#20/16 Florida (6-2/0-0 SEC) vs. North Florida (2-8/0-0 A-Sun) Exactech Arena at the Stephen C. O’Connell Center (10,151) | Gainesville, Fla. Game 9 | Dec. 8, 2021 | 7 p.m BROADCAST INFO SEC Network | ESPN App Play-by-Play: Roy Philpott Analyst: Mark Wise Gators Sports Network Play-by-Play: Mick Hubert Analyst: Lee Humphrey
HEAD COACHES Mike White 129-77 | 7th season at UF 230-117 | 11th season overall Matthew Driscoll 194-202 | 13th season at UNF 220-279 | 16th season overall MATCHUP BASICS All-Time Series: 9-0 Under White: 5-0 All-Time vs. A-Sun: 100-19 vs. A-Sun under White: 10-0 Last Meeting: W, 74-59, 11/5/20 (Ho
NUMBERS OF NOTE 6 Six different players have led or co-led the Gators in scoring, with Brandon McKissic coming off a season-high and team-leading 15 points on Monday. 10+ Florida has tallied double-digit steals four times through eight games in 2021-22, already matching last season’s total number of games with 10+ steals. 30 Anthony Duruji was one of 30 players nationally recognized on Tuesday as a candidate for the 2021-22 Senior CLASS Award, recognizing excellence in community, classroom, character and competition.
2021-22 AT A GLANCE • Florida plays its second game in three days, welcoming UNF to the O’Dome for what has become a yearly-annual meet-up between the programs. The Gators have won all nine meetings with UNF, including five under head coach Mike White. • The Gators have had a balanced offensive attack, with six different players leading or co-leading the team in scoring at least once through the first eight games. • UF’s defense made its presence felt in the early going, limiting five of its first six opponents to 61 points or fewer. The Gators have held two opponents to 45 points, the first time Florida has multiple opponents to 45 points or fewer in a season since 2014-15. • Florida ranks among the SEC’s top three in blocked shots (second, 6.0), 3-point percentage defense (third, .274), and scoring defense (third, 59.6). • 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. • 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). • 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 • North Florida has embarked on a challenging slate this season, includ- ing trips to UCLA, Kentucky, Texas Tech and Texas A&M, with a pair of home wins in the mix. • The Ospreys continue to shoot the 3-pointer at a high rate, averaging 10.0 made 3-pointers per game. Leading scorer Carter Hendricksen (11.6 ppg) has knocked in a team-leading 24 3-pointers, while Emmanuel Adedoyin is connecting at a .553 clip (21-for-38) from beyond the arc. • Jose Placer is also scoring double figures (11.0) and has dished a team- leading 29 assists, while Hendricksen is the top rebounder at 4.5 per game. • Jadyn Parker, a 6-foot-10 freshman, has 13 blocked shots and shoots at a .582 rate from the field. OPPONENT’S LAST 5 GAMES Nov. 20 Webber International W 103-43 Nov. 26 at Kentucky L 52-86 Nov. 28 at FIU L 69-84 Dec. 2 Edward Waters W 103-57 Dec. 5 at Florida Atlantic L 41-76 OPPONENT’S NEXT 5 GAMES Dec. 11 Austin Peay Dec. 18 Trinity Baptist Dec. 21 at Florida State Dec. 30 Florida National Jan. 4 at FGCU
ALL-TIME SERIES (9-0) Nov. 14, 2006 H W 86-40 Nov. 20, 2007 H W 102-51 Nov. 17, 2011 H W 91-55 Nov. 8, 2013 H W 77-69 March 15, 2016 A W 97-68 Dec. 1, 2016 A W 91-60 Nov. 16, 2017 H W 108-68 Nov. 27, 2018 H W 98-66 Nov. 5, 2019 H W 74-59 VS. A-SUN UNDER WHITE (10-0) Nov. 27, 2015 FGCU W 70-50 Dec. 22, 2015 Jacksonville W 89-65 March 15, 2016 ^at North Florida W 97-68 Nov. 11, 2016 vs. FGCU W 80-59 Dec. 1, 2016 at North Florida W 91-60 Nov. 16, 2017 North Florida W 108-68 Nov. 27, 2018 North Florida W 98-66 Dec. 22, 2018 vs. FGCU W 77-56 Nov. 5, 2019 North Florida W 74-59 Dec. 6, 2020 Stetson W 86-40 ^NIT !"#" $%& '( )% * $ + %, -% ! !%. $ % ), / . $0+ /+%1 # "232$ # $ % & ' "4 ' "4 ' 4 ( ' "4 ' " 4 ' " 4 ' "4 ' "4 ' "4 - /++ )&% 5 6,% !%. % 6, /+. # 7 8 2 &. 2%. 9% 3 :, *% 98 -% , / ; +%( !% !%&%. # "232$ # $ % & ' "4 ' "4 ' "4 ( ' "4 ' "4 ' 4 ' "4 ' "4 ' "4 - /++ )&% 5 % % )* %" +& % ,- %" &+ . . ## < = < = % # < = < = / 0 # 1 / 2% . . % 3% 0 % % $ % % # & ( #3# . . 3>>+ /&++ /%? *% + % % % @@ $?. *A. " 3B% ++ 5 (++ 7 B /&++ " 7 % " " 5 22" ) , 5 C+ C%,#+5 !% 2( LAST MEETING: FLORIDA 74, NORTH FLORIDA 59
