Florida (15-8/5-5 SEC) vs. Georgia (6-17/1-9 SEC) Exactech Arena at the Stephen C. O’Connell Center (10,151) Gainesville, Fla. | Game 24 | Feb. 9, 2022 | 6:30 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
FLORIDA POSSIBLE STARTERS # Name Pos. Ht. Wt. Cl. Min. Pts. Reb. Misc. 4 Anthony Duruji F 6-7 209 Sr. 25.7 9.7 4.3 1.1 stl 12 Colin Castleton F 6-11 240 Sr. 28.3 15.5 8.9 2.8 blk 22 Tyree Appleby G 6-1 163 Sr. 27.6 10.8 2.2 4.0 ast 24 Phlandrous Fleming Jr. G 6-5 205 Gr. 25.4 10.5 4.0 1.3 stl 44 Niels Lane G 6-5 206 So. 10.6 0.8 1.1 0.3 blk Georiga POSSIBLE STARTERS # Name Pos. Ht. Wt. Cl. Min. Pts. Reb. Misc. 3 Kario Oquendo 6-4 215 So. 27.7 13.4 4.1 1.1 stl 10 Aaron Cook 6-2 185 Gr. 32.5 10.5 2.5 6.0 ast 11 Jaxon Etter 6-4 205 Jr. 25.3 5.7 3.0 1.7 ast 20 Noah Baumann 6-6 210 Sr. 23.5 9.0 3.9 2.2 3fg 23 Braelen Bridges 6-11 240 Sr. 27.2 12.5 5.9 .617 fg%
HEAD COACHES Mike White 138-83 | 7th season at UF 239-123 | 11th season overall Tom Crean 47-66 | 4th season at Georgia 403-297 | 22nd season overall MATCHUP BASICS All-Time Series: 118-103 All-Time/Home: 67-38 Series under White: 9-3 Home under White: 4-2 Last Meeting: W, 70-63, 2/20/21 (Home)
NUMBERS OF NOTE 9 The Gators have rallied from at least nine points down in each outing of their current three-game win streak UF trailed by nine against Ole Miss and Missouri and by 16 against Oklahoma State, winning all three. 5 Florida is looking for a fifth straight win vs. Georgia. That would match the Gators’ third-longest win streak in series history: 11, 2004-09; nine, 1964-68; five, 1993-95. .926 Tyree Appleby has been clutch from the free-throw line throughout Flori- da’s three-game win streak, shooting 25-for-27 from the stripe. He went 8-for-9 vs. Oklahoma State, including 6-for-6 in the second half; 10-for-10 at Missouri, all in the second half; and 7-for-8 vs. Ole Miss, all in overtime
2021-22 AT A GLANCE • Florida has compiled a three-game winning streak entering Wednesday’s game, all in comeback fashion. The Gators have earned two straight sweeps against Georgia and look to start a third as they seek a fifth straight win vs. the Bulldogs for the first time since posting an 11-game win streak in the series from 2004-09. • Tyree Appleby has been a spark in all three rallies, posting 21 points against the Cowboys, his most as a Gator. Appleby added 17 points, all in the second half, against Mizzou, going 10-for-10 from the free-throw line including a pair with 7.9 seconds left to lift UF to the one-point victory. Against Ole Miss, Appleby earned his first double-double at Florida with 10 points and 10 assists, including a 7-for-8 performance from the free throw line in the overtime period. • 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). • Florida ranks among SEC leaders in blocked shots (second, 5.7) and scoring defense (third, 63.9). • All-SEC big man Colin Castleton returned to action for Florida with 17 points in the win vs. Ole Miss after missing six games with a left (non-shooting) shoulder injury. Jason Jitoboh (eye) underwent surgery on Jan. 28 after suffering a season-ending injury at Tennessee. • 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, the 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 • Georgia enters Wednesday’s game after nearly knocking off #1 Auburn over the weekend, led by 25 points and four steals from Kario Oquendo. • Georgia’s top wins this season came against Alabama and Memphis. • Oquendo is UGA’s leading scorer at 13.4 points per game, but Braelen Bridges (12.5) and Aaron Cook (10.5) also average in double figures. Cook also leads the team with 133 assists and 29 steals. • Noah Baumann is the Bulldogs’ top 3-point threat, making 2.2 per game at a .421 clip. OPPONENT’S LAST 5 GAMES Jan. 22 at South Carolina L 66-83 Jan. 25 Alabama W 82-76 Jan. 29 at Vanderbilt L 77-85 Feb. 2 Arkansas L 73-99 Feb. 5 Auburn L 72-7 OPPONENT’S NEXT 5 GAMES Feb. 12 South Carolina Feb. 16 at LSU Feb. 19 Ole Miss Feb. 22 at Texas A&M Feb. 26 Florida SERIES UNDER WHITE (9-3) Jan. 2, 2016 H W 77-63 Feb. 16, 2016 A W 57-53 Jan. 14, 2017 H W/OT 80-76 Feb. 7, 2017 A W 72-60 Jan. 30, 2018 A L 60-72 Feb. 14, 2018 H L/OT 69-72 Jan. 19, 2019 A W 62-52 March 2, 2019 H L 61-55 Feb. 5, 2020 H W 81-75 March 4, 2020 A W 68-54 Jan. 23, 2021 A W 92-84 Feb. 20, 2021 H W 70-63
Hard to fight the feeling we have been lucky lately. A solid win against UGA will go a long way towards having some comfort with our tournament chances. Saturday looks like a tough slog.
Florida vs Georgia (Wednesday, 6:30 pm) Setup / Series / Last Meeting Florida has won three straight, including two in Southeastern Conference play, most recently Saturday's rally from nine points down in the second half to defeat Ole Miss 62-57 in overtime. Georgia has lost three straight and 11 of the previous 12, but the Bulldogs better have the Gators' complete attention after staring down No. 1 Auburn before losing 74-72 at home Saturday on a basket with just 3.3 seconds remaining. ... UF currently sits alone in sixth place in the SEC standings, a half-game behind Mississippi State. UGA is alone in last place, two games behind Ole Miss. ... Florida leads the all-time series 118-103, including wins in the last four meetings. Georgia is one of UF's three permanent home-and-home league opponents, along with Kentucky and Vanderbilt. Florida has swept the series the last two seasons. The Gators won 92-84 on Jan. 23, 2021 at Athens and again in the rematch on Feb. 20 by a 70-63 count. In that one, junior forward Colin Castleton, working his way back from a lengthy COVID pause in the program, came off the bench to hit all five of his field-goal attempts to lead a balanced UF scoring column with 14 points and seven rebounds. Fourth-year junior guard Tyree Appleby had 13 points and atoned for five turnovers by hitting four clutch free throws over the final 1:25 after the Bulldogs cut a 17-point lead to just five with 30 seconds to go. UGA got a career-high 27 points from point guard Savhir Wheeler. ... The Gators are 9-3 against the Bulldogs under Coach Mike White, including 4-2 at home. Florida vs Georgia (Wednesday, 6:30 pm) - Florida Gators
We cant underestimate these guys. They took Auburn to the wire their last game. Regardless, I like our chances!
Not only that, but we have 5 brutal games in-a-row after this one. @Kentucky, @Texas A&M, Auburn, Arkansas including @Georgia. Hope Castleton is feeling up to the challenge. Castleton has new, minor injury but expected to play vs. UGA
Florida favored by 14.5 pts. That seems crazy to me. Can't remember too many times Florida has covered when favored, at least since November.
