NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Tyler Tanner scored 20 points as No. 22 Vanderbilt beat fourth-ranked Florida 91-74 on Saturday, ending the defending national champion’s bid to win a second straight Southeastern Conference Tournament title and possibly hurt the Gators’ bid for a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament.
The fourth-seeded Commodores won their fourth straight game. Vanderbilt (26-7) will play either Mississippi or No. 17 Arkansas on Sunday as it goes for its first tournament title since 2012.
Four other Vanderbilt players scored in double figures, with Jalen Washington adding 17, Duke Miles 15, Devin McGlockton 12 and AK Okereke 11. Six different Commodores made at least one 3-pointer, and everyone who played scored at least a bucket.
The Gators (26-7) saw their 12-game winning streak end. Thomas Haugh led them with 19 points, Boogie Fland had 15, Alex Condon 13 and Rueben Chinyelu 12.
Florida had been dominant during its streak, winning by an average of 21.7 points to end the regular season. On Saturday, it never led by more than 2 early on. The nation’s top rebounding team dominated the boards (38-23) again, but the Gators struggled to find the basket, missing 12 of 13 shots in the first half.
Miles hit a 3-pointer putting Vanderbilt ahead to stay, and he finished off a spurt of 11 straight points with a layup. Vanderbilt led 47-34 at halftime.
Florida never got closer than 13 in the second half. Vanderbilt pushed its lead to as much as 76-51 with 8:11 to go on seven straight points, capped by a pair of Miles’ free throws for a technical called on Florida coach Todd Golden.
Up next
Vanderbilt has a chance to win its third SEC Tournament title. The Commodores first won this event in 1951.
Florida waits to see if winning the SEC regular-season title was enough for a No. 1 seed.
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