Florida was looking to cap off its 2024 regular season on a high-note while cruising to a victory over the 13th-placed team in the Southeastern Conference. However, 12 ties and 12 lead changes later, the Gators were in a battle.
A steal and score from senior guard Tyrin Lawrence off an inbound pass put the Commodores ahead by one point with 15 seconds left.
UF had one last chance to draw up a game-winning play during a timeout with seconds remaining but a crucial turnover on the baseline by junior guard Walter Clayton Jr. solidified the Commodore’ victory.
Florida (21-10, 11-7 SEC) was taken down in a massive 79-78 upset loss to Vanderbilt (9-22, 4-14 SEC) at Memorial Gymnasium on Saturday.
The Gators grabbed a 4-3 lead two minutes after tipoff and controlled the tempo and their lead on the scoreboard for the remainder of the first half. However, after taking a 39-32 advantage heading into the break, little did Florida know they would soon be on upset alert.
UF came into the matchup as the No. 1 rebounding team in the SEC. However, it was Vanderbilt that dominated the boards and set the tone on the offensive glass from start to finish. The Commodores snatched 20 offensive boards to Florida’s six and out-rebounded the Gators in total 41-35.
The Gators also had a difficult time taking care of the ball en route to committing 16 turnovers that resulted in 19 points for Vandy. Though, despite the sloppy turnovers as a team, graduate student guard Zyon Pullin was sensational.
In his final regular season game of his collegiate career, the rock solid guard posted a team-high 20 points and eight assists while committing just one turnover in 37 minutes of play. Pullin also knocked down all five of his free throw attempts and really carried Florida throughout.
UF has posted a perfect record against teams outside of Quadrant 1 this season. Though, a handful of starters for the Gators that did not play up to their potential played a major role in the upset loss.
An unlikely performance from Clayton Jr. hindered UF’s success against the Commodores.
After coming into the matchup as the Gators’ leading scorer, he put together an underwhelming 4-for-14 performance from the field, committing two costly turnovers in the last minute of the matchup.
Clayton Jr. was not the only Florida starter who didn’t have their best day at the office. Starting sophomore center Micah Handlogten got into early foul trouble and was never able to find much of a groove, finishing with two points and five rebounds.
But the Gators’ frontcourt has shown that it has the ability to be interchangeable with the pieces that head coach Todd Golden brings in off the bench. Freshman forward Alex Condon has played this role tremendously throughout the season and Saturday was no different.
The Australian brought instant energy off the bench and provided 23 valuable minutes where he scored 11 points and grabbed eight rebounds.
Junior guard Will Richard has been a streaky shooter for the team all season long. Saturday was much the same, scoring just four points on a 1-for-6 shooting performance.
As the teams began to trade blows down the stretch, the Gators put together a duo of 6-0 runs in the final 10 minutes of play. However, the Commodores responded with timely buckets and cranked up the heat defensively.
Florida led by three points with 35 seconds left but executed poorly both offensively and defensively with the game on the line. In the end, Vanderbilt took advantage and ended its regular season with some magic at Memorial.
Next, the Gators will be back in action for the second round of the SEC tournament on March 13 at 9:30 p.m. in Nashville, Tennessee.
Contact Max at mtucker@alligator.org. Follow him on X @Max_Tuckr1.
Max Tucker is a junior transfer student at UF. After obtaining his A.A. in Journalism from Santa Fe College in 2023, he chose further his education at Florida's College of Journalism and Communications. Max is currently pursuing his Bachelor of Science in Journalism with a specialization in sports and media. He enjoys golfing and going to the beach with his friends in his free time.
