RV/#25 Florida 21-9/11-6 SEC vs. Vanderbilt 8-22/3-14 SEC Memorial Gymnasium (14,316) | Nashville, Tenn. Game 31 | March 9, 2024 | 4:30 p.m. EST BROADCAST INFO SEC Network | ESPN App Play-by-Play: Roy Philpott Analyst: Pat Bradley Gators Sports Network from LEARFIELD Play-by-Play: Sean Kelley Analyst: Lee Humphrey Producer/Engineer: Steve Egan
HEAD COACHES Todd Golden 37-26 | 2nd season at UF 94-62 | 5th season overall Jerry Stackhouse 69-91 | 5th season at Vandy/overall MATCHUP BASICS All-Time Series: 74-73 All-Time Away: 21-49 Series under Golden: 1-2 Away under Golden: 0-1 Last Meeting: W, 77-64, 2/24/24 (Home)
FLORIDA POSSIBLE STARTERS # Name Pos. Ht. Wt. Cl. Min. Pts. Reb. Misc. 4 Tyrese Samuel F 6-10 239 Gr. 27.1 13.7 7.6 1.2 stl 3 Micah Handlogten C 7-1 235 So. 20.3 6.0 7.4 .639 fg% 0 Zyon Pullin G 6-4 206 Gr. 33.6 15.5 3.8 4.9 ast 1 Walter Clayton Jr. G 6-2 195 Jr. 31.1 17.1 3.7 2.5 3fg 5 Will Richard G 6-4 206 Jr. 29.2 11.4 3.8 1.9 3fg VANDERBILT POSSIBLE STARTERS # Name Pos. Ht. Wt. Cl. Min. Pts. Reb. Misc. 2 Ven-Allen Lubin F 6-8 230 So. 27.6 11.4 6.0 1.0 blk 13 Malik Presley F 6-6 200 Fr. 10.6 1.8 1.5 0.4 ast 24 JaQualon “JQ” Roberts F 6-8 220 Fr. 12.5 1.8 2.1 0.4 ast 0 Tyrin Lawrence G 6-4 200 Sr. 30.8 14.1 5.0 1.4 stl 5 Ezra Manjon G 6-0 170 5th 31.6 14.4 3.2 3.7 as
MARCH 2 at #18 South Carolina ESPN L 76-82 5 #16/17 Alabama ESPN W 105-87 9 at Vanderbilt SEC Net. 4:30 p.m. 13-17 SEC Tournament (Nashville
NUMBERS OF NOTE 21Florida’s 21 regular season wins are the team’s most since posting 24 in the 2016-17 season. 105Florida’s 105-point outburst in the win vs. #16 Alabama set a program record for most points in regulation vs. a ranked opponent. It also marked the Gators’ second-most in regulation at home in SEC play, only behind its 106 vs. Ole Miss on Jan. 25, 1971, in Florida Gym. 8The Gators won their final eight SEC home games to end the season, the team’s longest SEC home win streak since posting a program-record 20 in a row in 2013.
THE TIP-OFF• Florida looks to cap its regular season on a high note, visiting Vanderbilt just 14 days after defeating the Commodores, 77-64, in Gainesville. UF enters Saturday’s showdown on the heels of a 105-87 home victory against #16 Alabama. • Zyon Pullin ranks second in the nation and is on pace to set Florida’s all-time record with an assist/turnover ratio of 4.26, and his 4.89 assists per game rank second in the SEC. Walter Clayton Jr., meanwhile, has 12 20-point outings this season, most by a Gator since Kenny Boynton’s 13 in 2011-12. • Micah Handlogten (100) and Tyrese Samuel (92) have combined for 192 offensive rebounds this season, chasing the 198 gathered by Joakim Noah (102) and Al Horford (96) in 2006-07 for the top single-season offensive rebounding duo in school history. UF’s 38.9% offensive rebounding rate is third-highest in the country, while Handlogten’s 18.1% offensive rebounding rate ranks fourth nationally. 2023-24 HIGHLIGHTS• Florida lit the scoreboard for 105 points in the win vs. 16th-ranked Alabama, the Gators’ most all-time in regulation vs. a ranked opponent. Will Richard led the attack with 23 points and Walter Clayton Jr. added 22, while Zyon Pullin and Tyrese Samuel scored 19 points each. • Tyrese Samuel’s career-high 28 points led the Gators in the win vs. Missouri. Samuel (10 rebounds) and Micah Handlogten (12 points/12 rebounds) both posted double-doubles, while Zyon Pullin added 21 points. • Walter Clayton Jr. posted a four-game run of 20-point outings from Feb. 10-21, matching Colin Castleton, Tre Mann and Nick Calathes for the longest such streak by a Gator since Dwayne Schintzius’ five straight in 1989. • Florida’s win vs. #12 Auburn marked the Gators’ 15th in a row at home vs. the Tigers. Riley Kugel’s 22 points led the Gators, along with 20 points from Walter Clayton Jr. and 19 by Zyon Pullin. • The Gators notched a big resume win in their victory at 10th-ranked Kentucky, led by a trio of 20-point scorers in Walter Clayton Jr. (23), Tyrese Samuel (22) and Zyon Pullin (21). Clayton’s 3-pointer with 3.0 seconds left in regulation forced overtime and another with 1:42 left in overtime put the Gators ahead for good.; • Micah Handlogten posted 23 points and 17 rebounds in the home win vs. Georgia, while Zyon Pullin scored seven of his 20 points in the overtime period. The Gators completed the sweep in Athens for a 10th straight win vs. Georgia behind 21 points from Walter Clayton Jr. and 17 by Thomas Haugh. • Will Richard led the Gators with 23 points and nine rebounds in the win vs. Mississippi State as Florida committed a season-low seven turnovers. Zyon Pullin and Walter Clayton Jr. each added 15 points. • Zyon Pullin scored 22 and Tyrese Samuel posted 21 points and 11 rebounds in the Gators’ double overtime victory vs. Michigan in Charlotte. Pullin’s 3-pointer with 8.9 seconds remaining in the first overtime forced the second extra session, where an 11-0 UF run put the game away. • The Gators topped Pitt in the first game of the NIT Season Tip-Off behind 28 points from Walter Clayton Jr. on 6-for-8 shooting from 3-point range, a 20-point, 10-rebound performance from Tyrese Samuel and a 24-to-8 assist-to-turnover showing as a team.
