NASHVILLE, Tenn. — For the first time in more than a dozen years, Vanderbilt men’s basketball will be playing for the SEC Tournament title.
Using a balanced attack that saw five individuals score in double figures and two others finish with seven points, the No. 4 seed, 22nd-ranked Commodores defeated top-seeded No. 4 Florida 91-74 at Bridgestone Arena Saturday. Vandy will face the winner of the other semifinal featuring Arkansas and Ole Miss in its first appearance in the championship game since defeating Kentucky to claim the crown in 2012 Sunday at noon.
Tyler Tanner led the Dores (26-7) with a game-high 20 points on 8-of-10 shooting from the field, with the sophomore National Player of the Year candidate adding eight assists against only one turnover in 37 minutes of action. Jalen Washington came off the bench to connect on 6-of-8 shots on the way to scoring 17 points, Duke Miles contributed 15—including making all 10 free throws—while Devin McGlockton and AK Okereke recorded 12 and 11, respectively.
Tyler Nickel and Chandler Bing each scored seven points as well as the Commodores connected on 54.5 percent from the floor and 91.3 percent at the free-throw line while making 10 shots from beyond the 3-point arc.
It was a tie game eight minutes into play before Miles hit all three free throws following a shooting foul and then completed a 4-point play, and when McGlockton sank a 3-pointer from the wing the Commodores held a 26-16 lead eight minutes before the break. A Miles steal led to an uncontested layup in the final seconds, pushing the Vandy advantage to 15 before a pair of Boogie Fland free throws made the score 47-34 at the half.
Florida’s largest deficit of the season entering play was 19 points, but the Dores went up 67-46 on an emphatic dunk from Bing with 11 minutes to go and would lead by as many as 25 before closing out the victory.
Thomas Haugh had 19 points and nine rebounds for the Gators (26-7), who also got 15 points from Fland. Alex Condon finished with 13 points and seven boards while Rueben Chinyelu chipped in with 12 and six, respectively.
Despite recording 20 offensive rebounds in finishing with a 38-23 edge on the glass, Florida only outscored the Commodores by six points in the paint and ended up with three more second-chance points.
