Vanderbilt is one of the only teams that has just seemed to have Florida’s number this season. The disappointing 73-71 loss on the road made Vanderbilt the only team to sweep the Gators this season and the only SEC opponent Florida has not beaten at least once in two years under Mike White.
From the mid-point of the first half all the way to the five-minute mark in the second, Florida held control of the game, keeping a lead that amounted to as many as 12 points in the second half. The Commodores would trail the Gators until a 16-7 run sparked a Vanderbilt comeback, slowly dwindling Florida’s lead.
The Commodores tied the game at 63 with 4:05 remaining after Devin Robinson committed a costly foul, sending Riley LaChance to the foul line. Robinson would turn it back over on a travel the very next possession, opening the window for a LaChance layup to put Vanderbilt ahead at the 3:25 mark.
Florida would briefly take back the lead on two Chris Chiozza free-throws and a Kasey Hill layup, but that would be its final lead of the game. The Commodores regained a 69-67 lead that the Gators could not answer on their next two possessions, leaving Florida to have to foul the rest of the way with 31 seconds left on the clock.
Vanderbilt put the ball in senior Luke Kornet’s hands, forcing the Gators to foul the 85 percent free-throw shooter. Kornet did everything he could to give Florida a chance, making just four of six free-throws.
He made just one of two free-throws with 12 seconds to go to give the Gators a chance to tie or win the game, down by just two. Kasey Hill drove the ball down the court and all the way to the basket, but missed the attempted layup and the ball went out of bound off Florida, giving Vanderbilt the ball with 6.7 seconds and a 73-71 advantage.
The Commodores quickly got the ball in and up the floor as the Gators failed to foul until there were just 1.8 seconds left. Vanderbilt’s Joe Toye missed both of his free-throws, leaving Florida to grab the rebound and desperately heave the ball as time ran out.
Besides the inability to convert on chances in the end, the biggest differences in the game for Florida were fouls, poor free-throw shooting, turnovers and a lack of defense inside.
With 22 fouls called on the Gators, the Commodores went to the line for 27 free-throw attempts in the game and converted 20 of them. Kornet accounted for a majority of the attempts, hitting 8-of-10. Florida converted just 67 percent (12-for-18) from the line.
“I thought we also made some unintelligent fouls, and we talked about it leading into the game extensively,” said White. “These guys rely on the free-throw line just about as much as anyone in our league. They understand how to get fouled and they convert as well as anyone in our league at the foul line. And so, any unnecessary foul, we’re just putting ourselves in peril. We didn’t have one, we had about seven of them.”
The Gators turned the ball over 13 times, leading to 17 Vanderbilt points. Five of those turnovers came from Hill, while the rest were distributed pretty evenly. Turnovers were what seemed to bother White the most, as protecting the ball has been a point of emphasis lately.
“When all you talk about offensively for two days leading into the game is just, ‘Slow down a little bit, let’s value the basketball’. We’ve gotten turnover happy here the last four or five games. I don’t know what the problem is. That’s the only thing you talk about and you come in here and get 13 turnovers that lead to 17 points for Vanderbilt. We hurt our defense. Defensively, when we were set, again, my guys played their hearts out. They really defended. They did a lot of good things, but they got 17 of them off of us just throwing them the ball.”
Florida was able to keep Vanderbilt’s outstanding three-point game to a minimum, holding to Commodores to just 5-for-22 from beyond the arc. Contrary to what was expected, it was Vanderbilt’s inside game that gave the Gators the most trouble.
The Commodores had 36 points in the paint, compared to just 20 scored in the previous game at Florida.
“I don’t remember it really vividly, but I do remember a couple possessions there, just miscommunication,” White said on the defensive breakdowns. “They got the floor spread so well, of course, with five guys that shoot it, and they can all pass it and dribble it and make good decisions. They’re so difficult to defend and we had a couple possessions there where you’ve got a guy getting all the way to the rim where we didn’t switch, whether it be a handoff or a ball screen. We’ve got two on the guy who doesn’t have the ball anymore and we’ve got none on the guy who’s laying it up.”
Much of Vanderbilt’s improved inside game was due to Florida sticking with a smaller lineup a majority of the game. Starting center Kevarrius Hayes played just 10 minutes, all in the first half of the game. It led to some horrible mismatches, including Hill being left to guard the 7’1 Kornet several times.
Hayes had some struggles early on, but it might have been in Florida’s best interest to give him some time on the court in the second half in an attempt to get the defense back under control. Following the game, White said there is nothing physically wrong with Hayes and that he will be ready to go next game. He just wanted to try something different, but it might have backfired in some ways.
Offensively, the Gators were plagued by an absence of production by KeVaughn Allen in the second half. He was playing extremely well, as he put up 13 in the first half. He disappeared in the final 20 minutes, missing both of his free-throw attempts and two more attempts from the field.
“He wasn’t as aggressive,” White said on Allen’s performance in the second half. “He had opportunities to be aggressive. He played 35 minutes. I can’t answer that. We’ve gotta have him be more aggressive at all times.”
As for the rest of Florida’s offensive, Canyon Barry led the way with 15 points, going 6-for-11 from the field and 1-for-3 from three. Chiozza had 11 points and dished four assists, while Hill finished with 10 points.
Florida will need to get back on track after losing two of its last three games. The Gators could have a chance for redemption with the SEC Tournament looming and a possibility to once again meet both of the teams that defeated them in that span.