Florida (16-9/6-6 SEC) vs. Texas A&M (15-10/4-8 SEC) Reed Arena (12,989) | Bryan-College Station, Texas Game 26 | Feb. 15, 2022 | 7 p.m. ET BROADCAST INFO SEC Network | ESPN App Play-by-Play: Dave Neal Analyst: Daymeon Fishback Gators Sports Network Play-by-Play: Mick Hubert Analyst: Lee Humphrey
HEAD COACHES Mike White 139-84 | 7th season at UF 240-124 | 11th season overall Buzz Williams 39-34 | 3rd season at Texas A&M 292-184 | 15th season overall MATCHUP BASICS All-Time Series: 9-4 All-Time/Away: 3-3 Series under White: 4-2 Away under White: 2-1 Last Meeting: W, 78-61, 2/12/20 (Away
FLORIDA POSSIBLE STARTERS # Name Pos. Ht. Wt. Cl. Min. Pts. Reb. Misc. 4 Anthony Duruji F 6-7 209 Sr. 25.6 9.3 4.4 1.2 ast 12 Colin Castleton F 6-11 240 Sr. 28.3 15.5 8.8 2.7 blk 22 Tyree Appleby G 6-1 163 Sr. 26.9 10.4 2.2 3.8 ast 24 Phlandrous Fleming Jr. G 6-5 205 Gr. 25.8 10.3 4.0 1.4 stl 44 Niels Lane G 6-5 206 So. 11.8 1.1 1.2 0.3 stl Texas A&M POSSIBLE STARTERS # Name Pos. Ht. Wt. Cl. Min. Pts. Reb. Misc. 15 Henry Coleman III F 6-8 243 So. 25.6 10.9 6.2 1.5 stl 0 Aaron Cash G 6-6 201 Jr. 13.6 2.7 3.7 0.7 blk 1 Marcus Williams G 6-2 197 So. 25.4 8.4 2.3 3.6 ast 3 Quenton Jackson G 6-5 173 Gr. 23.7 13.0 3.4 1.6 ast 23 Tyrece Radford G 6-2 200 Jr. 29.1 9.7 5.5 1.3 ast
NUMBERS OF NOTE .615 Myreon Jones is shooting 16-for-26 from 3-point range over the last four games, including his 7-for-11 night against Georgia. 0 With Florida and Texas A&M’s 2021 game canceled and Keyontae John- son and Jason Jitoboh both out for Florida, the Gators will have zero players in Tuesday’s game who have faced Texas A&M before. 600 Colin Castleton is eight points away from becoming the fifth Florida transfer to score 600 points as a Gator. He looks to join Dorian Finney- Smith, Jalen Hudson, Vernon Macklin and Mike Rosario
2021-22 AT A GLANCE • Florida meets Texas A&M for the first time in two years, as the Gators and Aggies’ 2021 meeting was called off due to COVID. The Gators have won four of their last five and seven of their last 10 entering Tuesday’s showdown, in which Florida looks to extend its four-game series winning streak against Texas A&M. • Myreon Jones has caught fire for the Gators and had a 7-for-11 shooting night from 3-point range in the home win vs. Georgia last week. Over the past four games, Jones has hit on 16 of 26 attempts (.615) from long range. • UF has also been buoyed by the return of Colin Castleton to the lineup after missing six games with a shoulder injury. In his three games back, Castleton has posted 16.0 points, 7.3 rebounds and 2.3 blocked shots per game. • Tyree Appleby sparked a trio of Florida comebacks in three consecutive games against Oklahoma State, Missouri and Ole Miss, but re-aggravated a thigh bruise early in the game at Kentucky. The point guard posted 21 points against Oklahoma State, his most as a Gator. Appleby added 17 points, all in the second half, against Mizzou. In Columbia, he shot 10-for-10 from the free-throw line, including a pair with 7.9 seconds left to lift UF to a one-point victory vs. the Tigers. 