Vanderbilt Completes Season Sweep of Florida Gators, 88-72
Photo: Will Richard; Credit: Zach Goodall
Vanderbilt completed the season sweep of Florida after an 88-72 defeat of the Gators in Nashville on Saturday, propelled by Liam Robbins' 18 points, nine rebounds and five blocks.
The Commodores have now won six of their last seven.
Riley Kugel (20) and Kyle Lofton (15) led Florida's scoring attack on the day, but a lack of consistency from their accessories in the scoring department proved to be a detriment to their ability to contend with the high-octane Vanderbilt offense.
Both teams found early success scoring the basketball, with Florida's rising star true freshman Kugel highlighting the efforts with seven of the Gators' first 12 points in the first six minutes. Knocking down two difficult midrange shots before finding bottom from long range, the Orlando, Fla., native showed the capability to keep UF within striking distance.
However, as the first half rolled on, the Commodores began to key in on Kugel, limiting his ability to operate in isolation off the dribble. After struggling to work through multiple contested shots at the rim, being met by Vandy's elite two-way big man Robbins frequently, Kugel's hot start wore off.
Florida failed to hit a shot from the field for the final five-plus minutes of the period before the last attempt.
Vanderbilt accordingly began to pull away. It took advantage of a struggling defense without the help of Colin Castleton on the inside.
Jerry Stackhouse's squad knocked down 53% of its first-half shot attempts, building a 10-point lead — cut from 13 after a Lofton three with time expiring on the first 20 minutes — heading into the halftime break.
The Gators' cold spell to end the first half remained when they returned to the hardwood for half two, failing to add to their 36-point total until 15:58 remaining in the contest.
Vanderbilt built what was a game-high 16-point lead at that time.
Throughout the remainder of the contest, the game mirrored the first meeting between the two programs in Gainesville. While Vanderbilt held firm control of the contest throughout its entirety, and felt to be dominating, Florida found a way to minimize the impact on the scoreboard to remain within striking distance.
A seven-point surge by wing Will Richard — who finished with nine — in the middle of the second period catapulted Florida to be in that position.
However, Vandy did just enough to keep the Gators at an arm's distance until the time expired.
The smallest second-half deficit came with 5:04 remaining at nine, just before Robbins connected on a late three once again to take the wind out of UF's sails. The impressive range from the seven-footer shut down what looked to be a final comeback attempt.
Florida finished at a modest 42.9% from the floor, while Vanderbilt saw six players finish with double figures on 51.7% shooting.
The Gators will remain on the road this week, heading to Georgia for the second meeting with former head coach Mike White and the Bulldogs this season. Florida will look to snap another three-game losing skid in Athens, Ga.
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