NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Vanderbilt was playing like a team that wanted to open Southeastern Conference play with a win for about six minutes.
It then looked like a completely different squad.
Hosting Florida – a team that handed played in 18 days – in their SEC opener, the Commodores were battling out of the gate but quickly lost their flow, got down double digits and ultimately dropped a 91-72 decision on Wednesday night at Memorial Gymnasium.
"Obviously not the result that we were looking for," Vanderbilt coach Jerry Stackhouse said. "We ran into a team that we thought hadn't been practicing much, but it looked like they've been practicing or doing something. They shot the ball extremely well. They were athletic. Overall, didn't do enough things right - especially on the defensive end."
Vanderbilt (4-3 overall, 0-1 SEC) and Florida exchanged baskets over the first six minutes as the scoreboard was knotted at 14-14 at the 13:59 mark, but the Gators used a 7-0 run to go up 21-14 just over two minutes later.
Back-to-back baskets by Ques Glover put the Gators up 30-21, and Tre Mann’s 3-pointer dug Vanderbilt into a 33-21 hole with just over five minutes left in the opening half.
Florida (5-2, 1-0) continued to execute throughout the rest of the frame and took a 43-29 lead into the locker room at halftime — and the Commodores weren’t ever able to get back in front in the second half.
Scotty Pippen Jr. led the way for Vandy — which will try to bounce back Tuesday at Kentucky (6 p.m., SEC Network) — with 18 points. Dylan Disu finished with 14 points, and Trey Thomas added 12.
Colin Castleton scored 23 points to lead Florida.
Cold spells hurt
Vanderbilt was doing the right things and competing with Florida during the first part of the opening half, but then it hit a cold spell — and then another — and ultimately got down by 16 points with three minutes left in the half.
After being tied at 14-14, Florida went on a 7-0 run to go up seven — and then used a 24-8 stretch to build a 38-22 advantage. Once down by that margin, the Commodores weren’t able to climb back far enough to have a chance to get back in front.
The Gators shot 16-of-30 (53%) from the field in the first half, while Vandy was just 11-of-30 (37%). Florida finished 34-of-55 (62%), while the Commodores went 24-of-58 (41%) and committed 16 turnovers.
"We're not going to win too many games when we allow a team to shoot 70% in the second half," Stackhouse said. "It'll be interesting to see this team going forward. They really shot lights-out tonight. It'd would've been a tough night for us to win that one, even if we had shot the ball a little bit better."
Stute, Thomas both solid for ‘Dores
Myles Stute and Trey Thomas both produced solid performances for Vanderbilt.
While Stute finished with 11 points and Thomas scored 12, both played important roles for the Commodores. Both players started, and both produced — most importantly in times when the team desperately needed a spark.
Down 45-31 early into the second half, Thomas stepped up and splashed back-to-back 3s to cut Vanderbilt’s deficit to single digits. On top of that, Stute knocked some big triples of his own and was a factor throughout the contest.
"He's one of our toughest guys and one of our best competitors," Stackhouse said of Thomas. "Until we get more of a team (with) SEC athletes from top to bottom, we're gonna go with the competitors – the guys that give us the best chance to have success. I think with him, he makes the right plays."
Quiet night for Pippen
Scotty Pippen Jr. has been on a tear for Vanderbilt as of late and averaging 23.3 points per game, but he had an unusual off-game on Wednesday. He scored 18 points on 6-of-16 shooting, but most of those points didn’t come until the final minutes. He got off to a good start, recording a quick steal and layup, but struggled to find his usual rhythm from there until it was too late.
Although he wasn’t the typical high-scorer everyone’s accustomed to seeing, the aforementioned Stute and Thomas both stepped up to provide help for the Commodores.
NOTES
— Clevon Brown and Braelee Albert were both inactive for Vanderbilt. Stackhouse said Brown has an abdominal strain and "will be out for a couple weeks." As for Albert, he suffered a sprained ankle in practice Tuesday and "will be out for two to three weeks."
— The game was played with no fans as only a select number of family members are allowed to attend Vanderbilt games at Memorial Gymnasium throughout the month of December due to COVID-19 restrictions.