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). • UF ranks among SEC leaders in blocked shots (second, 5.5), scoring defense (fourth, 64.4) and free throw percentage (fourth, .726). • 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 • Texas A&M posted a 4-0 start to SEC play, but has lost eight straight since then. The Aggies earned neutral-site non-conference wins vs. Notre Dame and Butler, and a win over Arkansas was part of their fast start to SEC action. • Leading scorer Quenton Jackson (13.0 ppg) moved into the starting lineup for the first time in Texas A&M’s last game. Jackson shoots at a .445 rate from the field and averages four free throw attempts per game, where he converts at an .830 clip. Jackson’s 36 steals also pace the team, which includes five players with 30+ steals on the season. • Henry Coleman III also averages in double figures (10.9 ppg) and is the Aggies’ leading rebounder (6.2 rpg). • Marcus Williams has a team-best 90 assists, and Ethan Henderson’s 17 blocked shots lead the way. OPPONENT’S LAST 5 GAMES Jan. 29 South Carolina L 63-74 Feb. 1 at Tennessee L 80-90 Feb. 5 Missouri L 66-70 Feb. 8 LSU L 68-76 Feb. 12 at Auburn L 58-7 OPPONENT’S NEXT 5 GAMES Feb. 19 at Vanderbilt Feb. 22 Georgia Feb. 26 at Ole Miss March 2 at Alabama March 5 Mississippi State ALL-TIME SERIES (9-4) Jan. 2, 1992 H W 73-46 Dec. 22, 1992 A L/OT 54-57 Dec. 17, 2011 N W 84-64 Jan. 17, 2013 A W 68-47 Feb. 1, 2014 H W 69-36 Feb. 14, 2015 A L 62-63 March 3, 2015 H W 66-62 Jan. 12, 2016 A L 68-71 March 11, 2016 SEC L 66-72 Feb. 11, 2017 H W 71-62 Jan. 2, 2018 A W 83-66 Jan. 22, 2019 H W 81-72 Feb. 12, 2020 A W 78-61
Rankings/records would indicate we have a shot at TAMU, but after losing eight in a row their backs will be up against the wall so it'll be a real battle.
Hope Tyree can play. Just saw this comment: "I think there's a chance (he plays). I don't know for sure," coach Mike White said. "He didn't go yesterday or today. So we'll see. I'm sure (associate athletics director for sports health) Duke (Werner) will evaluate him at shootaround tomorrow."
BTW, I told Mom I'd bring over some dinner tonight for Valentine's Day so went to our local Dominoes to get a pizza. While waiting for it - a guy came in to pick up his order. No one else there so I said to him just to kill some time "What'd you think of the Super Bowl?" He replied "I didn't watch. I don't like football. Only basketball." I replied "College?" He replied "Kentucky - BBN!" "OK - cool. You guys really kicked out butt last week!" "Yeah, I know" (with a little smirk) "Hope Ty Ty is OK" "He is." "Looking forward to our rematch." Another little smirk..."Yeah me too..." Effing little prick......
Didn’t like when Ethan said: The Gators don’t really have a true point guard behind him. If he’s unable to go, Brandon McKissic and Myreon Jones will likely split time at the point, but both of them are better suited on the wings.
We'll need to pass more than dribble & someone to facilitate the offense. Doesn't seem suited to McKissic/Jones. They out-rebound us so we need help with that. I don't recall CMW doing anything very creative in situations like this, it's always low risk/return & hope for a win.
Someone said he/she knows the family and they're coming to see him play. Appleby will play tonight. | Swamp Gas Forums
According to ESPN, we have a better chance of beating Arkansas at home (60.2%) than either Auburn (35.9%) at home or Texas A&M next (42.2%) on the road. And that's despite the Aggies 8 game losing streak.
If Appleby is limited, could we run the offense through CC in the high post with Felder & Duruji at the 3/4? We could pull TAMU's one big away from the basket & Felder/Duruji would have a size advantage on their 4-guard set. We've played the three together, just not with CC distributing it.