The No.6 Florida Gators leaned on 51 second half points to defeat Vanderbilt 86-75 on Tuesday night, improving to 19-3 (6-3 SEC) on the 2024/25 season. The Gators shot 64.3% in the final 20 minutes and made 7 of 11 three-point attempts while turning the ball over just twice.
With Florida’s leading scorer Walter Clayton Jr. sidelined with a left ankle injury, the Gators needed someone to step up offensively. After attempting just two shots in Florida’s loss to Tennessee last weekend, senior Will Richard exploded for 21 points on 8-11 shooting including 5-7 from three-point range. Most of Richard’s damage was done in the second half as the 6’4 guard scored 16 points on 6-7 shooting including 4-4 from three-point range while playing the final 20 minutes without leaving the court. Richard also added seven rebounds and three assists in the contest.
Florida made an effort to work on finishing around the rim in preparation for the Commodores. Sophomore Alex Condon clearly took it to heart, making 7-8 two-point attempts in a 19-point showing. Condon continued his dominance on the glass, grabbing nine rebounds (three offensive) vs Vanderbilt. The 6’11, 230 pound forward ranks as the 70th best offensive rebounder in the country, according to KenPom.
With the Gators holding on to a three-point lead with 9:14 to play, sophomore guard Urban Klavzar provided the Gators with a much-needed spark off the bench, drilling back-to-back triples to extend Florida’s lead to nine points. This sequence from Klavzar changed the momentum of the game as the Gators cruised the rest of the way.
“I thought that little run in the second half where he hit those two threes back-to-back to extend the lead from three to nine was just huge for us, a big lift in a time we needed it the most,” head coach Todd Golden said on Klavzar. “I’m happy for him as he has exhibited great patience and has been a great teammate all year.”
Klavzar has only played in 12 games this season with five of those appearances being five minutes or less. In his most significant minutes on the court this season, Klavzar came through in the clutch.
Junior guard Denzel Aberdeen logged his first career start in Clayton Jr’s. absence. While it wasn’t his best shooting day, Aberdeen controlled the floor in his 35 minutes on the court as he didn’t record a single turnover and worked Florida’s offense through Vanderbilt’s late full court press smoothly. Aberdeen scored 13 points and added three assists while leading Florida with a plus-minus of 13.
“We had an opportunity for other guys to step up and take advantage of an opportunity created by Walt not being out there. I thought Denzel [Aberdeen] was fantastic, 35 minutes tonight, no turnovers. He did an incredible job controlling the game,” Golden said on Aberdeen postgame.
Vanderbilt shot 50.8% in the game but were outscored 51-39 in the second half.
With the Gators defeating Vanderbilt in their only regular season matchup this season, Florida improves to 11-1 at home with all 11 wins by at least an 11-point margin this season.
“Honestly I’m as proud of this win as I am of any of the others this season due to the circumstances. Vanderbilt is a very good team, they’re really, really hard to guard. We stepped up and had a really nice second half.”
Florida travels to the No.1 Auburn Tigers on Saturday, who hold a 20-1 (8-0 SEC) record with their only loss coming at No.2 Duke.