#24 Florida (3-0/0-0 SEC) vs. California (2-2/0-0 Pac-12)Suncoast Credit Union Arena | Fort Myers, Fla. Fort Myers Tip-Off | Game 4 | Nov. 22, 2021 | 8:30 p.m. BROADCAST INFO FS1 | Fox Sports App Play-by-Play: Brandon Gaudin Analyst: Bill Raftery Gators Sports Network Play-by-Play: Mick Hubert Analyst: Lee Humphre
HEAD COACHES Mike White 126-75 | 7th season at UF 227-115 | 11th season overall Mark Fox 24-39 | 3rd season at Cal 310-215 | 17th season overall MATCHUP BASICS All-Time Series: 0-2 All-Time vs. Pac-12: 14-10 vs. Pac-12 under White: 2-0 Last Meeting: L, 58-73, 11/25/88 (Anchorage
FLORIDA POSSIBLE STARTERS# Name Pos. Ht. Wt. Cl. Min. Pts. Reb. Misc. 4 Anthony Duruji F 6-7 220 Sr.* 29.4 11.7 7.0 1.3 blk 12 Colin Castleton F 6-11 231 Sr.* 27.2 17.3 10.3 4.3 blk 0 Myreon Jones G 6-3 175 Sr.* 29.5 13.0 5.3 3.0 ast 22 Tyree Appleby G 6-1 163 Sr.* 29.3 11.0 4.0 4.3 ast 23 Brandon McKissic G 6-3 185 Gr. 28.6 7.7 4.3 1.7 ast *Eligible to apply for an additional season due to COVID-19. OPPONENT POSSIBLE STARTERS# Name Pos. Ht. Wt. Cl. Min. Pts. Reb. Misc. 13 Kuany Kuany F 6-9 194 Jr. 14.0 3.3 0.8 0.8 stl 15 Grant Anticevich F 6-9 230 5th 34.3 11.8 7.3 1.8 3fg 22 Andre Kelly F 6-9 255 Sr. 33.5 16.8 11.0 1.5 ast 1 Joel Brown G 6-3 192 Jr. 36.3 8.3 3.5 4.0 ast 31 Jordan Shepherd G 6-4 190 Gr. 31.5 13.5 2.0 2.3 s
NUMBERS OF NOTE 91.6% Seniors and graduates have accounted for 91.6% of Florida’s points (207 of 226) scored through three games, after having no seniors on the roster a season ago. 33 Florida and Cal’s last meeting came almost 33 years ago, Nov. 25, 1988, in Anchorage, Alaska. 45 In Florida’s last outing, the Gators’ defense limited Milwaukee to 45 points, not permitting the Panthers to score their 30th point until just 7:04 remained in the game. The Gators have held an opponent to 47 points or fewer at least once in all seven seasons under Mike White.
2021-22 AT A GLANCE • Florida and California meet for the fi rst time since a pair of neutral-site meetings in the 1980s, both won by Cal. Dating back to 2003, Florida has won 11 of its last 12 games vs. Pac-12 teams, including a 2-0 mark under Mike White (both vs. Stanford). White is 5-2 head-to-head against Mark Fox, all from Fox’s time at Georgia,including 4-2 at UF and 1-0 at LA Tech. • The Florida defense’s 8.7 blocked shots per game lead the SEC in the early going, while the 53.7 points allowed rank second and .358 fi eld goal percentage defense rates third. • 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 fi rst 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 front court 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 non conference battles vs. Florida State and Maryland with the possibility of a meeting against Ohio State in Fort Myers.
ABOUT THE OPPONENT • Cal is led by former Georgia head coach Mark Fox, who is in his third season leading the Golden Bears. Cal earned a top-25 win in Fox’s first season at the helm, topping 21st-ranked Colorado. • Andre Kelly leads the team with 16.8 points and 10.8 rebounds per game, shooting .609 from the field. • Joel Brown has a team-leading 15 assists, while Sam Alajiki leads with four blocked shots. • Grant Antecevich (7-for-15) and Jordan Shepherd (6-for-15) are Cal’s top 3-point threats. OPPONENT’S LAST 5 GAMES Nov. 1 Cal State L.A. (Exh.) W 92-58 Nov. 9 UC San Diego L 67-80 Nov. 13 at UNLV L 52-55 Nov. 15 San Diego W 75-70 Nov. 18 Southern Utah W/2OT 75-68 OPPONENT’S NEXT 5 GAMES Nov. 24 vs. Ohio State/Seton Hall Nov. 28 Fresno State Dec. 2 Oregon State Dec. 5 at Utah Dec. 8 Idaho Stat ALL-TIME SERIES (0-2) Dec. 27, 1986 N L 80-83 Nov. 25, 1988 N L 58-73
ALL-TIME VS. PAC-12 (14-10) Dec. 21, 1965 at Washington W 66-60 Dec. 22, 1965 at Washington L 69-78 Dec. 23, 1974 at Stanford L 70-80 Dec. 29, 1984 vs. Arizona State W 87-73 Dec. 27, 1986 vs. California L 80-83 Nov. 25, 1988 vs. California L 58-73 Nov. 27, 1988 vs. Utah W 77-68 Feb. 4, 1989 vs. Stanford L 69-84 Dec. 21, 1990 at Stanford L 74-86 April 1, 1992 ^vs. Utah L 62-65 Nov. 9, 2001 vs. Arizona L 71-75 Nov. 27, 2002 vs. Stanford L 65-69 Nov. 28, 2003 vs. Arizona W 78-77 April 3, 2006 *vs. UCLA W 73-57 March 25, 2007 *vs. Oregon W 85-77 March 31, 2007 *vs. UCLA W 76-66 March 25, 2008 ^at Arizona State W 70-57 Nov. 25, 2008 vs. Washington W 86-84 March 19, 2011 *vs. UCLA W 73-65 Dec. 7, 2011 Arizona W/OT 78-72 Dec. 15, 2012 at Arizona L 64-65 March 27, 2014 *vs. UCLA W 79-68 Nov. 23, 2017 vs. Stanford W 108-87 Nov. 22, 2018 vs. Stanford W 72-49 *NCAA Tournament; ^NIT
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 fi nished 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
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
I will be here..looking forward to another Gator win....I am excited about the direction of our team...see everyone at 8:30..
So this game is being played on the campus of something called Florida Southwestern State College? Forgive my long absence from SW FL, but is this the old Edison Community College?
Billy Packer was a Wake Forest guy and an ACC homer. Bill Raftery was a broadcaster that actually coached the game and while not being great he was better than Dick Vitale. Bill Raftery
