OGT-Milwaukee @ Florida Thur 11/18/21 6:00 SEC+

Nov 18 (Thu) 6 PM

vs
Milwaukee
Gainesville, FL Exactech Arena at Stephen C. O'Connell Center
Radio: Gators Sports Network from LEARFIELD

 

BROADCAST INFO

SEC Network+ | ESPN App
Play-by-Play: Kyle Crooks
Analyst: Patric Young

Gators Sports Network
Play-by-Play: Mick Hubert
Analyst: Lee Humphrey

HEAD COACHES
Mike White
125-75 | 7th season at UF
226-115 | 11th season overall

Pat Baldwin
48-71 | 5th season at Milw./overall

MATCHUP BASICS
All-Time Series: 1-0
All-Time vs. Horizon League: 3-0

Last Meeting:
W, 82-60, 3/18/06 (Neutral/NCAAs)
Last Meeting vs. Horizon:
W, vs. Wright State, 78-65,
11/21/11 (Neutral/Tampa

 

FLORIDA POSSIBLE STARTERS# Name Pos. Ht. Wt. Cl. Min. Pts. Reb. Misc.
4 Anthony Duruji F 6-7 220 Sr.* 31.4 11.5 7.0 1.5 blk
12 Colin Castleton F 6-11 231 Sr.* 28.3 16.5 10.5 6.0 blk
0 Myreon Jones G 6-3 175 Sr.* 31.4 16.0 6.0 3.0 3fg
22 Tyree Appleby G 6-1 163 Sr.* 28.8 9.5 3.0 4.0 ast
23 Brandon McKissic G 6-3 185 Gr. 28.2 8.0 3.0 2.0 stl
*Eligible to apply for an additional season due to COVID-19.

OPPONENT POSSIBLE STARTERS# Name Pos. Ht. Wt. Cl. Min. Pts. Reb. Misc.
11 Vin Baker Jr. F 6-9 190 RJr. 16.8 5.5 1.0 0.5 blk
44 Joey St. Pierre C 6-10 255 RJr. 13.0 2.0 2.0 1.0 stl
0 Donovan Newby G 6-1 190 Fr. 25.4 6.0 2.5 4.0 ast
4 DeAndre Gholston G 6-5 215 Jr. 37.0 18.0 7.0 1.5 3fg
23 Patrick Baldwin Jr. G 6-9 220 Fr. 36.7 20.0 10.5 2.5 ast

 

NUMBERS OF NOTE​

10
The Gators have blocked 10 shots in each of the first two games of the season. The last time UF had back-to-back double-digit blocked shots was in the 2006 national championship game vs. UCLA (10) and the following season’s opener against Samford (12). The Gators also did so earlier in the 2005-06 campaign against Auburn (10) and Savannah State (12).

33
While at Cleveland State, Tyree Appleby notched a 33-point game at
Milwaukee on Jan. 3, 2019, shooting 7-for-12 from 3-point range and
8-for-10 from the free-throw line. He followed that up with a 19-point,
11-rebound double-double in the second game of the season series on
Feb. 9.

 

2021-22 AT A GLANCE​

• Florida enters Thursday’s game with a #24 AP ranking, following Sunday’s win against Florida State. This marks the second meeting between the programs, with the first coming in the second round of the 2006 NCAA Tournament in Jacksonville.

• The Gators used a 13-0 second-half run to spark the win against 20th-ranked FSU, and Colin Castleton earned SEC Player of the Week honors with a 15-point, 16-rebound, six-blocked shot performance. Castleton became the first Gator with 15+ points and rebounds and fi ve+ blocked shots since Joakim Noah went for 21/15/5 in
the 2006 Elite Eight vs. Villanova.

• Florida opened its season with a win vs. Elon, as Myreon Jones caught fi re for 20 points to lead the Gators, including 15 points on 4-for-5 shooting from 3-point range in the second half.

• After playing with no seniors on their roster last season, the Gators have six senior or graduate players on the active roster this season.

• 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).

• 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, 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.

 

ABOUT THE OPPONENT​

• Milwaukee is led by projected NBA lottery pick Patrick Baldwin Jr., the son of head coach Pat Baldwin. The younger Baldwin has averaged 20.0 points through the Panthers’ first two games, including a game-high 21 in his collegiate debut, a win at North Dakota.

• DeAndre Gholston has also been a significant contributor at 18.0
points and 7.0 rebounds per game, while Josh Thomas is averaging
15.0 points off the bench.

• Donovan Newby has dished eight assists vs. just one turnover through
two games, also nabbing a team-best three steals.

OPPONENT’S LAST 5 GAMES​

March 2 at Wright State W/OT 94-92
March 8 vs. Cleveland State L 65-71
Oct. 30 MSOE (Exh.) W 69-63
Nov. 9 at North Dakota W 75-60
Nov. 13 Eastern Kentucky L 71-77

OPPONENT’S NEXT 5 GAMES​

Nov. 23 vs. Bowling Green
Nov. 24 vs. Southern Utah/Yale
Nov. 28 Alcorn State
Dec. 2 Youngstown State
Dec. 4 Robert Morris

ALL-TIME VS. HORIZON (3-0)
Dec. 30, 1996 vs. Robert Morris W 106-69
March 18, 2006 *vs. Milwaukee W 82-60
Nov. 21, 2011 vs. Wright State W 78-65
*NCAA Tournamen

 

INDIVIDUAL HONORS
Colin Castleton
Preseason All-SEC (1st team, media & coaches)
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Award Watch List
SEC Player of the Week (Nov. 15)

A MODEL OF CONSISTENCY​

• The Gators are one of 10 major conference teams that not finished
below .500 in conference play over the past six seasons, coinciding
with Mike White’s tenure on the bench.

Zero Seasons w/Losing Conference Record - Since ’15-16
ACC Duke, Louisville, Virginia
Big East Creighton, Seton Hall, Villanova
Big Ten Michigan
Big 12 Kansas
Pac-12 Oregon
SEC Florida

• Over the course of White’s tenure, the Gators’ performance on any
number of fronts has been among the SEC’s elite.
Avg. Final KenPom Ranking since 2015-16
19.5 Kentucky
26.5 Florida
45.5 Tennessee
46.0 Arkansas
56.2 Alabama

Conference Wins since 2015-16
77 Kentucky
63 Florida
61 Tennessee
60 LSU
59 Arkansas

Road Conference Wins since 2015-16
32 Kentucky
27 Florida
23 Alabama, LSU, Tennessee
22 Arkansas
20 Auburn, South Carolina, Texas A&M

Top-25 Road Wins since 2015-16
4 Florida, Kentucky, South Carolina
3 Alabama, Ark., Aub., LSU, Tenn., Texas A&M
2 Ole Miss
1 Georgia, Missouri, Vanderbilt
0 Mississippi State

Top-25 Wins in Away/Neutral Games since 2015-16
15 Kentucky (4/11)
12 Florida (4/8)
9 Auburn (3/6)
8 South Carolina (4/4), Tennessee (3/5)
6 Alabama (3/3), Texas A&M (3/3)

(Away/Neutral in parentheses)
Overall Top-25 Wins since 2015-16
23 Kentucky
19 Florida
17 Alabama
15 South Carolina
14 Tennessee