Florida head coach Todd Golden watched as his team was brought down by Vanderbilt’s giant.
Commodores fifth-year forward Liam Robbins hit a 3-pointer without his feet leaving the ground. Similar to his shot, the second half of the game felt out of reach of the Gators.
The Florida Gators (14-15, 7-9 SEC) was defeated by the Vanderbilt Commodores (16-13, 9-7 SEC) 88-72 Saturday at the Memorial Gymnasium in Nashville, Tennessee. UF shot 43% from the floor but allowed Vanderbilt to shoot more than 40% from the floor and from 3-point range.
Florida has now lost six of its last seven games.
Gators senior forward Jason Jitoboh and Robbins exchanged baskets with one another to begin the game. Florida started the game fast and shot 4-4 in the opening three and a half minutes.
The Commodores, however, matched the Gators’ offense and controlled a one-possession lead through the first five minutes of the half.
UF was 63% from the floor when the first media timeout was called with 14 minutes left in the first half. Florida freshman guard Riley Kugel — who finished with 20 points — scored seven points before the stoppage.
The game marks the Orlando, Florida, native’s second straight 20-point game.
Freshman forward Aleks Szymczyk, sophomore forward Alex Fudge and guard Kowacie Reeves checked into the game after the break.
Vanderbilt took advantage of UF’s reserves and went on a 7-0 run across the next two minutes. Kugel knocked down a 3-pointer to get Florida back on the board, down 20-15.
UF’s perimeter game brought it back within grasp of the lead midway through the half. Szymczyk drilled a 3-pointer after the Commodores turned the ball over to bring the Gators within three, 23-20.
Florida wasn’t the only team that used the perimeter effectively.
Vanderbilt went 7-16 from beyond the arc in the first half. However, the Gators’ defense struggled when the Commodores started to attack the basket late in the first half.
Vanderbilt’s durable offense forced UF to switch to man-to-man defense. Florida played a 2-3 zone before the change.
Both teams' offenses went stale after Vanderbilt junior guard Tyrin Lawrence made a 3-pointer to give the Commodores a 43-32 lead three minutes before halftime.
Florida graduate student guard Kyle Lofton hit a triple as the first-half buzzer sounded to pull the Gators within 10, 46-36.
Vanderbilt — who averages 41.8% from the field per game — shot 53% in the first half compared to the Gators’ 39%.
Lofton and Kugel put UF’s offense on their shoulders. The duo had 13 points apiece going into the break; Florida’s bench scored only six points. The reserves finished the game with a combined 20 points.
The teams went scoreless through the first minute and a half after the break. Robbins broke the spell with a mid-range jumper.
Momentum shifted toward the Commodores — who led 50-36 — early in the second half.
Florida didn’t score in the half until senior guard Myreon Jones hit a jumper three and a half minutes into the half. UF allowed five unanswered points prior to the Penn State transfer’s basket.
Gators sophomore guard Will Richard tried to keep Florida in the game. The 6-foot-4-inch guard scored seven points within a minute and a half span. A catch-and-shoot 3-pointer from the top of the key brought the Gators within 11.
UF’s big men, Jitoboh and Szymczyk, got into foul trouble; the forwards committed four fouls each by the midway point of the half.
Florida’s deficit stayed at double digits until Kugel made a layup to cut the Commodores’ lead to 67-58 with eight minutes left.
The Gators continued to battle from behind by driving into the paint consistently, but Robbins couldn’t miss.
With everything in his arsenal, the seven-footer matched two straight UF baskets with two of his own. Robbins followed a Reeves free-throw with a triple. The 3-pointer started a 6-0 run for Vanderbilt. The Commodores never looked back.
The Iowa product finished the game with 18 points, five blocks and nine rebounds.
Vanderbilt began to bleed the clock with three minutes remaining and made five of its last seven field goals to defeat Florida 88-72.
The Gators will play their final road game of the regular season against the Georgia Bulldogs at 7 p.m. Tuesday in the Stegeman Coliseum in Athens, Georgia. The game will be broadcast on SEC Network.
Contact Brandon Hernandez at bhernandez@alligator.org. Follow him on Twitter @BranH2001.
Brandon Hernandez is currently the enterprise sports writer and sports podcast host for The Independent Alligator. He likes long walks on the sidewalk and watching basketball tape in his off time. You can find most of his work @BranH2001 on X and on The Courtside Podcast on Spotify.
