Florida (18-11/8-8 SEC) vs. Vanderbilt (14-14/6-10 SEC) Memorial Gym (14,316) | Nashville, Tenn. Game 30 | March 1, 2022 | 8:30 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 141-86 | 7th season at UF 242-126 | 11th season overall Jerry Stackhouse 34-51 | 3rd season at Vandy/overall MATCHUP BASICS All-Time Series: 72-71 All-Time/Away: 20-48 Series under White: 9-6 Away under White: 3-3 Last Meeting: W, 61-42, 1/22/22 (Home)
FLORIDA POSSIBLE STARTERS # Name Pos. Ht. Wt. Cl. Min. Pts. Reb. Misc. 1 CJ Felder F 6-7 231 Jr. 12.7 3.6 2.4 0.7 blk 12 Colin Castleton F 6-11 240 Sr. 29.7 16.0 9.1 2.6 blk 0 Myreon Jones G 6-3 175 Sr. 27.9 9.0 2.8 2.0 3fg 22 Tyree Appleby G 6-1 163 Sr. 27.7 11.3 2.0 3.9 ast 24 Phlandrous Fleming Jr. G 6-5 205 Gr. 26.9 10.7 4.2 1.4 stl VANDERBILT POSSIBLE STARTERS # Name Pos. Ht. Wt. Cl. Min. Pts. Reb. Misc. 42 Quentin Millora-Brown F 6-10 235 Sr. 25.1 5.9 5.8 1.1 blk 21 Liam Robbins C 7-0 250 Gr. 18.0 6.0 3.9 2.0 blk 0 Tyrin Lawrence G 6-4 195 So. 15.6 3.5 2.3 0.8 ast 2 Scotty Pippen Jr. G 6-3 185 Jr. 32.5 20.2 3.6 4.1 ast 4 Jordan Wright G 6-6 215 Jr. 30.4 11.9 6.0 1.5 stl
NUMBERS OF NOTE 8 Florida’s eight straight wins vs. Vanderbilt mark the longest winning streak by either team in series history. The Gators’ three consecutive victories in Memorial Gym are tied for a program record (2001-03). 26 A different player has gone for at least 26 points in three straight games: Tyree Appleby, 26 vs. Auburn; Colin Castleton, 29 vs. Arkansas; Phlandrous Fleming Jr., 27 at Georgia. It marks the only time since the 1996- 97 season UF has had three different players go for 26+ in three straight SEC games. (See page 7 for more.) 30 Florida picked up its 30th SEC road win under Mike White last Saturday, marking the SEC’s second-most since the 2015-16 season. The Gators trail only Kentucky’s 36 and sit ahead of Arkansas and Tennessee’s 27.
2021-22 AT A GLANCE • Florida visits Vanderbilt looking to extend its recent success against the Commodores, with eight straight wins vs. Vandy and three in a row in Memorial Gym. The Gators are looking for a fourth straight road win at Vanderbilt for the first time in program history. Florida won this season’s first meeting in Gainesville, a defensive battle in which Tyree Appleby was the only player for either team to score in double figures (11 points). • Phlandrous Fleming Jr. posted 27 points in Saturday’s return to his hometown of Athens, Ga., shooting 11-for-18 from the field and 4-for-9 from 3-point range in the win at Georgia. • Tyree Appleby has had a hot hand for the Gators over the last three games, averaging 22.0 points per game going 13-for-28 from 3-point range (.464) in that span. • Colin Castleton has 114 blocked shots at UF, one away from joining the Gators’ career top 10 (Alex Tyus, 115). • 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 (third, 64.9), 3-point field goal percentage defense (fourth, .312) and free throw percentage (fourth, .734). • Tyree Appleby played Superman in UF’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 17.3 points and 9.1 rebounds in the seven 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 stifled Vanderbilt in the teams’ first meeting, 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
ABOUT THE OPPONENT • Preseason SEC Player of the Year Scotty Pippen Jr. has lived up to the billing, leading the SEC with 20.2 points per game and pacing the Commodores with 114 assists and 57 steals. • Jordan Wright also averages double figures at 11.9 points per game and leads the team in rebounding at 6.0. • Myles Stute has a team-high 55 made 3-pointers (.420), while Quentin Millora-Brown has a team-best 32 blocked shots. • Seven-foot Minnesota graduate transfer Liam Robbins has gotten healthy and played seven games for VandY. OPPONENT’S LAST 5 GAMES Feb. 12 at Tennessee L 64-73 Feb. 16 at Auburn L 80-94 Feb. 19 Texas A&M W 72-67 Feb. 22 Alabama L 72-74 Feb. 26 at Mississippi State L 69-74 OPPONENT’S UPCOMING GAMES March 5 at Ole Miss March 9-13 SEC Tournament (Tampa) SERIES UNDER WHITE (9-6) 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 Jan. 22, 2022 H W 61-42
Keep Pippen off the line and keep what little crowd I anticipate there being out of it. It’s also a building where we need to hit an early 3 so we don’t get in our heads about jump shots with that weird lay out. Although I think it was Chandler Parsons who went like 7-9 from 3 there one time.
Another SEC road game. Sigh. Forget that this is Vandy - they are at full strength and at home. That said - we have momentum and should play really well especially Phlan, who seems to be back to his former greatness! GO Gators!
Our front court now has 3 guys injured! Always injuries to deal with . Always at critical times. But hey I’m battling a bad elbow for golf today at the LPGA.. I’m about 60% Bazz. The cold beer at the end will help.
A couple games to keep an eye on as we play: St. Bonaventure (79) @ VCU (53) at 8:30 on CBSSN: Both teams right next to us on the bubble and it is tough to say who to cheer for, but tough to see the Bonnies getting in with a nearly 80 RPI. Michigan State @ Michigan (37) at 8:30 on FS1: Would be close to a Q1 win for Michigan which obviously would be bad.
We need to keep an eye on QMB. Vanderbilt is +27.6 points per 100 possessions when Quentin Millora-Brown is on the floor, according to Evan Miya.
