Some observations from Florida’s 57-54 win at Vanderbilt:
- Maybe it’s the bad ankles, or suddenly bad knees, but Florida senior forward Casey Prather has been struggling to stay consistent in recent weeks. The 6-foot-6 Prather scored just 2 points against Vanderbilt. Granted, Prather had 4 steals and 6 rebounds, but Florida coach Billy Donovan thought at times Prather was forcing his offense. “He was trying to get to the basket when it wasn’t there,” Donovan said. “There were times when he had Patric (Young) and Will (Yeguete) open for dump-down passes, and he missed them. He needed to be more of a passer.”
– Florida had a nice night on the boards against Vanderbilt, outrebounding the Commodores 32-26. Florida has needed its muscle inside to compensate for its inconsistent 3-point shooting. Florida outscored Vanderbilt 13-1 in second-chance points.
– Florida needs to find more creative ways to score against zone defenses. The Gators again tried a few too many 3-point attempts over Vanderbilt’s zone, and the ball movement and player movement was tentative at times. Gator fans should hope they don’t see Syracuse’s patented 2-3 zone until Florida is deep in the NCAA Tournament.
