Florida @ Vanderbilt preview

Last Meeting ( Feb 13, 2019 ) Vanderbilt 57, Florida 66

With a season-long four-game winning streak, including a come-from-behind 64-60 triumph over Missouri on Saturday, Florida put itself back into the NCAA Tournament picture. The Gators now look to maintain momentum as they head to Vanderbilt, where they have lost four in a row, for a Wednesday night matchup.

"Not many fond memories playing at Memorial," Gators head coach Mike White said to the media before talking about the challenge of keeping his team from getting distracted with all the postseason chatter. "Just focusing on us and Vanderbilt and getting a little bit better and having a great practice. We can't allow any of the other stuff to creep in. It will take away from the jobs ahead and what we want to accomplish." The Gators can't afford to look past a team still searching for its first SEC victory, but their historical lack of success against Vanderbilt should keep his squad's attention as Florida is just 2-6 against the Commodores under White. The Gators did beat them 66-57 in Gainesville two weeks ago to begin their four-game run, but Florida needed clutch plays from their reserves to eke out the win. Vanderbilt's four straight home victories over Florida were by a total of 15 points.

TV: 9 p.m. ET, SEC Network

ABOUT FLORIDA (16-11, 8-6 SEC): The Gators are back in the hunt despite continuing to struggle offensively, but the team relies heavily on its defense, ranking first in the conference in opponents' scoring (63.5) and 3-point field goal percentage (31.3). Freshman guard Noah Locke, the team's second-leading scorer (10.7 ppg), remains in a slump with three points or less in three of the last four games, but one-time star Jalen Hudson has picked up some of the slack with double-digit scoring in four of the last five games after turning the trick just three times in the first 18. Freshman Keyontae Johnson came up big in the first meeting with the Commodores, falling one rebound short of a double-double with 15 points and nine boards and he continues to come on strong for the Gators.

ABOUT VANDERBILT (9-18, 0-14): Point guard Saben Lee is the Commodores' leading active scorer (12.7 ppg) and he's shooting 45.7 percent from the floor and 33.3 percent from 3-point range, while Simisola Shittu is hitting 47 percent of his shots but is not a threat from downtown (1-of-18). Freshman guard Aaron Nesmith has led the Commodores in scoring in three of the last four games, hitting double digits in all four, including a career-high 26 points in the loss to Florida followed by a 24-point outing against Auburn. Shittu (6.9 rpg) and Nesmith (5.9 rpg) are the team's top rebounders and the Commodores rank fourth in the SEC in defensive rebounds with 26.41 per game.

TIP-INS

1. Vanderbilt has a 71-65 series lead and has won six of the last eight meetings, with Florida's only victories coming this season (66-57) and last (81-74), both in Gainesville.

2. With a victory over Vanderbilt, the Gators would have their longest SEC winning streak since 2016-17, when they won eight in a row.

3. The Commodores rank third in the SEC with 637 trips to the free-throw line.

PREDICTION: Florida 72, Vanderbilt 64