard said. 

His teammates fed off his comfort, hitting 48 percent for the game (including 54 percent in the first half to take a 12-point lead into the break), nine of 22 shots from the 3-point line (40.9 percent) and 15 of 16 free throws (93.8 percent). Fifth-year senior swingman Jalen Hudson came off the bench to score a season-best 17 points, while senior center Kevarrius Hayes also had a season-best scoring output in going 5-for-5 from the floor, 4-for-4 from the line on the way to 14 points and four rebounds. The UF defense held Vandy to 41 percent for the game and forced 14 turnovers. 
 
In addition to equaling the program's longest winning streak in two years, the Gators (17-11, 9-6) moved into a four-way tie (with South Carolina, Ole Miss and Mississippi State) for fourth place in the league standings, and secured no worse than a .500 record for the season in league play. 

"I think we're very confident, right now," Hayes said. "I think we have a sense of what we're capable of. Even though there's still more to do, we're getting there. We made a lot of mistakes in this game, but because of how hard we play we can make up for it collectively."

It's effort, plus chemistry, cohesiveness and a Nembhard-led offense that has allowed UF to raise its NCAA Tournament profile late in the season — make that three straight conference road victories — even though this win came against a struggling bunch of Commodores (9-19, 0-15) still in search of a first SEC victory. If and when Vandy finally gets in the "W" column, the Commodores will not have waited anywhere near as long as UF coach Mike White had to feel the mere satisfaction of one measly triumph in his personal house of horrors. 

Not that Memorial Gym had been particularly kind to the Gators of late, either, what with the last three losses by a combined six points. 

"I started coming here when I was 18 years old and I've had a lot of tough memories in this place for a long time," White said. "It's great to finally break through." 

Nembhard, just a few months past his 18th birthday, led that breakthrough with a near-flawless shooting night that rivaled his 9-for-9 performance in the Feb. 16 win at Alabama just 11 days earlier. He did so in a variety of ways, be it probing the defense, posting up, with drives into the lane, and from beyond the distance arc. 

The 6-foot-5 Canadian hit the first basket of the game, a 3-pointer just over a minute in, and the Gators never trailed. An 11-2 run, capped by a 3-pointer from freshman guard Noah Locke with just over 12 minutes to play in the first half, opened UF's first double-digit lead at 20-8. Another 3-from Nembhard and his lob pass to Hudson in transition for a dunk made it a 13-point cushion. Even though the Commodores twice got within seven, the UF lead was 12 at the break. 

"They came in with nothing to lose and they were going to come out swinging hard," said Nembhard, who has converted 24 of his 32 field-goal attempts (that's 75 percent) and averaged 12.2 points during his team's five-game streak. "We had to be focused, as focused as possible, and take those swings."

Said Vandy coach Bryce Drew: "Florida hit some shots early, got off to a good start, and I really thought Nembhard had a sensational game. Really had great pace in the ball screen [action], really made good decisions and used his body well."

When Nembhard dropped his third 3-ball at the 14:49 mark of the second half, Florida was coasting by 18. Vandy, mostly behind point guard Saben Lee (15 points, 5 assists, 2 steals), fought back to within 10 — at 56-46 with 7:57 remaining — but after a White timeout, Hayes single-handedly squashed the threat by scoring six straight points, two on a nice move in the post, followed by four straight free throws, with the second two coming on an offensive rebound after Nembhard, with 6:10 to play, missed his first shot of the game. 

Nobody's perfect, right? 

"I have to come up with some different cliches to describe Andrew, but he just plays sometimes like a 25-year-old, not a 19-year old," White said. "He's incredibly tough mentally and has played with physical toughness throughout the year, as well. He never gets sped up, gets guys shots, directs traffic and is a high, high-level communicator. Now, throw in what he's doing on offense and it was all on full display tonight."

Including leadership. 
 
Since Day 1, Hayes has been the alpha in the locker room and especially on defense, but he's completely receptive— and even impressed — with how Nembhard, the rookie, has found his voice within this team. It's a voice that commands respect, regardless of his freshman status. 

The mix of direction from old and young works. It's a critical component to just why the Gators are playing so well at this juncture of the season.

"We're constantly trying to keep everyone on task. Four minutes at a time. Just stay on top of it. Be on point and on the same page," Hayes said. "All that was important [against Vandy] because when a team like this, that has a [winless] stat that doesn't really show what they're capable of, you can't come in underestimating them. They were dangerous. We weren't perfect. We waxed and waned, but leadership was on task."

Starting with the kid with the ball in his hand. 

Memorial Magic? Meet UF's "Memorial Magician."