Florida (9-4/0-1 SEC) vs. #9 Auburn (13-1/2-0 SEC) Auburn Arena (9,121) | Auburn, Ala. Game 14 | Jan. 8, 2022 | 8 p.m. ET BROADCAST INFO ESPN2 | ESPN App Play-by-Play: Eric Frede Analyst: Jimmy Dykes Gators Sports Network Play-by-Play: Mick Hubert Analyst: Lee Humphrey
HEAD COACHES Mike White 132-79 | 7th season at UF 233-119 | 11th season overall Bruce Pearl 151-93 | 8th season at Auburn 613-258 | 27th season overall MATCHUP BASICS All-Time Series: 81-89 All-Time/Away: 27-56 Series under White: 5-2 Away/under White: 2-1 Last Meeting: W, 74-57, 2/23/21 (Away)
FLORIDA POSSIBLE STARTERS # Name Pos. Ht. Wt. Cl. Min. Pts. Reb. Misc. 4 Anthony Duruji F 6-7 220 Sr.* 24.2 8.8 4.3 1.1 stl 12 Colin Castleton F 6-11 231 Sr.* 27.0 15.1 9.2 2.4 blk 0 Myreon Jones G 6-3 175 Sr.* 31.7 9.7 3.8 2.0 ast 22 Tyree Appleby G 6-1 163 Sr.* 27.4 9.9 2.0 3.2 ast 23 Brandon McKissic G 6-3 185 Gr. 27.4 7.2 3.2 1.7 stl *Eligible to apply for an additional season due to COVID-19. Auburn POSSIBLE STARTERS # Name Pos. Ht. Wt. Cl. Min. Pts. Reb. Misc. 10 Jabari Smith F 6-10 220 Fr. 26.8 15.7 6.5 2.3 3fg 13 Walker Kessler F 7-1 245 So. 23.4 10.1 7.6 4.4 blk 0 K.D. Johnson G 6-0 204 So. 25.2 12.1 2.4 2.1 stl 12 Zep Jasper G 6-1 185 Sr. 24.6 5.7 1.1 3.0 ast 35 Devan Cambridge G 6-6 215 Jr. 23.3 7.3 3.4 1.2 3f
NUMBERS OF NOTE 5 Florida has five all-time road wins against AP Top-10 opponents, with the most recent coming on Jan. 7, 2003, a 74-66 win against #7 Missis- sippi State. The Gators are 5-61 all- time and look to snap a stretch of 14 straight losses in such contests. .465 Florida power forwards Anthony Duruji (10-for-22) and CJ Felder (10-for-21) are shooting a combined .465 from 3-point range. 7.0 Jason Jitoboh has averaged 7.0 points per game over the last four games, emerging as a solid post presence behind Colin Castleton. Jitoboh had averaged 1.3 with two DNPs through UF’s first nine games this season
2021-22 AT A GLANCE • Florida travels to Auburn for a top-10 opportunity on the road on Saturday. The Gators have recorded five all-time road wins against AP top-10 opponents in 66 previous chances, with the most recent victory coming in Jan. 2003 against a seventh-ranked Mississippi State team. Since then, UF has 14 consecutive road losses against top-10 foes (10 under Billy Donovan, four under Mike White). • The Gators look to extend a two-game winning streak against the Tigers. Florida defeated #4 Auburn in Gainesville, 69-47, two seasons ago and topped AU on the road, 74-57, last season. • Florida opens its SEC slate with three straight games vs. ranked opponents, the team’s first such regular-season stretch since Dec. 2014 and first in conference play since Feb. 2001. The Gators played four straight ranked teams across the 2019 SEC and NCAA Tournaments. • UF’s 3-point defense has been elite in the Gators’ wins, limiting opponents to .244 shooting (35-for-143) from beyond the arc in those games. Florida’s foes are averaging 3.9 made 3-pointers in its victories, including four games with just two 3-pointers allowed. Though Florida lost its SEC opener, the Gators limited a prolific 3-point shooting Alabama team to a .281 3-point field goal percentage. • Florida is among the SEC leaders in blocked shots (second, 5.8) and 3-point field goal percentage defense (third, .286). Individually, Colin Castleton ranks second in rebounding (9.2), offensive rebounds (3.3), blocked shots (2.4) and third in field goal percentage (.526) • 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. • The Gators used a 13-0 second-half run to spark the win against 20th-ranked FSU, and Colin Castleton earned EC 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’ quartet of veteran impact transfers combined for 3,882 career points scored at their previous schools. 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 Myreon Jones (Penn State) and CJ Felder (Boston College). Jones led the Nittany Lions in scoring last season with 15.3 points per game, while Felder averaged 9.7 points and 5.9 rebounds last season. • The Gators’ regular-season slate includes 10 games against preseason AP top 25 opponents, including nonconference battles vs. Florida State, Ohio State, and Maryland.
