Saturday’s disappointing loss to Georgia left a bad taste in Florida’s mouth. Fortunately for the Gators, they only had to wait three days to get back on the court against a quality opponent.
Despite playing with high emotion on Senior Night, the Gators came up short 64-60.
Vernon Macklin had 21 points, but had little help from the rest of the Gator lineup. Chandler Parsons, Kenny Boynton, Erving Walker, and Alex Tyus combined for a dismal 24 points.
Dan Werner, the only senior on the Gator roster, played well and scored eight points.
Vanderbilt shot 43% from the field and 50% from three, including a 6-for-9 performance by John Jenkins.
Jenkins scored 18 points, while Jermaine Beal and A.J. Ogilvy added 13 and 16, respectively.
The Gators started slow and were down 20-8 early in the first half, but battled back with a strong run to end the half down only three.
However, for the first time this season, the Gators lost when leading with five minutes remaining.