Saturday, February 25, 2023 | Men's Basketball, Chris Harry
Share:
By: Chris Harry, Senior Writer
WHAT HAPPENED: Seven-foot center Liam Robbins scored 18 points, grabbed nine rebounds, blocked five shots and helped lead a balanced Vanderbilt scoring attack that shot 52 percent Saturday night in a 88-72 triumph over Florida in their Southeastern Conference game at Memorial Gymnasium.Β Guards Ezra Mangon (17 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists) andΒ Tyrin Lawrence (13 points) were two of the six Vandy players to hit double-figureΒ scoring, as the Commodores, winners of six of the previous seven, used 53-percent shooting in the first half to open a 13-point lead, with the Gators unable to mount any serious threat thereafter. UF was led by freshman guardRiley Kugel'sΒ game-high 20 points, giving him six straight games in double digits. Fifth-year point guard Kyle Lofton had 15 points, as the Gators shot 43 percent for the game, but went just 7-for-24 from the 3-point line, including one of nine in the second half.Β The teams traded early offensive blows before VandyΒ used a run of seven straight points to go up by eight, then hit three 3 pointers in just over two minutes to help build a double-digit lead that got as large as 13. The Gators were a second away from going the final 4:38 of the half without a field goal when Lofton dropped a 3 with a second to go to send UF to the locker room down 46-36. The Commodores had five different players combining for seven 3s through the first 20 minutes and needed six minutes to surge to its 16-point second-half advantage. Florida cut that lead to little as nine with 5:35 to go, but just before the final media timeout Robbins and guard Trey Thomas (11 points) bombed back-to-back 3s to push the home team back up by 15.Β
UF freshman guard Riley Kugel squares up for a shot Saturday.
WHAT IT MEANS:Β The Commodores completed their first sweep of their annual home-and-home series with the Gators since 2017. In losing a third straight, UF's record fell below .500 and with two regular-season games remaining the team is in danger of its first losing record since 2014-15, which was the last under Billy Donovan. This is also the latest in a season the team has had a sub-.500 record since 1997, which was Donovan's first season.Β
IN THE SPOTLIGHT:Β In two games against the Gators the last two weeks, Robbins combined for 50 points, went 17 of 29 from the floor, hit four of five from the 3-point line, 12 of 17 from the free-throw line, grabbed 19 rebounds and blocked nine shots.
STAGGERING STATISTIC: Lofton, the transfer from St. Bonaventure,Β played 37 minutes and thus moved into second place in NCAAΒ history with 5,289 career minutes over the last five seasons. Only Richmond's Jacob Gilyard), who logged 5,749 minutes for Richmond from 2017-22, has been on college basketball floor more than Lofton.Β
UP NEXT:Β Florida (14-15, 7-9)Β plays its final SEC road game Tuesday night, with a rematch against Georgia (16-13, 6-10) and former Coach Mike White. The Bulldogs lostΒ earlier Saturday at home against Missouri 85-63, but haveΒ nineΒ more victories than last year when they went 6-26, including 1-17 in SEC play, under Tom Crean. UF has a seven-game win streak in its series with UGA, including an 82-75 win in White's first return to Gainesville on Jan. 7.Β Β
Florida Men's Basketball | Head Coach Todd Golden Postgame Press Conference | ProvidenceFlorida Men's Basketball | Head Coach Todd Golden Postgame Press Conference | Providence
Saturday, November 29
Florida Men's Basketball | Xaivian Lee Postgame Media Availability | ProvidenceFlorida Men's Basketball | Xaivian Lee Postgame Media Availability | Providence
Saturday, November 29
Florida Men's Basketball | Xaivian Lee BREAKS DEFENDER'S ANKLES and Drains the Three-Pointer π¨π€Florida Men's Basketball | Xaivian Lee BREAKS DEFENDER'S ANKLES and Drains the Three-Pointer π¨π€
Friday, November 28
Xaivian Lee Postgame Press Conference 11-28-25Xaivian Lee Postgame Press Conference 11-28-25
