Jimmy Dykes calls for change to 'cylinder rule' after controversial review in Florida vs. Vanderbilt

In the second half of Florida’s game vs. Vanderbilt on Saturday, Gators forward Thomas Haugh took an elbow to the forehead. However, Commodores forward Jalen Washington went to the free throw line because of the “cylinder rule” – and ESPN’s Jimmy Dykes called for change.

Washington went to bring the ball through when his elbow hit Haugh with 9:24 to go in Saturday’s game. The officials blew the whistle and then went to the monitor to review. Ultimately, they ruled Haugh was inside the “cylinder,” therefore deeming it a foul on him rather than on Washington.

Dykes, speaking on the ESPN broadcast, said it was the correct call because of how the rule is written. But with that, he said it needs adjusting because of how it impacts defensive players.

“That’s the proper call, but I hate the rule,” Dykes said. “I mean, Thomas Haugh is in great defensive possession and he’s going to get penalized because of this crazy cylinder rule that I think we’ve gone to another level. You bring that ball through – and Todd Golden’s saying the same thing. ‘You’ve got to be kidding me. What does my defender have to do?’

“He’s in legal guarding position. I think we are bailing the offense out if we continue to call that cylinder play the way that the rulebook says right now has to be called. That has to be changed.”

The call was an important one, as was every one down the stretch of the matchup between Florida and Vanderbilt. They traded blows throughout the matchup as the Commodores took a one-point lead into halftime, and that back-and-forth continued into the second half. Ultimately, the Gators came away with the 98-94 victory thanks in large part to a big-time shot from Xaivian Lee.

Florida is fresh off a resounding victory over Oklahoma last time out in Norman. The Gators dominated en route to a 96-79 win – their third straight after a loss to Missouri. UF did the bulk of its work in the paint, outscoring the Sooners 60-22 in that area. In fact, at one point in the second half, the Gators had more points in the pain than Oklahoma did total points.

As for Vanderbilt, the Commodores suffered their first loss of the season as Texas came away with the 80-64 win earlier this week. They headed into Saturday’s game against Florida with a 16-1 record as they welcomed the national champions to town.