Florida (0-0/0-0 SEC) vs. Elon (0-0/0-0 CAA)Exactech Arena at the Stephen C. O’Connell Center | Gainesville, Fla. Game 1 | Nov. 9, 2021 | 8 p.m. BRODCAST INFO SEC Network+ | ESPN App Play-by-Play: Kyle Crooks Analyst: Mark Wise Gators Sports Network Play-by-Play: Mick Hubert Analyst: Lee Humphrey
HEAD COACHES Mike White 123-75 | 7th season at UF 224-115 | 11th season overall Mike Schrage 23-30 | 3rd season at Elon/overall MATCHUP BASICS\All-Time Series: 0-0 Season Openers under White: 5-1 All-Time vs. CAA opponents: 11-3 vs. CAA under White: 2-0 All-Time vs. CAA at Home: 8-0 Last Meeting vs. CAA opponent: UF 66, Towson 60, 11/14/19 (H
NUMBERS OF NOTE 3,882 Florida’s four incoming Division-I transfers have scored a combined 3,882 career points for their previous teams. That total ranks second-most of any transfer class this season, trail- ing only Arkansas’ six-man group. 2nd Florida ranks second in the SEC over the past six seasons in conference win, top-25 wins, NCAA Tournament wins and road SEC wins. The Gators’ four true road wins over top-25 teams are tied for most by an SEC team. 7 As many as seven players could make their Florida debut, including grad transfers Phlandrous Fleming and Brandon McKissic, transfers CJ Felder and Myreon Jones, junior college transfer Tuongthach Gatkek and freshmen Elijah Kennedy and Kowacie Reeves
FLORIDA POSSIBLE STARTERS# Name Pos. Ht. Wt. Cl. Min. Pts. Reb. Misc. 4 Anthony Duruji F 6-7 220 Sr.* 22.1 6.1 4.4 0.6 stl 12 Colin Castleton F 6-11 231 Sr.* 25.8 12.4 6.4 2.3 blk 0 Myreon Jones G 6-3 175 Sr.* 30.2 15.3 2.7 2.5 3fg 23 Brandon McKissic G 6-3 185 Gr. 34.0 17.2 3.7 .429 3fg% 24 Phlandrous Fleming Jr. G 6-5 205 Gr. 34.2 20.1 7.4 2.6 3fg *Eligible to apply for an additional season due to COVID-19 ELON TOP RETURNERS# Name Pos. Ht. Wt. Cl. Min. Pts. Reb. Misc. 0 Hunter McIntosh G 6-2 180 Jr. 32.6 15.7 3.2 2.3 ast 10 Kris Wooten G 6-2 194 Sr. 21.2 5.8 1.1 1.5 3fg 12 Darius Burford G 6-0 166 So. 23.7 8.9 3.3 1.4 stl 13 Jerald Gillens-Butler G/F 6-5 227 RSr. 24.0 15.7 5.3 .500 fg% 25 Hunter Woods G/F 6-6 197 Jr. 26.8 7.9 6.8 1.1 stl
2020-21 AT A GLANCE• The Gators feature a slew of new faces after earning an NCAA Tournament berth and a tournament victory in 2021 for the fourth straight tournament. The Gators are one of six teams nationally with a win in each of the past four tournaments and the only Southeastern Conference team to reach every NCAA Tournament in that span (since 2017). • After playing with no seniors on the roster last season, the Gators will have six senior or graduate players on their active roster to start the season in addition to Keyontae Johnson, who will be continuing in a supporting role for the time being. To date, Johnson has not been cleared to return to the floor for the Gators. • All-SEC frontcourt man Colin Castleton returns to UF after testing the NBA waters this summer, along with fellow 2020-21 starters Tyree Appleby and Anthony Duruji. Castleton was recognized with preseason All-SEC first-team status by coaches and the media this season, along with a spot on the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Award watch list. • Other returners include wing Niels Lane and post Jason Jitoboh, along with walk-on sophomores Alex Klatsky and Jack May. • The Gators added a quartet of veteran impact transfers who have a combined 3,882 career points scored at their previous schools. Florida’s 2021 class of incoming transfers rates in the nation’s top two in career points (Arkansas, 4,125 points, 6 players). • Guards Brandon McKissic (UMKC) and Phlandrous Fleming Jr. (Charleston Southern) both bring conference defensive player of the year and first-team all-conference credentials to Gainesville as graduate transfers. • The Gators also added a pair of undergrad transfers in senior guard Myreon Jones (Penn State) and junior forward CJ Felder (Boston College). Jones led the Nittany Lions in scoring last season with 15.3 points per game and averaged 2.4 3-pointers made per game, while Felder posted 9.7 points and 5.9 rebounds per game last season. • UF also brings in two freshmen guards in ESPN Top 100 prospect Kowacie Reeves (Macon, Ga.) and pure-shooting lefty Elijah Kennedy (Virginia Beach, Va.), along with junior college transfer Tuongthach Gatkek. • The Gators are slated for at least nine games against preseason AP top 25 opponents this season, including nonconference battles vs. Florida State and Maryland with the possibility of a meeting against Ohio State in Fort Myers. • Associate head coach Al Pinkins returns for his fourth season at Florida, and assistant coaches Erik Pastrana and Akeem Miskdeen joined White’s staff after Jordan Mincy (Jacksonville) and Darris Nichols (Radford) moved on to head coaching opportunities. • Director of basketball operations Jonathan Blake (seventh season) and special assistant to the head coach Bryce Douglas (fifth season) return to White’s support staff. Athletic trainer Duke Werner, Florida’s Associate AD for Sports Health, returns for his 18th season with the men’s basketball team and 28th at Florida, while director of strength and conditioning Preston Greene enters his 11th season with the Gators.
