No. 10 Vanderbilt (16-1) suffered its first loss of the season at the hands of the Texas Longhorns (11-6) Wednesday. The usually outstanding Vanderbilt offense was shut down by Texas, despite a 21-point performance from guard Duke Miles. Now, the Commodores return to Memorial Gymnasium on Saturday to face No. 19 Florida, which has won seven of its last eight games.
Rebounding
One of the cornerstones of Vanderbilt’s offensive identity is its fast-paced rhythm. Miles and sophomore Tyler Tanner both average more than 2.5 steals a game, allowing the team to get many transition opportunities. This collapsed Wednesday, though, when Vanderbilt was outrebounded by Texas 42-24. Vanderbilt could not find its groove without the ability to control possessions and limit second-chance opportunities.
Like Texas, Florida also has a significant height advantage over Vanderbilt and could easily exploit the Commodores’ recent struggles on the glass. Tuesday against Oklahoma, Florida outrebounded the Sooners 43-31, with 6’9 Thomas Haugh and 6’10 Rueben Chinyelu combining for 19 rebounds. The Gators also outrebounded No. 21 Tennessee 41-30 in their blowout win on Jan. 10. In addition to Haugh and Chinyelu, Alex Condon has notched at least 10 rebounds in five games this season. If Vanderbilt wants to get its offense back on track, it must be physical enough to make up for its lack of height and stay on pace with Florida when crashing the glass. This means Vanderbilt’s taller players like Devin McGlockton and Jalen Washington, who average the most rebounds on the team, must be aggressive at the basket.
Three-point shooting
During the Texas game, Vanderbilt’s three-point shooting was poor. Despite going 8-for-15 from deep in the first half, the Commodores went 1-for-10 in the second half. Devin McGlockton’s shot has struggled mightily, having only made one 3-pointer since Vanderbilt entered SEC play. Vanderbilt cannot afford to have a down-shooting game against the Gators, though. Florida’s size will limit the Commodores’ opportunities in the paint, and Vanderbilt will need to keep up with Florida’s offense that has scored more than 90 points in its past three games. Vanderbilt must remain competitive around the perimeter on Saturday and ease into its normally efficient three-point game that revolves around Tyler Nickel, who shot 40% from three his past two games but only attempted five shots from deep against Texas compared to ten in Vanderbilt’s win over LSU.
Defense in the paint
Florida’s size is not just impactful for rebounding but will also cause Vanderbilt problems by attacking the rim. The Commodores struggled against Texas in the paint, allowing Longhorns seven-footer Matas Vokietaitis to shoot 7-for-9 from short range. Meanwhile, most of Florida’s starters thrive in the paint, with both Condon (10 points) and Chinyelu (21 points) collecting all their points from either in the interior or the free throw line against Oklahoma. While Vanderbilt excels at stealing the ball from its opponents, its bigs in McGlockton and Jalen Washington will have to step up, control the paint and limit second-chance opportunities for Florida.
Vanderbilt will take on Florida on Saturday, Jan. 17, at 1 p.m. CST in Memorial Gymnasium.
