Game 18: Vanderbilt Commodores at Florida Gators — Open Game Thread

Ironically, after playing three home SEC games in which students were barred from attendance thanks to the soon-to-be-ending Commodores Care program, Vanderbilt is 0-3 at Memorial Gym... but 2-0 on the road. In fact, the Commodores are 5-1 this season away from Memorial Gym, with road wins over Pitt, Hawaii, Arkansas, and Georgia, and a neutral-court win over BYU, with the only blemish being a loss at SMU on December 4, and even in that game, Vanderbilt led by 12 at halftime before falling apart in the second half.

And now, the Commodores go to ExacTech Arena in Gainesville, Florida, where they actually won back-to-back games in 2016 and 2017 as part of a five-game winning streak over the Gators. Since that 2017 game, though, they’ve gone 1-8 against Florida with the lone win coming in Memorial Gym in 2018. This isn’t a terrific Florida team, with a 2-3 SEC record, though they’ve won their last two over South Carolina and Mississippi State. Overall, the Gators are 11-6 and if they’re capable of losing to Texas Southern by 15 at home, they’re capable of losing to Vanderbilt. And reports are that Florida’s leading scorer, Colin Castleton, won’t play today.