Florida isn’t willing to look past its road contest against Vanderbilt on Tuesday ahead to its regular-season finale.
Although Gators coach Mike White’s squad will close the season Saturday at home against No. 7 Kentucky, the club must face Scotty Pippen Jr. and the Commodores in Nashville, Tenn.
Florida (18-11, 8-8 Southeastern Conference) posted its second win in three outings with an 84-72 victory at Georgia on Saturday.
Phlandrous Fleming Jr., a local product of Athens, Ga., torched his hometown school with a season-high 27 points as the Gators ran away from the Bulldogs to start the second half.
“Coach told me to relax, keep it simple and don’t try to do too much,” Fleming said. “That’s what I did.”
The Gators made 14 of 31 attempts from 3-point range to overcome the absence of Anthony Duruji (ankle), who has started 27 games this season.
Florida posted a 61-42 victory over Vanderbilt on Jan. 22. Tyree Appleby scored 11 points to pace the Gators, who held Pippen to a season-low six points on 1-for-10 shooting.
Pippen, who averages a team-leading 20.2 points per game, has made up for it since that poor showing for the Commodores (14-14, 6-10).
The Los Angeles native has scored in double figures in nine of the 10 games since that defeat. He scored 32 points in Saturday’s 74-69 loss at Mississippi State.
“We knew our backs were against the ropes,” Pippen said after Vanderbilt’s last win, a 72-67 home victory over Texas A&M on Feb. 19. “This is my first time being here that the games mean something. We know we have to win from here on out.
“Six (SEC) wins. That’s more than I’ve had in my last two years combined. I came back here to win.”
Currently 11th in the league standings, victories over Florida and Saturday at Ole Miss could move Vanderbilt up to at least 10th, avoiding the first round of two games between the bottom four seeds on March 9 at the SEC tournament in Tampa, Fla.
–Field Level Media
