Updated Jan. 17, 2026, 5:25 p.m. ET
Florida basketball earned its biggest win of the season Saturday afternoon as the Gators defeated the Vanderbilt Commodores, 98-94, on the road in Nashville.
Rueben Chinyelu and Xaivian Lee each had 20 points, with the former adding 10 rebounds for his 10th double-double of the season. Lee’s 3-for-7 shooting from distance helped the Gators shoot 37.5% from 3-point range as a team, including a go-ahead make with 45 seconds left in the game.
Florida needed every bit of the scoring it got from its starters, as Vanderbilt matched a frenzied pace all afternoon. Alex Condon and Thomas Haugh flirted with double-doubles, scoring 16 and 18, respectively, with eight boards apiece. Boogie Fland was the only starter not in double figures, but he contributed with some solid defense and three assists.
Isaiah Brown was a major spark off the bench, scoring six of his 14 points from the free-throw line. Florida shot 25-30 (83.3%) from the stripe, making 3-of-4 shots at the end of the game to seal the win. With a four-point lead secured — by the team’s worst free-throw shooter, Condon — the Gators allowed Vanderbilt to waste the final six seconds on the clock and hoist up a meaningless 3-point attempt as time expired.
The Gators are now 13-5 on the season and 4-1 in conference play, including three straight Quadrant 1 wins. Florida is now on top of the SEC standings with an .800 win percentage.
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The Gators built up a 10-point lead in the first half, riding some hot 3-point shooting, but the Commodores stormed back over the final eight minutes to take the lead on a buzzer-beater. Florida missed its final four 3-pointers of the first half and appeared averse to attacking the rim. The turnover bug also bit the Orange and Blue, with three giveaways over that stretch, after just one over the first 12 minutes.
Golden has remained firm on shooting and turnovers being the biggest problem points for this squad. He wants the team to play a complete 40 minutes, but the middle 10 continues to be a weak spot for the Gators. Letting the lead slip away before halftime has burned Florida in the past, but UF is learning to work around its deficiencies against quality competition.
Gators guards are growing up
While it’s been Boogie Fland who has led the backcourt for the past few games, it was all Xaivian Lee in Nashville. He shot from distance with confidence and put together a sneaky good day on the glass with six defensive rebounds. Lee also had two assists and a plus-minus of 10 over 33 minutes.
While Fland’s seven points and three assists might be underwhelming, it’s the big picture that matters. Ball-handling has been a concern for this duo at times, and they finished with a combined one turnover and one assist, both from Fland.
Lee hit the clutch shot to put the Gators ahead for good, and Fland played some robust defense on Vanderbilt’s penultimate possession. Without those two moments, Florida doesn’t win this game. Replacing Walter Clayton Jr., Alijah Martin and Will Richard was never realistic, but the backcourt is finally playing at a championship level. Taking down the No. 10 team in the nation, and perhaps the biggest threat to an SEC title, makes that much evident.
Chinyelu’s second half won this game
While the guard play at the end of the game sealed it, Rueben Chinyelu did most of the dirty work in the second half.
Chinyelu might be the most talented big man in the SEC, and his nightly double-double threat doesn’t paint the full picture of how good he’s been lately. Rebounding on both ends of the court has always been a strong point for him, but Chinyelu’s scoring ability is what’s really setting him apart in SEC play.
He’s reached double figures in seven of the last eight games and is averaging 18.7 points per game over the last three. Not only has Chinyelu improved his touch around the basket, but he’s also becoming a better free-throw shooter.
One of the most pivotal moments in the game came a minute into the second half, when Chinyelu buried four consecutive free throws, and then Thomas Haugh buried a 3 to put Florida out in front by two. That seven-point swing doesn’t happen if Chinyelu doesn’t make a concerted effort to improve as a shooter. Later in the game, he pulled up from the free-throw line for a rare jumper, avoiding a second charge call after being baited into one earlier.
Sixteen of Chinyelu’s 20 points came in the second half, and he added three big blocks to his stat sheet in the half as well. Chinyelu has that rare mix of intelligence and brutish strength that turns good players into great ones. Hopefully, the NBA scouts are noticing it, too.
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