Feb. 17, 2018
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Vanderbilt Postgame Notes
Vanderbilt 71, Florida 68
Memorial Gymnasium – Nashville, Tenn.
Saturday, Feb. 17, 2018
The Series:
With the win, the Commodores move to 71-64 all-time against Florida. Vanderbilt now has a 45-15 series advantage in games played between the teams in Memorial Gym.
Team notes:
– With the win, Vanderbilt moves to 11-16 overall and 5-9 in the Southeastern Conference.
– The victory marks Vanderbilt’s fifth straight win in Memorial Gym, with the previous wins coming against LSU, TCU, Georgia and Mississippi State.
– The Commodores won their first SEC game this year when trailing at halftime. The Dores are now 1-6 versus conference teams when trailing at the half. It was Vanderbilt’s first win after facing a halftime deficit since beating UNC-Asheville on Nov. 17, 2017.
– The Commodores featured the same five starters for the seventh straight game: freshman guards Maxwell Evans and Saben Lee, senior Riley LaChance, senior forward Jeff Roberson and freshman center Ejike Obinna.
– The Commodores opened the game hitting 5-of-6 shots from the field, including 3-pointers from Evans and Roberson, to take a 14-11 lead with 14:26 left. The Gators also started hot, making their first four field goal attempts.
– Vanderbilt was superb from the free throw line, converting 22-of-24 attempts (91.7%). In the critical second half, the Commodores were 15-of-16 from the line. It tied the second-most free throws converted by the team this year and marked the team’s second-highest percentage of conversions, behind only a 16-for-16 effort against Georgia (Feb. 7).
– In the first half, Vanderbilt shot 50 percent from the field (9-of-18) and 37.5% from 3-point range (3-of-8), and entered intermission down by six, 34-28.
– After committing nine turnovers in the first half, the Commodores handled the ball with extreme care in the second half. They had just two turnovers in the final 20 minutes of action.
– The Commodores had three players reach double-digits in scoring. The team’s leaders were Roberson (26), LaChance (21) and sophomore swingman Joe Toye (13). It was the sixth time in the last seven games that Vanderbilt has produced at least three players with double-digit scoring.
– It marked the fifth time in the last six games that the Commodores had at least three players with double-digit scoring. Vanderbilt did not have a single player in double-digits in its loss at Arkansas (Feb. 10).
– The Commodores shot 48.8% (20-of-41) from the field and matched the taller Gators with 31 rebounds.
Player notes:
– Roberson paced the Commodores with 26 points. It was his highest point total of the year, behind only a career-high 30-point effort at Auburn on Feb. 3. It was Roberson’s 10th game this year with at least 20 points, and his seventh in the last nine games. He also topped the Commodores with seven rebounds.
– LaChance added 21 points for the Commodores, including 15 in the second half. It was his fifth-highest scoring game of the year and ninth time in double figures in the team’s last 10 games. He also added a team-high five assists.
– With 13 points, Toye was just three points off his season high. It was his consecutive game in double figures. He also matched a season high with three 3-pointers.
