Junior center Jason Jitoboh (33) had a career game of eight points, 10 rebounds and 27 minutes in helping lead the Gators to a 61-42 win Saturday against Vanderbilt.
Jitoboh, Defense Key Rout of Vandy
Saturday, January 22, 2022 | Men's Basketball, Chris Harry
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — The Florida Gators figured to be a far cry from the best version of themselves after losing 6-foot-11 forward Colin Castleton indefinitely to a shoulder injury earlier in the week. Enter 6-11, 285 junior backup Jason Jitoboh, who promptly demonstrated that his commitment and work ethic on the conditioning front — dropping a staggering 50-some pounds over the last seven months — had produced a very different, very good version of himself.
The best of which is yet to be determined.
Jitoboh, in the starting lineup for Castleton for a second straight game, scored eight points and grabbed a career-high 10 rebounds over a career-best 27 minutes Saturday and was a huge factor (pun intended) in his team's 61-42 pounding of Vanderbilt at Exactech Arena. Jitoboh was one of seven UF players who scored at least six points, led by a team-high 11 from backup point guard Tyree Appleby, as the Gators (12-6, 3-3) did another collective number on an opponent to win a third straight Southeastern Conference game; a second straight without Castleton, their leader in points, rebounds and blocked shots.
"It felt good out there," said Jitoboh, who late last spring was tipping the scales close to 340 pounds. "It just shows the work I've been doing."
His performance came three days after tallying eight points and two rebounds in a career-high (and mostly foul-plagued) 16 minutes in a win over Mississippi State. This time, his stamina and foul-discipline for an 11 additional minutes, along with an impressive demonstration of an ability to move his feet on defense, both on ball screens and in the low post, much to the frustration of the Commodores (10-8, 2-4).
He wasn't Castleton, the SEC's No. 2 leader in blocks, but didn't need to be, either. That's because Jitoboh's teammates seem to be recalling who they are; as a unit, that is.
"We've been really looking at our identity the last past few games and emphasizing in the locker room just to be us to the fullest and max out," grad-transfer guard Brandon McKissic said. "We are a defensive team."
They certainly were against the Commodores (10-8, 2-4), who shot just 28.9 percent for the game, including 13.6 percent from the 3-point line. And, frankly, those are deceiving numbers, considering Vandy hit 43.5 percent in the first half and trailed by just three points, 31-28, when the teams went to the locker room for intermission.
After that, depending on one's viewpoints, it was either a UF defensive clinic or Vandy brick fest.
The Commodores went 3-for-22 from the floor in the second half. Do the math. That's 13.6 percent. They went 0-for-9 from distance. No need for the math. They did not convert a field goal over the final 10 and a half minutes. Junior guard Scotty Pippen Jr., the 2021 first-team All-SEC guard and '22 league scoring leader at 18.8 per points game, hit just one of 10 shots over his 21 minutes and left the O'Dome with six points, his fewest in 20 games and just the second time over his previous 49 games that he failed to hit double figures.
Grad-transfer guard Brandon McKissic (23) played stifling defense on Vanderbit star and SEC scoring leader Scotty Pippen Jr. (2).
That's because McKissic, the 2021 Summit League Defensive Player of the Year at Missouri Kansas-City last season, was basically Pippen's middle name throughout the game and thus a microcosm of UF's performance on that end of the floor.
"Pride," McKissic said, when asked what it takes to guard a gifted, three-level scorer like Pippen. "I'm not going to just allow a person to score. That's something in my heart. I'm not going to allow that to happen, whether I have to foul him or not. That's just pride in yourself."
Pippen was hit with his second foul and had to take a seat barely five minutes into the game. The Gators then hit consecutive 3-pointers, the first by freshman Kowacie Reeves (7 points) and second by Appleby (3 assists, 4 steals) and started to build what became a 10-point lead, 23-13, before going cold and missing 10 of 11 shots.
Vandy scored the half's last two buckets and went to the locker room down just 31-28.
"I thought that would be enough energy to carry over in the second half," Commodores coach Jerry Stackhouse said.
It was Florida with the energy, though, and it was instantaneous. Jitoboh scored the first five points of the period, including an old-fashion three-point play. Then guard Phlandrous Fleming Jr. (6 points, 5 rebounds) dunked a baseline inbounds pass, forward Anthony Duruji (7 points, 8 rebounds) drove for a drop-in and, after a timeout, McKissic (9 points, 4 assists) rained a 3-pointer for an 11-0 blitz — and quick 15-point lead — to start the half. Vandy, meanwhile, missed its first five shots and didn't as much as grab a rebound through the first four minutes.
The 42 points allowed were the fifth fewest by a Florida opponent in Coach Mike White's seven seasons, and the third fewest by a foe from a power conference.
"I thought our guys were just really sharp," UF White said of the second-half start. "It wasn't as much of what they were saying, it was action. We just came out early second half and our guys collected some stops. You could hear some communication from the other end. I thought it was pretty sharp, loud, and early. Pretty good defensive effort."
Really good, actually, with a huge boost on both ends from a huge player who is not as huge as he was a few months back.
And that, for this team, right now, is .. well ... huge.
"I'm just happy I'm able to contribute to a win," Jitoboh said. "I'm happy I'm playing well, but I'm just happy we're winning now."