ABOUT THE OPPONENT • Auburn is led by freshman Jabari Smith, a projected lottery pick, who averages 15.7 points and 2.5 made 3-pointers per game while shoot- ing at a .438 clip beyond the arc. • Wendell Green Jr. (12.7 ppg) has mainly come off the bench, while Georgia transfer K.D. Johnson (12.1 ppg) and UNC transfer Walker Kessler (10.1 ppg) all average double-figure scoring. • Johnson has a team-high 30 steals, and Kessler is the Tigers’ leading rebounder (7.6) and the SEC’s leading shot-blocker (4.4). • Returner Allen Flanigan has been limited by injury with just two appearances this season.
OPPONENT’S LAST 5 GAMES Dec. 14 North Alabama W 70-44 Dec. 18 at Saint Louis W 74-70 Dec. 22 Murray State W 71-58 Dec. 29 LSU W 70-55 Jan. 4 at South Carolina W 81-66 OPPONENT’S NEXT 5 GAMES Jan. 11 at Alabama Jan. 15 at Ole Miss Jan. 19 Georgia Jan. 22 Kentucky Jan. 25 at Missouri SERIES UNDER WHITE (5-2) Jan. 23, 2016 H W 95-63 Feb. 14, 2017 A W 114-95 Feb. 24, 2018 H W 72-66 Feb. 5, 2019 A L 62-76 March 16, 2019 SEC L 62-65 Jan. 18, 2020 H W 69-47 Feb. 23, 2021 A W 74-57
VS. TOP 10 UNDER WHITE (5-13) Dec. 12, 2015 at #1 Michigan State L 52-58 Jan. 30, 2016 #9 West Virginia W 88-71 Dec. 6, 2016 vs. #5 Duke L 74-84 Feb. 4, 2017 #8 Kentucky W 88-66 Nov. 26, 2017 vs. #1 Duke L 84-87 Dec. 8, 2018 #10 Michigan State L 59-63 Jan. 12, 2019 #3 Tennessee L 67-78 Feb. 2, 2019 #7 Kentucky L 54-65 Feb. 9, 2019 at #1 Tennessee L 61-73 March 6, 2019 #10 LSU L/OT 78-79 March 9, 2019 at #6 Kentucky L 57-66 March 15, 2019 vs. #9 LSU W 76-73 March 23, 2019 vs. #8 Michigan L 49-64 Jan. 18, 2020 #4 Auburn W 69-47 Jan. 25, 2020 #1 Baylor L 61-72 Feb. 22, 2020 at #10 Kentucky L 59-65 March 7, 2020 #6 Kentucky L 70-71 Jan. 19, 2021 #6 Tennessee W 75-49
Can't remember the last time I felt this indifferent about an upcoming game. Hard to have confidence in the Gators right now. I'm sure I'll watch on my phone but not anticipating a close game. At this point, I'm honestly not sure that the Gators are a tournament team. White better make some big adjustments if the Gators are going to be competitive going forward.
Gonna be next to impossible to win, but that’s why we play the game. A win erases Alabama. A loss makes LSU monstrous. Crazy to think we are approaching dangerous territory tournament wise, but you cannot start 0-3 in SEC play with the remaining schedule.
The Gators are at a point they could turn this season around. Going to take their best game of the year.
Eh. Auburn is a good team but they are far from unbeatable. I like our chances. I think our guys have a BIG chip on their shoulder from letting that last game slip away and are going to take it out on the other team from Alabama. GO Gators!
My 2 daughters are taking me to the game. One is an Auburn grad, but will be wearing Gator gear. Go Gators!
I'll watch the 1st half, but the minute I see CMW with that constipated look wondering what to do, it'll be turned off.
I don't necessarily agree with this. They very well could go 0-3 and then run off several wins. Not saying they will, but the conference schedule is front-loaded.
