Skip to Content, Navigation, or Footer.
We inform. You decide.
Friday, May 17, 2024

A.J. Ogilvy walked over to the bench, shook his head and buried his face in his towel.

Two minutes and 22 seconds later, Shan Foster joined him, leaned back and threw his towel on his head.

They weren't doing much better on the court, either. Vanderbilt's two leading scorers, who account for more than 45 percent of the team's offense, were made into pedestrian role players in Sunday's 86-64 embarrassment against UF.

The Commodores' dynamic duo finished with just 16 points on 5-of-17 shooting. They average more than 38 per game and both shoot better than 50 percent.

When the Gators' players talked about playing better defense recently, they meant it.

Foster said it was "probably sometime last season" that he last played this poorly.

"I was really embarrassed," said Ogilvy, who said he has been suffering from flu-like symptoms. "Embarrassed for our team, for our program and our school by the way we played. It just doesn't reflect what we represent."

At one point, Vanderbilt had almost as many fouls (five) as it had points (6) as the 'Dores trailed 34-6.

Vanderbilt (17-3, 2-3 Southeastern Conference) certainly didn't play to the level indicated by its No. 14 ranking.

"They made it difficult to make shots," said Foster, who came in tied for first in scoring in the SEC. "I couldn't believe it. I really couldn't believe it. They're a good team, but still, 36-9?"

The bottom line is the Commodores are 1-3 in their last four games after starting out 16-0.

With many scouts from NBA teams present mdash; presumably to watch Ogilvy, Foster and UF center Marreese Speights - they probably left disappointed.

Enjoy what you're reading? Get content from The Alligator delivered to your inbox

"[UF] really got to him and defended him well," Vanderbilt coach Kevin Stallings said of Foster's play. "We didn't do a good job of finding him. It was a combination of those two things."

Foster and Ogilvy weren't the only problems for the Commodores.

So far, Vandy is 13-0 at home and 0-3 on the road in the SEC, having recently suffered a humiliating 80-60 loss at Tennessee.

"Maybe it's just a lack of confidence," Ogilvy said. We're just used to playing at home. Maybe we're just not comfortable playing on the road. No excuses, though."

Sunday was just another chapter in the struggles on the road.

"Obviously we got overwhelmed the first 12 minutes of the game and were never able to recover," Stallings said. "We were outplayed, outcoached."

Support your local paper
Donate Today
The Independent Florida Alligator has been independent of the university since 1971, your donation today could help #SaveStudentNewsrooms. Please consider giving today.

Powered by SNworks Solutions by The State News
All Content © 2024 The Independent Florida Alligator and Campus Communications, Inc.