Brandon McKissic, Gators hold Scotty Pippen Jr. to season-low 6 points

Florida guard Brandon McKissic had Saturday’s matchup circled on his calendar. 

The grad transfer from UMKC was looking forward to facing Vanderbilt for a shot at Scotty Pippen Jr., the SEC preseason player of the year. Pippen entered the game averaging 18.8 points, which led the league in scoring. 

“I was really excited for this game,” McKissic said, “coming into it guarding someone like Scotty Pippen Jr. I was excited to see how I would match up with him and it was a fun game. It was a really exciting one for me.”

Pippen picked up two early fouls and played just over five minutes in the first period, scoring four points. His absence, however, didn’t keep the Commodores from being competitive. 

They closed out the half with a 9-3 run and trailed by just three points at the break, 31-28. 

“I thought Vanderbilt was at a really good place at halftime with Scotty having sat most of the first half, knowing he was going to play probably 18 or 20 in the second half and get it going to a certain extent,” White said. “I liked our looks offensively and the way we moved, but defensively I thought we had some breakdowns. I thought they had missed several open ones in the first half. We could’ve gone into the locker room down five or seven, easily.” 

The production that White anticipated from Pippen never happened. He went 0-for-7 from the floor in the second half and made just two of his four free throw attempts. 

McKissic and the Gators held Pippen to 1-for-10 shooting and a season-low six points — his worst scoring output in 47 games — in their 61-42 win over Vandy. 

“Team effort,” UF coach Mike White said. “We’ve got good defensive guards. Our bigs were really locked in to their ball screen coverage. It’s about the collection of the five guys out there and how connected they are. Probably most of all, just the respect our guys have for how good Scotty Pippen Jr. is. 

“I can’t imagine he goes 1-for-10 another time in his collegiate career. He missed some for us. He got in early foul trouble. That’s not him. That’s not them. I think they’re the most improved team in our league. I think they’re very good. They missed some open ones for us. That said, I thought we were pretty good defensively.” 

McKissic took ‘pride’ in defending Pippen

The 42 points allowed by UF marked the second-fewest vs. an SEC opponent under White. What was the key to Florida’s defensive effort against Pippen? 

“Pride,” McKissic replied. “Just pride in yourself. I’m not just going to allow a person to score. That’s against my heart. I can’t just let that happen. Regardless of if I’m going to foul or not. It’s just, you gotta play hard. It ain’t really nothing else to it. Just pride in yourself. 

“We all put our shoes on and put our jerseys on. Just because they have this status, doesn’t mean we have to allow them to score their average every night. So I feel like we had that grit and that pride in ourselves. Regardless of who it is, they’re not going to score on us.” 

The Gators opened the second half with a 12-0 run and led by double digits from that point on. Florida surrendered just 14 points and three made field goals, none from three, in the period. 

“When we’re just locked in like that, we’re not even thinking about whether our shots are going in or out. We were just getting back on defense and working hard,” McKissic said. “I feel like that’s what was the biggest thing. We just guarded, regardless of what the results were on the offensive end. We were guarding. 

“You guys are seeing what we’re capable of and our ceiling. We’ve been really looking at our identity the past few games, and that’s what we’ve been emphasizing in the locker room; just be us to the fullest and max out. That’s what we’re working toward and this is what we’re trying to show you guys. We are a defensive team.”

White credited McKissic for playing with more intensity in the second half and shutting down Pippen on defense. McKissic also dished four assists and scored nine points, including a three-pointer during Florida’s 12-0 run. 

“I thought BMac made as big a jump as anyone on our team in that second half with just his intensity level and leading by example. He missed a couple open ones and had that look of, ‘Man, I hope I make the next one.’ And he just, something clicked where he really turned it on defensively,” White said. 

“We just came out early second half and our guys collected some stops. You could hear some communication from the other end. I thought it was pretty sharp, loud and early. Pretty good defensive effort.”