ABOUT THE OPPONENT • Elon came one win shy of an NCAA Tournament berth last season, despite going 4-7 in regular-season CAA action. The Phoenix swept through Towson, James Madison, and Hofstra before coming up just shy against Drexel in the championship game. • Several top performers from last year’s squad return, led by Hunter McIntosh, who averaged 15.7 points per game white averaging 2.7 made 3-pointers per game. • Jerald Gillens-Butler also averaged 15.7 points per game in three appearances in 2020-21 before suff ering a season-ending injury. • Leading rebounder Hunter Woods also returns. The 6-foot-6 junior grabbed 6.8 boards per game to go along with 7.9 points. • Darius Burford, who stands six feet even, had a team-high 27 steals and chipped in 8.9 points on .479 shooting from the field last season to earn a spot on the CAA All-Rookie Team. His field goal percentage ranked in the top-10 nationally among players six feet or shorter. OPPONENT’S LAST 5 GAMES Feb. 27 at UNC Wilminton W 80-77 March 6 vs. Towson W 69-48 March 7 vs. James Madison W 72-71 March 8 vs. Hofstra W 76-58 March 9 vs. Drexel L 56-62
UF ALL-TIME VS. CAA (11-3) Dec. 13, 1977 Hofstra W 97-95 Dec. 2, 1978 at UNC Wilmington W 66-51 Dec. 19, 1978 at Hofstra L 67-68 Jan. 4, 1988 Towson W 77-55 Dec. 9, 1989 vs. James Madison W 85-77 Dec. 5, 1990 at James Madison L 66-93 March 17, 1994 *vs. James Madison W 64-62 Dec. 1. 1996 vs. Delaware L 78-88 Dec. 23, 1999 UNC Wilmington W 80-53 Dec. 22, 2003 Northeastern W 101-83 Nov. 12, 2010 UNC Wilmington W 77-60 Nov. 14, 2014 William & Mary W 68-45 Dec. 20, 2017 James Madison W 72-63 Nov. 14, 2019 Towson W 66-60 *NCAA Tournament
SEASON OPENERS UNDER WHITE (5-1)Nov. 13, 2015 at Navy W 59-41 Nov. 11, 2016 Florida Gulf Coast W 80-59 Nov. 13, 2017 Gardner-Webb W 116-74 Nov. 6, 2018 at Florida State L 60-81 Nov. 5, 2019 North Florida W 74-59 Dec. 2, 2020 vs. Army W 76-69
Title needs to be corrected. Game is on SEC+, not ESPN+. There is a big difference. If you get ESPN, SEC+ is free. ESPN+ is not free.
I wonder if CDM will be speaking to the crowd at halftime? If that's the case there might not be a crowd.
Both Chris Harry and Erik Fawcett say that this is a decent opening opponent for the Gators. Not a gimme putt.
Just read Fawcett's opening game article on the Gator Country homepage. Surprised Duruji didn't get a single mention, especially since White seems to be raving about him. Despite the focus on the transfers and Castleton, I think Duruji's play will be critical if we want to be a second week March Madness team. White looking for continued selflessness, better rebounding in opener | GatorCountry.com
Can't wait ! Tonight's viewing lineup - All the Gator Podcaster's, my personal favorite is Dave Watters at Gators breakdown. The Gators hoop game The curse of Oak island
