#23/24 Florida (5-0/0-0 SEC) vs. Troy (4-2/0-0 Sun Belt)Exactech Arena at the Stephen C. O’Connell Center (10,151) | Gainesville, Fla. Game 6 | Nov. 28, 2021 | Noon BROADCAST INFO SEC Network | ESPN App Play-by-Play: Mike Morgan Analyst: Dane Bradshaw Gators Sports Network Play-by-Play: Mick Hubert Analyst: Lee Humphrey
HEAD COACHES Mike White 128-75 | 7th season at UF 229-115 | 11th season overall Scott Cross 24-41 | 3rd season at Troy 249-202 | 15th season overall MATCHUP BASICS All-Time Series: 1-0 Under White: First Meeting All-Time vs. Sun Belt: 15-6 vs. Sun Belt under White: 1-0 Last Meeting: W, 80-58, 11/20/09 (Home)
NUMBERS OF NOTE 18 The Gators’ pressure defense has forced 18 turnovers in each of their past two games, powering Florida to its Fort Myers Tip-Off championship. UF tallied 13 steals in the win vs. Ohio State and 10 vs. California. 8 Florida is aiming for a 6-0 start, something the Gators have done just eight times previously, most recently in the 2012-13 season. 10 Florida overcame a 10-point deficit in its last outing to claim the win vs. Ohio State, marking the team’s 11th double-digit comeback win under Mike White
FLORIDA POSSIBLE STARTERS# Name Pos. Ht. Wt. Cl. Min. Pts. Reb. Misc. 4 Anthony Duruji F 6-7 220 Sr.* 27.2 10.0 5.4 1.0 blk 12 Colin Castleton F 6-11 231 Sr.* 28.1 15.8 10.4 3.0 blk 0 Myreon Jones G 6-3 175 Sr.* 30.4 11.8 4.0 2.2 3fg 22 Tyree Appleby G 6-1 163 Sr.* 28.8 11.2 3.0 3.6 ast 23 Brandon McKissic G 6-3 185 Gr. 25.3 6.4 3.8 1.8 stl *Eligible to apply for an additional season due to COVID-19. OPPONENT POSSIBLE STARTERS# Name Pos. Ht. Wt. Cl. Min. Pts. Reb. Misc. 23 Efe Odigie F 6-9 240 Jr. 22.9 13.0 5.3 .492 fg% 24 Nick Stampley F 6-6 210 Sr. 18.0 4.3 2.5 0.8 ast 35 Nate Tshimanga F 6-10 230 Fr. 17.5 3.7 3.7 0.7 stl 11 Desmond Williams G 6-1 165 So. 21.3 6.8 2.3 1.5 3fg 21 Duke Deen G 5-8 160 Fr. 30.5 13.3 4.7 4.3 ast
2021-22 AT A GLANCE• Florida enters Sunday’s showdown vs. Troy with an unblemished 5-0 mark, looking to push its record to 6-0 for the first time since 2012-13. The programs have only met once previously, a Gators win in 2009. • Florida battled back from a double-digit deficit to knock off Ohio State on Tyree Appleby’s buzzer-beating 3-pointer to win the Fort Myers Tip-Off. Phlandrous Fleming led the Florida attack with 19 points and four steals, supported by Colin Castleton’s double-double with 11 points and 13 rebounds. • The Gators rode a strong late-first half performance to victory against Cal, outscoring the Bears 29-10 over the final 8:10 of the opening frame. Four Gators scored in double figures, led by Colin Castleton’s 16 and Tyree Appleby’s 15. • Florida’s 6.2 blocked shots per game, 56.0 points allowed and +17.6 scoring margin all rank third among SEC teams. • 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. • 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, along with fellow 2020-21 starters Tyree Appleby and Anthony Duruji. Other returners include wing Niels Lane and post Jason Jitoboh. • 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 will play at least 10 games against preseason AP top 25 opponents this season, including nonconference battles vs. Florida State, Ohio State, and Maryland.
ABOUT THE OPPONENT• Troy brings in a high-pressure style that is generating 20 turnovers per game off of 10.3 steals. • The 5-foot-8 freshman Duke Deen leads the Trojans with 13.3 points per game, joined in double figures by Efe Odigie (13.0 ppg) and Duke Miles (11.5). • Zay Williams leads Troy in rebounding (7.3) and blocked shots (six), while Deen also paces the Trojans with 11 made 3-pointers, 26 assists and nine steals. • Troy’s best win of the young season came in a triple-overtime defeat of Jacksonville State, led by Deen’s 20 points and Odigie’s 18, along with Zay Williams’ double-double (12 points, 11 rebounds). Deen played 52 minutes and Williams 49 in the 55-minute affair OPPONENT’S LAST 5 GAMES Nov. 13 at Butler L 59-70 Nov. 16 Jacksonville State W 69-65 Nov. 19 vs. North Dakota L 72-74 Nov. 20 vs. UT-Martin W 80-67 Nov. 22 at FAU L 83-78 OPPONENT’S NEXT 5 GAMES Dec. 1 Rust College Dec. 5 Southeastern Louisiana Dec. 11 at Tennessee Tech Dec. 14 Alabama A&M Dec. 18 Arkansas Baptist ALL-TIME SERIES (1-0) Nov. 20, 2009 H W 80-5 ALL-TIME VS. SUN BELT (15-6) Feb. 4, 1937 at Georgia Southern L 35-39 Dec. 30, 1952 vs. Georgia Southern W 73-61 Dec. 28, 1953 vs. Georgia Southern L 86-99 Dec. 28, 1983 vs. UL Lafayette L 65-74 March 14, 1984 ^vs. South Alabama L 87-88 March 14, 1985 ^at UL Lafayette L 64-65 Nov. 29, 1997 Coastal Carolina W 62-44 Nov. 16, 1998 Georgia Southern W 76-62 Nov. 30, 1998 Coastal Carolina W 110-68 Dec. 30, 1999 South Alabama W 82-61 Nov. 24, 2002 Coastal Carolina W 88-45 Dec. 19, 2004 Georgia Southern W 100-68 March 16, 2006 *vs. South Alabama W 76-50 Dec. 15, 2007 vs. Georgia Southern W 52-49 Dec. 22, 2008 Georgia Southern W 88-81 Nov. 18, 2009 Georgia Southern W 69-49 Nov. 20, 2009 Troy W 80-58 Dec. 22, 2009 South Alabama L 66-67 Nov. 16, 2013 Little Rock W 86-56 Nov. 21, 2014 Louisiana-Monroe W/OT 61-56 Dec. 21, 2016 Little Rock W 94-71 *NCAA Tournament; ^NIT
I love that high Arcing jumper of his, he hit a HUGE 3 against OSU at a very important time in the game.
