Florida (14-8/4-5 SEC) vs. Ole Miss (12-10/3-6 SEC) Exactech Arena at the Stephen C. O’Connell Center (10,151) Gainesville, Fla. | Game 23 | Feb. 5, 2022 | 3:30 p.m. BROADCAST INFO SEC Network | ESPN App Play-by-Play: Mike Morgan Analyst: Joe Kleine Gators Sports Network Play-by-Play: Mick Hubert Analyst: Lee Humphrey
FLORIDA POSSIBLE STARTERS # Name Pos. Ht. Wt. Cl. Min. Pts. Reb. Misc. 4 Anthony Duruji F 6-7 209 Sr. 25.9 10.0 4.4 1.2 ast 14 Kowacie Reeves G 6-6 182 Fr. 15.4 5.2 1.3 1.0 3fg 22 Tyree Appleby G 6-1 163 Sr. 27.2 10.9 2.2 3.7 ast 23 Brandon McKissic G 6-3 185 Gr. 26.1 6.3 3.2 1.3 stl 24 Phlandrous Fleming Jr. G 6-5 205 Gr. 25.1 10.5 3.8 1.3 stl Ole Miss POSSIBLE STARTERS # Name Pos. Ht. Wt. Cl. Min. Pts. Reb. Misc. 4 Jaemyn Brakefield F 6-8 220 So. 26.6 8.5 4.1 1.0 3fg 3 Nysier Brooks C 7-0 245 Gr. 28.9 9.5 8.0 .594 fg% 11 Matthew Murrell G 6-4 200 So. 28.1 10.4 3.0 1.7 3fg 14 Tye Fagan G 6-3 198 Sr. 20.7 7.4 3.5 1.9 ast 15 Luis Rodriguez G 6-6 210 Jr. 25.7 6.9 5.1 1.5 stl
HEAD COACHES Mike White 137-83 | 7th season at UF 238-123 | 11th season overall Kermit Davis 63-52 | 4th season at Ole Miss 466-290 | 24th season overall MATCHUP BASICS All-Time Series: 68-48 All-Time/Home: 41-12 Series under White: 6-3 Home under White: 5-0 Last Meeting: L, 54-70, 1/24/22 (Away)
NUMBERS OF NOTE 17 Florida made its final 17 free throw attempts at Missouri and needed every one of them. Tyree Appleby had 10 of the 17, including a pair with 7.9 seconds left that gave the Gatorsthe winning 66-65 margin, which UF sealed with a defensive stop. 5 Tuongthach Gatkek blocked a career-high five shots in the win at Missouri, including one on a potential game-winning attempt by the Tigers. 1,000 Anthony Duruji and Myreon Jones surpassed the 1,000-point career mark over the past two games, giving Florida five players who have reached that milestone, along with Tyree Appleby, Phlandrous Fleming Jr. and Brandon McKissic.
2021-22 AT A GLANCE • Florida enters Saturday’s game off two straight comeback wins, rallying from 16 down in the first half vs. Oklahoma State and nine back with 8:00 left at Missouri. Tyree Appleby has been the spark for both rallies, posting 21 points against the Cowboys and 17 points, all in the second half, against the Tigers. Appleby shot 10-for-10 from the free throw line in Columbia, including a pair with 7.9 seconds left to lift UF to victory. • The Gators are one of six teams with a win in each of the past four NCAA Tournaments, joined by Gonzaga, Kansas, Michigan, Villanova and Florida State. UF is also one of 12 teams nationally and the only Southeastern Conference team to reach every NCAA Tournament in that span (since 2017). • All-SEC big man Colin Castleton posted 17.5 points, 8.3 rebounds and 3.5 blocked shots through four SEC games before suffering a left (non-shooting) shoulder injury during practice on Jan. 18. Jason Jitoboh (eye) underwent surgery on Jan. 28 after suffering a season-ending injury at Tennessee. • Florida ranks among SEC leaders in blocked shots (second, 5.6), scoring defense (third, 64.2) and steals (fourth, 9.2). • UF’s 3-point defense has been strong in the Gators’ wins, limiting opponents to .276 shooting from beyond the arc in those games. Florida’s foes are averaging 4.6 made 3-pointers in its victories, including four games with just two 3-pointers allowed. • After Florida’s comeback win vs. Oklahoma State without Castleton and Jitoboh, OSU coach Mike Boynton had this to say: “It shows the character of their guys to not hang their heads ... Just lost their backup center, who was playing well, best player’s out. Give them credit for showing what true competitors do when their back’s against the wall, which is come out and try to fight for what they believe they can be.” • The Gators stifled Vanderbilt, limiting the Commodores to 14 second-half points. Vandy’s 42 total points marked the second-fewest UF has allowed vs. an SEC opponent under Mike White (41 at SC, 2/10/18). No Commodore scored more than seven points against the UF defense, and the Gators forced the SEC’s leading scorer Scotty Pippen Jr. into a 1-for-10 day with a season-low six points. • 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. 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). • 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. • The Gators’ quartet of veteran impact transfers combined for 3,882 career points scored at their previous schools. The groups consist of grad transfers Brandon McKissic (UMKC) and Phlandrous Fleming Jr. (Charles- ton Southern) along with Myreon Jones (Penn State) and CJ Felder (Boston College).
