Florida (7-3) vs. USF (4-4) FLA Live Arena) Sunrise, Fla. Orange Bowl Clasic 12/18/21 1:00 pm

Florida (7-3/0-0 SEC) vs. USF (4-4/0-0 American)
FLA Live Arena (20,000) | Sunrise, Fla.
Orange Bowl Classic | Game 11 | Dec. 18, 2021 | 1 p.m

BROADCAST INFO
Bally Sports Sun | FOX Sports App
Play-by-Play: Tom Werme
Analyst: Mike Gminski
Reporter: Jeremy Tache

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


HEAD COACHES
Mike White
130-78 | 7th season at UF
231-118 | 11th season overall

Brian Gregory
61-70 | 5th season at USF
309-250 | 17th season overall

 

FLORIDA POSSIBLE STARTERS
# Name Pos. Ht. Wt. Cl. Min. Pts. Reb. Misc.
4 Anthony Duruji F 6-7 220 Sr.* 24.7 9.1 4.0 1.2 stl
12 Colin Castleton F 6-11 231 Sr.* 26.9 15.0 9.4 2.8 blk
0 Myreon Jones G 6-3 175 Sr.* 31.2 9.7 3.5 2.2 ast
23 Brandon McKissic G 6-3 185 Gr. 27.5 7.7 3.3 1.9 stl
24 Phlandrous Fleming Jr. G 6-5 205 Gr. 23.7 11.0 3.8 1.3 stl
*Eligible to apply for an additional season due to COVID-19.

OPPONENT POSSIBLE STARTERS
# Name Pos. Ht. Wt. Cl. Min. Pts. Reb. Misc.
20 Sam Hines Jr. F 6-6 215 Fr. 18.5 3.5 4.1 0.8 blk
54 Russel Tchewa C 7-0 280 So. 23.9 6.5 5.8 1.0 ast
1 Javon Greene G 6-4 195 Sr. 28.6 9.4 4.9 2.4 stl
23 Caleb Murphy G 6-4 185 Fr. 31.3 12.6 4.0 3.7 ast
24 Jamir Chaplin G 6-5 200 So. 23.4 6.4 4.5 1.5 as

 

NUMBERS OF NOTE
​

3
Florida faces an in-state opponent in
the Orange Bowl Classic for the third
time. The Gators defeated Miami in
double overtime in 2002 and topped
Florida Gulf Coast in 2018.

22
This marks Florida’s 22nd appear-
ance in the Orange Bowl Classic. The
Gators hold a 17-4 record all-time in
the event.

.248
In Florida’s seven wins, the Gators are
limiting opponents to a sparse .248
shooting from 3-point range, nearly
20 percent better than the .447 clip
opponents have recorded beyond the
arc in UF’s three losses.

 

2021-22 AT A GLANCE​

• Florida and USF meet for the first time in 19 years, as the Gators return to the Orange Bowl Classic, where they hold a 17-4 all-time record. UF has played in the event every December since 2006 except for last season.

• This marks Florida’s third game against an in-state foe in the Orange Bowl Classic. The Gators defeated Miami in a double-overtime thriller in Dec. 2002 and topped Florida Gulf Coast in 2018.

• Florida looks to improve to 3-0 vs. in-state opponents this season, previously earning wins vs. Florida State and North Florida in Gainesville.

• The Gators have had a balanced offensive attack, with six different players leading or co-leading the team in scoring at least once within the first eight games of the season. Florida’s leading or co-leading scorer has come
off the bench three times this season.

• Florida is among the Southeastern Conference leaders in scoring defense (third, 60.2), blocked shots (third, 5.7) and steals (third, 10.5).

• Florida battled back from a double-digit deficit to knock off Ohio State on Tyree Appleby’s buzzer-beating3-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 performace 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.

• 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. Contact: Denver Parler | denverp@gators.ufl.edu
Office: 352-692-6195 | Cell: 352-318-3493

 

ABOUT THE OPPONENT​

• USF is led by fifth-year head coach Brian Gregory, who in 2018-19
helped lead the Bulls to the NCAA’s largest turnoaround and posted
a 24-14 record and a CBI championship.

• The Bulls are led in scoring by Caleb Murphy (12.6) and in rebounding
by Russel Tchewa (5.8).

• Javon Greene and DJ Patrick both have 11 made 3-pointers, and
Greene’s 19 steals paces the team. Greene also gets to the line and
converts, making for than three free throws per game (26-for-32,
813).

OPPONENT’S LAST 5 GAMES
Nov. 19 Auburn L 52-58
Nov. 24 Hampton W 58-52
Nov. 29 at Boston College L 49-64
Dec. 3 South Carolina State L 64-65
Dec. 14 Austin Peay W 60-51

OPPONENT’S NEXT 5 GAMES
Dec. 22 vs. BYU
Dec. 23 vs. Hawaii/Vanderbilt
Dec. 25 vs. TBD
Dec. 29 Mississippi Valley State
Jan. 1 East Carolina

ALL-TIME SERIES (18-5)
Dec. 4, 1971 N W 116-87
Dec. 14, 1971 N W 98-77
Dec. 1, 1973 H W 81-69
Dec. 17, 1976 N W 70-53
Dec. 4, 1981 N L 56-58
Dec. 11, 1982 H L 73-77
Jan. 11, 1983 A W/OT 92-79
Nov. 30, 1983 H W 79-77
Dec. 4, 1984 A W 82-68
Dec. 7, 1985 H W 69-55
Dec. 13, 1986 A W 68-52
Dec. 21, 1987 H W 83-69
Jan. 9, 1989 A W/OT 87-82
Dec. 23, 1989 H W 91-54
Nov. 24, 1990 A L 61-70
Dec. 15, 1991 H L 71-73
Dec. 4, 1992 A W 80-78
Dec. 6, 1993 H W 66-55
Jan. 11, 1994 A W 69-64
Nov. 28, 1995 A L 58-73
Dec. 10, 1996 H W 85-53
Dec. 8, 2001 A W 92-73
Dec. 8, 2002 H W 68-52

 

ORANGE BOWL CLASSIC (17-4)
Dec. 27, 1997 UAB L 73-80
Dec. 27, 1998 Michigan W 79-63
Dec. 16, 2000 Gonzaga W 85-71
Dec. 15, 2001 Charlotte W 73-52
Dec. 21, 2002 Miami W/2OT 94-93
Dec. 20, 2003 West Virginia W 70-57
Nov. 27, 2004 Providence W 84-66
Dec. 30, 2006 UAB W 75-70
Dec. 29, 2007 Temple W 86-69
Dec. 28, 2008 Winthrop W 74-45
Dec. 19, 2009 Richmond L 53-56
Dec. 18, 2010 Kansas State W 57-44
Dec. 17, 2011 Texas A&M W 84-64
Dec. 29, 2012 Air Force W 78-61
Dec. 21, 2013 Fresno State W 66-49
Dec. 20, 2014 Wake Forest W 63-50
Dec. 19, 2015 Oklahoma State W 72-70
Dec. 17, 2016 Charlotte W 87-46
Dec. 16, 2017 Clemson L 69-71
Dec. 22, 2018 FGCU W 77-56
Dec. 21, 2019 Utah State L 62-6