OGT-Florida @ Georgia 2/26/2022 12:00 ESPN2 | ESPN App

Florida (17-11/7-8 SEC) vs. Georgia (6-22/1-14 SEC)
Stegeman Coliseum (10,523) | Athens, Ga.
Game 29 | Feb. 26, 2022 | Noon

BROADCAST INFO
ESPN2 | ESPN App
Play-by-Play: Tom Hart
Analyst: Carolyn Peck

Gators Sports Network
Play-by-Play: Mick Hubert
Analyst: Lee Humphrey

 

HEAD COACHES
Mike White
140-86 | 7th season at UF
241-126 | 11th season overall

Tom Crean
47-71 | 4th season at Georgia
403-302 | 22nd season overall

MATCHUP BASICS
All-Time Series: 119-103
All-Time/Away: 42-52
Series under White: 10-3
Away under White: 5-1
Last Meeting:
W, 72-63, 2/9/22 (Home)

 

FLORIDA POSSIBLE STARTERS
# Name Pos. Ht. Wt. Cl. Min. Pts. Reb. Misc.
4 Anthony Duruji F 6-7 209 Sr. 25.0 8.8 4.2 1.0 stl
2 Colin Castleton F 6-11 240 Sr. 29.4 16.3 9.0 2.6 blk
0 Myreon Jones G 6-3 175 Sr. 27.8 8.8 2.8 2.0 3fg
22 Tyree Appleby G 6-1 163 Sr. 27.6 11.0 2.1 3.8 ast
24 Phlandrous Fleming Jr. G 6-5 205 Gr. 26.5 10.1 4.2 1.4 stl

OPPONENT POSSIBLE STARTERS
# Name Pos. Ht. Wt. Cl. Min. Pts. Reb. Misc.
3 Kario Oquendo 6-4 215 So. 29.0 15.1 4.4 1.1 stl
5 Christian Wright 6-3 185 Fr. 21.3 5.3 2.2 1.9 ast
10 Aaron Cook 6-2 185 Gr. 31.8 10.1 2.6 5.6 ast
11 Jaxon Etter 6-4 205 Jr. 25.4 5.0 2.9 1.6 ast
23 Braelen Bridges 6-11 240 Sr. 28.2 12.5 5.5 .635 fg%

 

NUMBERS OF NOTE​

18.5
Colin Castleton has averaged 18.5 points in six games since returning
from a shoulder injury, including a career-high 29 against Arkansas.
7Myreon Jones hit a career-high seven 3-pointers on 11 attempts (.636) in
the first meeting between Florida and Georgia on Feb. 9.

5
Florida’s five straight wins against Georgia match the Gators’ third-
longest win streak in series history (11, 2004-09; 9, 1964-68; 5, 1993-95).

39
Tyree Appleby has scored 39 points in the last 60 minutes of game action,
posting 20 in the second half vs. Auburn and 19 against Arkansas.

 

2021-22 AT A GLANCE​

• Florida and Georgia renew their rivalry as the Gators look to build on a five-game series win streak that marks UF’s longest against the Bulldogs since winning 11 straight 2004-09 and matches its third-longest in series history. Myreon Jones scored 23 points and shot 7-for-11 from 3-point range in the Gators’ win vs. UGA in Gainesville earlier this month.

• Tyree Appleby played Superman in Saturday’s win against #2 Auburn, which was the Gators’ highest-ranked home win in program history and matched UF’s highest-ranked regular season victory. Appleby scored 20 of his 26 points in the second half, hitting four of his six 3-point attempts after the break.

• It was a familiar role for Appleby, who also sparked a trio of Florida comebacks in three consecutive games
against Oklahoma State, Missouri, and Ole Miss and had an early-season game-winning buzzer-beater against Ohio State. The point guard posted 21 points to help UF come back from 16 down against Oklahoma State. Appleby scored 17 points at Mizzou, all in the second half, including a pair of game-winning free throws with 7.9 seconds left. Against Ole Miss, Appleby recorded a double-double with 10 points and 10 assists.

• Colin Castleton has been productive since his Feb. 5 return to the lineup after missing six games with a
shoulder injury, averaging 18.5 points and 8.7 rebounds in the six games since. He posted 19 points and eight rebounds in the win vs. Auburn and went for a career-high 29 vs. Arkansas.

• 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, 5.4), scoring defense (third, 64.7), 3-point field goal percentage defense (fourth, .308), and free throw percentage (fourth, .733).

• 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.

• 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 owns a home win vs. Alabama and took Auburn to the wire in
Athens earlier this month. In the Bulldogs’ last outing, leading scorer
Kario Oquendo (15.1 ppg) went for 33 points with six made 3-pointers.

• Braelen Bridges (12.5 ppg) and Aaron Cook (10.1 ppg) are also averaging in double figures. Bridges is the Bulldogs’ top rebounder (6.0 rpg), while Cook leads the team in assists (5.6 apg) and steals (33).

• Noah Baumann has hit a team-high 56 3-pointers and is shooting at a
.412 clip beyond the arc

 

OPPONENT’S LAST 5 GAMES
Feb. 9 at Florida L 63-72
Feb. 12 South Carolina L 68-80
Feb. 16 at LSU L 65-84
Feb. 19 Ole Miss L 68-85
Feb. 22 at Texas A&M L 77-91

OPPONENT’S UPCOMING GAMES
March 1 Tennessee
March 5 at Missouri
March 9-13 SEC Tournament (Tampa)

SERIES UNDER WHITE (10-3)
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
Feb. 9, 2022 H W 72-63