Vanderbilt will play for the SEC Men’s Basketball Tournament championship on Sunday.
The No. 4 seed Commodores defeated top-seeded No. 4 Florida 91-74 at Bridgestone Arena on Saturday.
Tanner’s Performance Fuels Commodores’ Victory
Tyler Tanner led the Dores with 20 points on 8-of-10 shooting. The sophomore also added eight assists against only one turnover in 37 minutes of action. Jalen Washington came off the bench to score 17 points, while Duke Miles contributed 15.
Devin McGlockton and AK Okereke recorded 12 and 11 points, respectively. Tyler Nickel and Chandler Bing each scored seven points. 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.
Key Moments in the Game
The game was tied eight minutes into play before Miles hit three free throws following a shooting foul and then completed a 4-point play. 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 a dunk from Bing with 11 minutes to go. Vandy would lead by as many as 25 before closing out the victory.
Florida’s Efforts Fall Short
Thomas Haugh had 19 points and nine rebounds for the Gators. Fland finished with 15 points. Alex Condon ended up 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.
Vanderbilt 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.