ABOUT THE OPPONENT• In its fifth season under Jerry Stackhouse, Vanderbilt owns wins against Texas A&M and Missouri and on the road at Arkansas during SEC play. The Commodores’ nonconference highlight was a victory vs. UNC Greensboro. • Vanderbilt’s high-scoring backcourt of Ezra Manjon (14.4 ppg) and Tyrin Lawrence (14.1 ppg) lead the Commodores, while Ven-Allen Lubin adds 11.4 points and 6.0 rebounds per game. • The trio leads the team in various other ways, including Manjon’s 104 assists, Lawrence’s 36 steals, and Lubin’s 24 blocked shots. • Freshman forwards Malik Presley and JaQualon Roberts got the start and heavy minutes in Vanderbilt’s most recent game, helping hold a lead for the better part of the first half on the road at Kentucky. • Evan Taylor has hit a team-high 45 3-pointers OPPONENT’S LAST 5 GAMES Feb. 21 Georgia L 64-76 Feb. 24 at Florida L 64-77 Feb. 27 at Arkansas W 85-82 March 2 LSU L 61-75 March 6 at Kentucky L 77-93 LAST 20 VS. VANDERBILT (12-8) Feb. 18, 2015 H W 50-47 Jan. 26, 2016 A L 59-60 Feb. 23, 2016 H L 74-87 Jan. 21, 2017 H L 66-68 March 4, 2017 A L 71-73 March 10, 2017 SEC L/OT 62-72 Dec. 30, 2017 H W 81-74 Feb. 17, 2018 A L 68-71 Feb. 13, 2019 H W 66-57 Feb. 27, 2019 A W 71-55 Feb. 1, 2020 A W 61-55 Feb. 15, 2020 H W 84-66 Dec. 30, 2020 A W 91-72 Jan. 27, 2021 H W 78-71 March 11, 2021 SEC W 69-63 Jan. 22, 2022 H W 61-42 March 1, 2022 A W 82-78 Feb. 11, 2023 H L 80-88 Feb. 25, 2023 A L 72-88 Feb. 24, 2024 H W 77-64
The win over Missouri on Feb 28 put the Mighty Gators at a .500 record all time in the SEC. Then we lost to SCar, then beat Alabama so we're now sitting at a .500 record again. Overall record: Record (since 1920-21): 1523-1177 .564 W-L% MORE: Conference Champion: 9 Times (Reg. Season.), 4 Times (Tournament.) NCAA Tournament: 23 Years (48-21), 5 Final Fours, 2 Championships NCAA Champion: 2006 and 2007 Ranked in AP Poll: 20 Times (Preseason), 15 Times (Final), 297 Weeks (Total) SEC Titles: 7 Feb. 7, 1936, Florida, which joined the league (SEC) in 1932, began that day 13-13 all-time against conference teams and lost 40-32 at Georgia. Nearly a half-century later, on Jan. 7, 1984, the Gators were 132 below .500. That was an all-time low, as it turned out. I believe the overall record in the SEC now is 690 wins, 690 loses. Correct me if I'm wrong please. Significant Season/Historical Markers Up For Grabs vs Mizzou - Florida Gators Florida Gators Men's Basketball Index | College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com
Certainly not a must-win, but I think we'd all love to see these guys come out focused and hungry and take care of business. Not just to continue momentum, but to show us all that TFG is a motivator we hope he is. Playing in that "place" is challenging, but this is a team we should handle. Anywhere. Let's handle them.
With another 3 assists, Zyon Pullin will pass Jason Williams for #4 on the all-time list of Assists by a Transfer in Florida basketball history. With another 3 offensive rebounds, Handlogten will move into #2 for total offensive rebounds in a single season in Florida history (transfer or recruit). Both players are reaching these plateaus in their first year at Florida.
On that note, I heard on a pod today that Will Wade has some tie to Vandy... there's not much I would hate more than seeing that dude back in the conference.
