Florida Gators

WHAT HAPPENED: Graduate wing Phlandrous Fleming Jr. hit a 3-pointer with 6.3 seconds left and Southeastern Conference scoring leader Scottie Pippin Jr. missed the front end of a one-and-one with 2.3 seconds to go, as the Gators rallied from nine points down inside four minutes left Tuesday night for an improbable victory at Memorial Gymnasium. UF trailed 76-68 after the second of back-to-back 3-pointers from the Commodores with 3:49 to go. From there, the Gators went on a 14-2 tear to finish the game, including the final nine points, with five different players scoring along the way. The Vandy lead was five, 78-73, with 45 seconds left after Pippin, who poured in 29 points, dropped a late-shot clock elbow jumper. But UF forward Colin Castleton (19 points, 8 rebounds) hit two free throws with 31.4 left. On the ensuing inbounds, the Commodores threw the ball over the Florida defense, but Fleming chased the play down and blocked a layup attempt by Pippin. The play turned into a transition opportunity, with Fleming pitching a low-post pass to backup forward Tuongthach Gatkek for a layup with 21.9 left. The Commodores then threw the next inbound pass out of bounds, giving the Gators possession in the halfcourt with 21.9 left. The play ended with Fleming taking a kick-out pass from Castleton on the left wing and swishing a 3-pointer for the Gators' first lead since the 13-minute mark. Vandy had a shot to tie the game when Brandon McKissic fouled Pippin racing the ball into the halfcourt. Pippin, a 74-percent free-throw shooter with a league-high 234 attempts this season, bounced the first off the back iron. Castleton rebounded with 0.4 seconds left, was fouled and hit both free throws at the other end for the final margin. Florida won despite a dazzling shooting performance from Vanderbilt, which hit 56.6 percent for the game and a ridiculous season-high 15 of 29 from the 3-point line (.517). The Gators were pretty good on offense also (much better than on defense) in making nearly 53 percent for the game and 10 of 21 from deep, with Fleming, who finished with 16 points, four rebounds and six assists, getting the last laugh. Pippin, who came in averaging 20.2 points per game and was held to a season-low six in UF's 61-42 win at Gainesville on Jan. 22, finished 11 of 18 from the floor, five of seven from deep, and just two of five from the free-throw line.  WHAT IT MEANS: Forget, for a moment, the big postseason picture and appreciate the effort (and late-game defense) it took to come from behind and win that game when Vandy was shooting like that OK, now the other stuff. That's two straight wins, and victories in three of the last four, with this one -- at least, for now -- going in the Qudrant-1 column. That makes the Gators 3-8 in Q-1s and 7-10 in combined Q-1 and Q-2 games. That's not enough to move Florida much closer to the right side of the NCAA Tournament "bubble," but a significant opportunity to do that (and monumental challenge) looms Saturday back in Gainesville. Read on.   

IN THE SPOTLIGHT: How 'bout Fleming's last two outings? 

STAGGERING STATISTIC: Fifteen 3s is a ton, especially for a team that was shooting 32.7 percent coming into the game, but those nine straight points to end the game -- over a mere 31 seconds -- kept the Florida season (as in postseason hopes) alive. 

UP NEXT: Florida (19-11, 9-8) is home Saturday for the regular-season finale against sixth-ranked Kentucky (25-6, 13-4) OR (24-7, 12-5), which defeated Ole Miss 82-73 at home earlier Tuesday. The UF-UK game, set for 2 p.m., will serve as "Senior Day," with seven players being honored, including Keyontae Johnson. Get there early. The SEC Tournament at Amalie Arena in Tampa begins March 9.