OGT-Vanderbilt @ Florida Jan. 22, 2022 | 1 p.m

Florida (11-6/2-3 SEC) vs. Vanderbilt (10-7/2-3 SEC)
Exactech Arena at the Stephen C. O’Connell Center (10,151)
Gainesville, Fla. | Game 18 | Jan. 22, 2022 | 1 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
134-81 | 7th season at UF
235-121 | 11th season overall

Jerry Stackhouse
30-44 | 3rd season at Vandy/overall

MATCHUP BASICS
All-Time Series: 71-71
All-Time/Home: 44-20
Series under White: 8-6
Home/under White: 4-2
Last Meeting:
W, 69-63, 3/11/21 (SEC/Nashville

 

NUMBERS OF NOTE

14​

Kowacie Reeves continues to break out with back-to-back 14-point
performances. Reeves has shot a combined 5-for-9 from 3-point range
in the wins vs. South Carolina and Mississippi State.

6​

Phlandrous Fleming Jr. is six points from reaching the 1,700-point career
scoring mark. Fleming scored 1,510 points in four seasons at Charleston
Southern and has 184 this season.

71​

Florida’s win vs. Vanderbilt in last year’s SEC Tournament tied the all-time series, 71-71, for the first time ever. The Gators lost the first three meetings in series history and trailed by as many as 18 games, 22-40, in 1983. Since the Feb. 28, 2001, meeting, UF has gone 30-13 vs. Vanderbilt to erase a 17-game series deficit.

 

2021-22 AT A GLANCE​

• Florida puts its seven-game series winning streak on the line vs. Vanderbilt and looks to even up its SEC record after facing three top-15 teams to open conference play. The Gators also have a chance in their 143rd meeting with the Commodores to move ahead in the all-time series for the first time ever.

• Florida looks to build on back-to-back victories, winning at South Carolina and home vs. Mississippi State. Anthony Duruji scored 18 of his 22 points vs. Mississippi State in the second half, helping UF rally from seven points down with 7:20 to play. Kowacie Reeves has broken out for 14 points in each of the victories.

• Duruji nabbed a career-high five steals vs. MSU, becoming the fifth Gator since 1996 (Donovan/White Era) to post a 22-point, five-steal outing. He joins Nick Calathes (twice), Corey Brewer (twice), Brett Nelson, and Jason Williams (twice).

• Colin Castleton posted 17.5 points, 8.3 rebounds, 3.5 blocked shots, and shooting .610 from the field through four SEC games before suffering a shoulder injury that caused him to miss Wednesday’s game.

• UF’s 3-point defense has been strong in the Gators’ wins, limiting opponents to .264 shooting from beyond the arc in those games. Florida’s foes are averaging 4.3 made 3-pointers in its victories, including four games with just two 3-pointers allowed.

• Florida is among the SEC leaders in blocked shots (second, 6.1) and offensive rebounds (fourth, 12.4).

• The Gators met three straight ranked SEC foes to start its SEC slate. It marked just the fourth three-game stretch vs. ranked SEC teams in UF history and the first since Feb. 2001. Florida had never before opened its SEC
slate with three consecutive contests vs. top-25 opponents.

• 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 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’ 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.

 

FLORIDA POSSIBLE STARTERS
# Name Pos. Ht. Wt. Cl. Min. Pts. Reb. Misc.
4 Anthony Duruji F 6-7 220 Sr. 25.0 9.5 4.2 1.2 stl
33 Jason Jitoboh C 6-11 305 Jr. 8.2 3.4 1.8 .568 fg%
14 Kowacie Reeves G 6-6 182 Fr. 13.0 4.7 1.3 0.9 3fg
23 Brandon McKissic G 6-3 185 Gr. 26.9 6.2 3.4 1.4 stl
24 Phlandrous Fleming Jr. G 6-5 205 Gr. 23.5 10.8 3.5 1.4 stl

Vanderbilt POSSIBLE STARTERS
# Name Pos. Ht. Wt. Cl. Min. Pts. Reb. Misc.
10 Myles Stute F 6-7 210 So. 21.0 8.4 3.2 2.0 3fg
42 Quentin Millora-Brown F 6-10 235 Sr. 23.6 5.4 5.9 1.3 blk
2 Scotty Pippen Jr. G 6-3 185 Jr. 31.5 18.8 3.4 3.1 ast
4 Jordan Wright G 6-6 215 Jr. 30.0 12.5 5.9 1.5 stl
5 Shane Dezonie G 6-5 215 Fr. 13.5 3.3 2.1 0.9 as

 

ABOUT THE OPPONENT​

• Vanderbilt already owns a pair of SEC wins, both on the road, topping
Arkansas in the opener and taking down Georgia. The Commodores
showed early they would be much improved this season, winning at
PItt and beating BYU on a neutral floor in non-conference aciton.

• Preseason SEC Player of the Year Scotty Pippen Jr. continues to be
electric, averaging 18.8 points per game and leading the team with
52 assists and 30 steals.

• Returning starter Jordan Wright has elevated his game this season,
averaging 12.5 points and 5.9 rebounds, while Quentin Millora-Brown
provides steady senior leadership in the frontcourt.

• Myles Stute has emerged as a sophomore after playing a reserve role
as a freshman. He averages 8.4 points and his 34 made 3-pointers lead
the team.

• Vanderbilt’s fifth starting slot outside that core group has rotated
between several players this season, including the seldom-used Drew
Weikert in Vandy’s last outing.

 

OPPONENT’S LAST 5 GAMES

Jan. 4 at Arkansas W 75-74
Jan. 8 South Carolina L 70-72
Jan. 11 Kentucky L 66-78
Jan. 15 at Georgia W 73-66
Jan. 18 Tennessee L 60-68

OPPONENT’S NEXT 5 GAMES
Jan. 26 at South Carolina
Jan. 29 Georgia
Feb. 2 at Kentucky
Feb. 5 LSU
Feb. 8 Missouri

SERIES UNDER WHITE (8-6)
Jan. 26, 2016 A L 59-60
Feb. 23, 2016 H L 74-87
Jan. 21, 2017 H L 66-68
March 4, 2017 A L 71-73
March 10, 2017 SEC L/OT 62-72
Dec. 30, 2017 H W 81-74
Feb. 17, 2018 A L 68-71
Feb. 13, 2019 H W 66-57
Feb. 27, 2019 A W 71-55
Feb. 1, 2020 A W 61-55
Feb. 15, 2020 H W 84-66
Dec. 30, 2020 A W 91-72
Jan. 27, 2021 H W 78-71
March 11, 2021 SEC W 69-63