ABOUT THE OPPONENT • Ole Miss comes in with wins in three of its last four games, beginning with its win against the Gators in Oxford. Most recently, Ole Miss downed #25 LSU in Baton Rouge. • Sophomore Matthew Murrell (10.4 ppg) leads the way for the injury- plagued Rebels, hitting a team-best 37 3-pointers. • A seven-foot grad transfer from Miami, Nysier Brooks leads the team with 8.0 rebounds per game and 26 blocked shots to go along with 9.5 points per game. • Ole Miss has been without leading scorer Jarkel Joiner (13.6 ppg) for several weeks due to a back injury, and the Rebels are now without their second-leading scorer Daeshun Ruffin, as well. During Tuesday’s game, the freshman 5-foot-9 guard Ruffin (12.6 ppg, 48 assists, 32 steals) suffered a season-ending knee injury. OPPONENT’S LAST 5 GAMES Jan. 22 at Mississippi State L 60-78 Jan. 24 Florida W 70-54 Jan. 26 Arkansas L 55-64 Jan. 29 Kansas State W 67-56 Feb. 1 at LSU W 76-72 OPPONENT’S NEXT 5 GAMES Feb. 9 Alabama Feb. 12 at Missouri Feb. 15 South Carolina Feb. 19 at Georgia Feb. 23 at Auburn SERIES UNDER WHITE (6-3) Jan. 16, 2016 A W 80-71 Feb. 9, 2016 H W 77-72 Jan. 3, 2017 H W 70-63 Jan. 13, 2018 A L 72-78 Jan. 30, 2019 H W/OT 90-86 Jan. 14, 2020 H W 71-55 Feb. 8, 2020 A L 51-68 Jan. 12, 2021 H W 72-63 Jan. 24, 2022 A L 54-70
Gonna have to DVR this one. Daughter made all-district band. I think we will win this one. Go Gators!
I think I know what Jones’ problems this season are from. Dude has no swag in his attire. Needs to ditch those Zion Williamson signature sneakers and get some Air Jordan 35’s or 36’s, then add an arm sleeve or two, and better fitting shorts. I’m not into tattoos but he might want to go face or neck tat for some added toughness. A mohawk haircut wouldn’t hurt, either.
Ole miss with more injuries than Florida. PG Ruffin hurt vs LSU, big loss for the Rebs. Expect a Gator win.
Gators had no answer for Ruffin in the second half of the first game. I suspect Saturday they will have to deal with a lot of switching defenses in a low scoring game, where the first to 60 wins.
TERRIFIC NEWS: Colin Castleton is a game time decision. If we can sit him these next two and go 2-0 our season all of a sudden isn’t quite so desperate.
They should be safe with CC as much as they could use him. Need him healthy for the rest of the year.
Gotta make hay when and where possible, at home, and they are down key people. Obviously crawling back to .500 is critical at this junction of the season. Good luck Gators!
