{"id":535865,"date":"2026-03-14T12:25:09","date_gmt":"2026-03-14T12:25:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/535865\/"},"modified":"2026-03-14T12:25:09","modified_gmt":"2026-03-14T12:25:09","slug":"nba-draft-previewing-todays-florida-vanderbilt-game","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/535865\/","title":{"rendered":"NBA Draft: Previewing Today’s Florida-Vanderbilt Game"},"content":{"rendered":"

It’s officially March Madness season, and conference tournaments are heating up with Selection Sunday this weekend. Whether it’s been AJ Dybantsa averaging 31 points during the Big 12 tournament, University of Massachusetts-Amherst securing an upset victory against University of Miami-Ohio, or just flat-out watching the best players in the nation go toe-to-toe, college basketball in March is already off to a strong start.<\/p>\n

The SEC Tournament enters its semifinal stage today, with Florida facing Vanderbilt. Let’s take a look at who to watch in today’s Florida-Vanderbilt matchup:<\/p>\n

Florida Gators<\/p>\n

The Gators have one of the most talented starting lineups in basketball — Boogie Fland, Xaivian Lee, Thomas Haugh, Alex Condon, and Rueben Chinyelu. All five players are NBA prospects, with Haugh and Condon leading the pack respectively.<\/p>\n

Thomas Haugh\"Mar<\/p>\n

Mar 13, 2026; Nashville, TN, USA; Florida Gators forward Thomas Haugh (10) dunks the ballKentucky Wildcats during the first half at Bridgestone Arena. Mandatory Credit: Steve Roberts-Imagn Images | Steve Roberts-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

Thomas Haugh is a 6-foot-9 junior averaging<\/a> 17.2 points, 6.1 rebounds, two assists, and 1.9 stocks per game while shooting 62.8%<\/a> at the rim (164 attempts), 32.4% on non-rim twos (37 attempts), 34.4% from three (160 attempts | 8.8 three point attempts per 100 possessions), and 75.6% from the free throw line (164 attempts). He’s also recording an offensive rebound percentage of seven and a stock percentage of 4.4. Haugh is an impressive driver at his size, is a tough finisher at the rim, and can space the floor.<\/p>\n

The projected late-lottery pick met the Productive Sophomore Query<\/a> last season — 41 of the 57 players (72%) who have met the criteria played 5+ years in the NBA or are currently in the league.<\/p>\n

Alex Condon\"Florida<\/p>\n

Florida forward Alex Condon (21) drives on Mississippi State forward Sergej MacUra (11) during the second half of an NCAA mens basketball game at Steven C. O’Connell Center Exactek arena in Gainesville, FL on Tuesday, March 3, 2026. [Alan Youngblood\/Gainesville Sun] | Alan Youngblood\/Gainesville Sun \/ USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images<\/p>\n

The 6-foot-11 forward is averaging<\/a> 14.8 points, 7.6 rebounds, 3.6 assists, and 2.1 stocks per game while shooting 65.8%<\/a> at the rim (184 attempts) and 54.7% on non-rim twos (75 attempts). His inability to stretch the floor has continued this season, however, as he’s converted eight of his 51 three point attempts and 65.1% of his free throws this season (169 attempts). On the other hand, Condon is impressively recording a 7.9 offensive rebound percentage, a 19.5 assist percentage, and a 5.9 stock percentage — the assist percentage stands out the most and highlights his developing ability as a passer.<\/p>\n

Condon is currently projected to be a second round pick if he declares for the 2026 NBA Draft. If he’s not likely to receive a guaranteed roster spot, Condon would return to college for his senior season and a significant NIL deal. Condon also met the Productive Sophomore Query<\/a> last season, similar to Haugh.<\/p>\n

Read More: Basketball Analytics: A February Update to the Productive Sophomore Query<\/a><\/p>\n

Vanderbilt CommodoresTyler Tanner\"Mar<\/p>\n

Mar 13, 2026; Nashville, TN, USA; Vanderbilt Commodores guard Tyler Tanner (3) lays the ball in over Tennessee Volunteers forward Felix Okpara (34) during the first half at Bridgestone Arena. Mandatory Credit: Steve Roberts-Imagn Images | Steve Roberts-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

The Commodores are a talented, cohesive team who has a handful of NBA prospects as well. Their offensive engine is Tyler Tanner — he’s\u00a0averaging<\/a>\u00a019.2 points, 5.2 assists, 3.5 rebounds, 2.5 steals, 0.4 blocks, and two turnovers per game. He’s also shooting\u00a064.7%<\/a>\u00a0at the rim (170 attempts), 40.2% on non-rim twos (87 attempts), 36.9% from three (141 attempts), and 85% from the free throw line (177 attempts).<\/p>\n

The 6-foot sophomore guard has been unassisted on\u00a063.7%<\/a>\u00a0of his made field goals this season and is estimated to have assisted on 29.5% of his teammates’ made field goals when on the floor this season, Not to mention, the sophomore is recording a\u00a04.2<\/a>\u00a0steal percentage and a 1.3 block percentage this season.<\/p>\n

Tanner is in an interesting juxtaposition when it comes to statistical queries: He’s on pace to meet the\u00a0Productive Sophomore Query<\/a>, in which 41 of the 57 players (72%) who have previously met the criteria played five-plus years in the NBA or are currently in the league. Simultaneously, however, only four guards listed at 6-foot or shorter have stuck in the NBA since 2013 and the overall stick rate for those drafted since then is\u00a021.5%\u00a0(4-of-19).<\/p>\n

Read More:\u00a0The Productive Sophomore Query<\/a><\/p>\n

Read More:\u00a0A Study on Undersized Guards<\/a><\/p>\n

AK Okereke\"Vanderbilt<\/p>\n

Vanderbilt forward Ak Okereke (10) shoots over Tennessee forward J.P. Estrella (13) during their quarterfinal game of the 2026 SEC Men\u2019s Basketball Tournament at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tenn., Friday, March 13, 2026. | DENNY SIMMONS \/ THE TENNESSEAN \/ USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images<\/p>\n

The 6-foot-7 Cornell transfer is\u00a0averaging<\/a>\u00a09.9 points, 3.5 rebounds, 1.9 assists, 1.2 stocks, and 1.2 turnovers per game while shooting\u00a062.3%<\/a>\u00a0at the rim (77 attempts), 50% on non-rim twos (48 attempts), 40.5% from beyond the arc (74 attempts), and 78.4% from the free throw line (97 attempts).<\/p>\n

Okereke has been heating up lately — converting 13 of his past 23 three point attempts since February started (56.5%). He’s also recording a\u00a05.1<\/a>\u00a0offensive rebound percentage, a 12.4 assist percentage, and a stock percentage of four.<\/p>\n

Read More:\u00a0From Walk-On to High Major: The Story of AK Okereke<\/a><\/p>\n

Other players to monitor for Vanderbilt include 6-foot-2 senior Duke Miles (who’s\u00a0averaging<\/a>\u00a016 points per game) and 6-foot-7 senior Tyler Nickel (who’s shooting\u00a040.2%<\/a>\u00a0from three on 7.5 attempts per game and 13.9 attempts per 100 possessions) — both of whom have played themselves into NBA Draft conversations.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"It’s officially March Madness season, and conference tournaments are heating up with Selection Sunday this weekend. Whether it’s…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":535866,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[434],"tags":[49,48,459,82],"class_list":["post-535865","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nba","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-nba","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/535865","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=535865"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/535865\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/535866"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=535865"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=535865"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=535865"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}