SEC Tournament: Florida vs Vanderbilt Preview
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When: March 11th, 2 p.m. (EST)
Where: Bridgestone Arena | Nashville, TN | SEC Tournament
Records: Florida (13-8, 9-7); Vanderbilt (8-15, 3-13)
TV: SEC Network | ESPN App (Karl Ravech and Jimmy Dykes)
Today, in the second round of the SEC Tournament, we will see the Florida Gators face off against the Vanderbilt Commodores. Vanderbilt is coming into this one after earning a first-round win against a struggling Texas A&M team, 79-68.
When searching on the bright side for the Gators, what you find is that their record differs from Vanderbilt in a large way, seeing that they beat them twice already in the regular season, and this matchup could/should be an easy one. Although, if history repeats itself as it did in 2017, they could be in big trouble. The last time Vanderbilt beat A&M in the SEC Tournament, they went on to beat UF in the following round.
When examining the Commodores, their biggest threat is Scotty Pippen Jr. who was the talk of the matchup versus A&M. He finished this game with 22 points, four rebounds, six assists, and three steals.
An exciting note for the Gators is the return of Tre Mann, who got some extra rest after missing the game against Tennessee with a migraine. Mann has been the definition of a great floor general and team leader as of late and was arguably the most dominant guard we have seen on the floor all season for UF before the Tennessee game.
He, along with teammate and leader Colin Castleton, have earned themselves spots on the ALL-SEC Teams for their performances this season. So not only will this be an exciting matchup between Pippen Jr. and Mann, but potentially a great one between Castleton and Quentin Millora-Brown. The junior hasn’t seen the floor a lot this season, averaging only 3 points, and three rebounds a game; but I expect that he could potentially step up and try to fill in the paint where Clevon Brown can’t.
If entering into the SEC Tournament with a bye wasn’t exciting enough for everyone, you now get to see Mike White prove he can win when it matters. Even if it is against a team with a losing record. A big thing about this matchup as well is that the Gators will have to stay mature and composed if they want a win and to prove that they belong in this tournament.
| Player | Position | Height | Weight | Stats |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Clevon Brown |
F |
6-8 |
232 |
3.1 pts 2.5 reb |
|
D.J. Harvey |
G |
6-6 |
235 |
5.6 pts 2.6 reb |
|
Jordan Wright |
G |
6-5 |
226 |
9.1 pts 4.6 reb |
|
Scottie Pippen Jr. |
G |
6-1 |
170 |
20.6 pts 2.8 reb 4.9 ast |
|
Maxwell Evans |
G |
6-2 |
190 |
8.5 pts 3.1 reb |
| Player | Position | Height | Weight | Stats |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Anthony Duruji |
F |
6-7 |
220 |
5.9 pts 4.3 reb |
|
Colin Castleton |
F |
6-11 |
231 |
12.7 pts 5.7 reb |
|
Tyree Appleby |
G |
6-1 |
180 |
11.2 pts 3.2 reb 3.4 ast |
|
Noah Locke |
G |
6-3 |
203 |
10.5 pts 2.4 reb |
|
Tre Mann |
G |
6-5 |
190 |
15 pts 5.7 reb |
NUMBERS OF NOTE
Noah Locke is the only player appearing for Florida in this year’s SEC Tournament who has prior experience playing in the event. Only Locke and Keyontae Johnson remain from UF’s 2019 semifinal appearance after knocking off top seed LSU.
Florida placed two players on the All-SEC teams for the second straight season. Tre Mann and Colin Castleton did so this season following Keyontae Johnson and Kerry Blackshear Jr. earning the honor last season.
No starting five has started more than four games together for UF, which has used seven different starting five combinations this season.