Florida had its most convincing win in SEC play at home on Saturday against the Vanderbilt Commodores. In the team’s second game without star center Colin Castleton available due to a shoulder injury, the Gators pulled away for a 61-42 win in front of the O’Connell Center crowd.
UF led by just three at the half, but a big second half in which it outscored the Commodores (10-8, 2-4 SEC) by 16 and held Vandy’s scorers in check was enough to get the win.
The Gators (12-6, 3-3 SEC) are back to .500 in league play after losing their first three games, and they capture the all-time lead in the series over Vanderbilt for the first time ever, to boot. Florida is set to play four games in a week with the make-up against Ole Miss up next on Monday night, but it has some momentum on its side after a rough schedule to open its conference slate. Here are three takeaways from Saturday’s game.