Freshman point guard Andrew Nembhard paced Florida with 19 points as the Gators defeated Vanderbilt 71-55 on Wednesday.
While the win does little to affect the Gators tournament chances, a loss would have put a major damper on their resume.
Florida (17-11, 9-6 SEC) has now won five straight for the first time since the 2016-17 season that ended in the Elite Eight.
Nembhard made his first six shot attempts and a rejuvenated Jalen Hudson added a season-high 17 to the effort while playing 34 minutes despite a reserve role.
Senior forward Kevarrius Hayes added 14 points on 5-5 from the field.
Fast stats:
- Florida shot 48% (24-50) from the floor on Wednesday.
- The Gators made 15-16 (94%) from the charity stripe. The Commodores only made 50% of their 14 attempts
- Hudson finished with 17 points but made 5-13 from the field and 3-7 from the three point line.
- Nembhard finished 7-8 from the field and 3-3 from deep.
What’s next:
Florida has three games remaining on the season. Florida will take on Georgia (10-17, 1-14 SEC) on Saturday before taking on SEC heavyweights, LSU and Kentucky before the SEC tournament begins.