GAINESVILLE -- Florida’s tournament hopes took a significant blow Tuesday night.
The Gators (17-11) suffered a crushing defeat to the Vanderbilt Commodores, surrendering their most points allowed in five years in a 87-74 loss in the O'Connell Center.
In front of a number of NBA scouts, Vandy center Damian Jones carved up Florida, scoring a career-high 27 points on 12-of-13 shooting. UF’s defense was a sieve all evening, allowing 10 threes and a season-high 57.7 shooting from the field.
“They were unbelievable,” Florida coach Mike White said of Vandy.
“It needed to be one of our best defensive efforts. When the opposing center goes 12 of 13 from the field it usually doesn’t mean good things for you.”
The Commodores shredded the Gators with their patience, passing and movement. Jones led the way, but Matthew Fisher-Davis (12), Wade Baldwin (13) and Jeff Roberson (18) all chipped in with big performances, too.
Vandy also stunned the Gators with a pair of circus shots, drilling an 80-foot heave to end the first half and another buzzer-beating 3 after halftime.
Now THIS is how you beat the buzzer! @VandyMBB's Josh Henderson from 80 feet. https://t.co/YOWbESxr5C
— SEC Network (@SECNetwork) February 24, 2016
Six minutes later, Vanderbilt hits this absurd shot-clock buzzer-beating three. pic.twitter.com/cNUpgcsSu1
— Only Gators .com (@onlygators) February 24, 2016
“My goodness, that’s eight points right there because the play before the 80 footer was a layup,” White said.
“Just huge plays.”
And yet, after trailing by as many as 11 points in the second half, Florida slowly cut its deficit to two and appeared to almost wipe away all its brutal luck.
Instead, the Gators missed six straight shots with a chance to take the lead and eventually saw Vandy's lead balloon back to double-digits. Florida's freshman guard KeVaughn Allen had a really rough night (0 of 7 from the field), as did senior forward Dorian Finney-Smith (1 of 7 shooting). Reserve forward Justin Leon scored a team-high 15 points, while center John Edgbunu (14 points) and forward Devin Robinson (11 points) finished with double-figures.
Now, Florida’s NCAA Tournament prospects are suddenly on shaky ground. With three losses in their last four games, the Gators are inching towards the wrong side of the bubble, and Saturday’s showdown at LSU could be fight for the same spot in the tournament.
Follow me on Twitter @JesseReSimonton
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