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A game between two teams devolved into a matchup between two plays that Mike White considers the most improved players in the country. Tre Mann and Scottie Pippen Jr. went back and forth each leading their team in scoring.
“I think you have two of the more improved guys, definitely guards, in all of college basketball,” White said of Mann and Pippen Jr. ” I think we’ve been asked about Tre all year and I don’t get a chance to talk about other teams guys but two or three times a year. I love (Pippen Jr.’s) game. I’ve got a lot of respect for how hard he plays. He has got command out there, offensively, defensively, he’s playing a video game out there.”
The two guards dueled it out with Mann scoring 22 on 7-of-12 shooting (7-8 from the free throw line). Pippen kept Vanderbilt in the game late, scoring a game-high 23 on 6-of-19 (10-10 from the free throw line).
Florida controlled the first half of play. They held Pippen to just seven points and the Commodores to just 32-percent shooting from the field. Noah Locke threw in three three-pointers to lead all scorers in the half with 11 and the Gators used all 12 scholarship players in the first eight minutes of the game.
Despite trailing for most of the game, Pippen Jr. wouldn’t let the ‘Dores go down without a fight, and his two made free throws with 7:56 left in the game gave Vanderbilt it’s first and only lead in the half. Florida was able to clamp down defensively late in the game, forcing Vanderbilt to miss its last 11 shots thanks to a defensive adjustment in a late timeout.
“We got in a timeout and were telling each other it was flare screens,” Mann said after the game. “They were setting flare screens from the corner and the corner guys were open because we were in and things like that. We were telling each other to beat the screens and be ready for the flare screens.”
Florida got good contributions from Locke and Tyree Appleby off the bench, but it’s beginning to become clear that this team will only go as far as Mann can carry them.
Rest up, Tre, Florida might need you to play 38 minutes Friday against Tennessee if they want a chance at advancing to the next round of the SEC Tournament.
SEC Network reported that Scottie Lewis and Tyree Appleby were benched at the start of the game because the pair had missed a shootaround. Which, begged the question, how do you miss a shoot around when you’re in a different city, in the team hotel, dependent on the team bus to get to the arena where shoot around is?
It didn’t make sense and White clarified what happened.
“Absolutely disappointing. It’s unacceptable in this program. I mean, you gotta get on the elevator and get down to the first level of the hotel that you’re sleeping in. We’re not doing that here,” White said.
“I don’t know what was written, said, reported, I don’t know any of that. No one missed shootaround. We had two guys that were late to a walk through this morning in the hotel. Everybody made shootaround. That’s it.”
Tre Mann was also asked about the incident.
“You just can’t have it. There’s too much on the line right now. I mean it happens. We’ve gotta move forward, get it off our minds early and quick because we knew it was going to take everything to win this game and we just had to move past it. I’m sure they won’t let it happen again. We just have to learn from it.”
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