OGT-MBB Florida vs Texas A&M 1/4 7:00 pm ESPNU

Jan 4 (Wed) 7 PM
SEC
Florida vs Texas A&M
Gainesville, FL Exactech Arena at Stephen C. O'Connell Center
Radio: Gator Sports Network from LEARFIELD

• Listen
• Live Stats
• Roster Card

• Tickets
• Game Notes (PDF)

BROADCAST INFO
ESPNU | ESPN App
Play-by-Play: Tom Hart
Analyst: Jimmy Dykes
Gator Sports Network from LEARFIELD
SiriusXM 384 | SXM App 974
Play-by-Play: Sean Kelley
Analyst: Lee Humphrey

 

FLORIDA POSSIBLE STARTERS
# Name Pos. Ht. Wt. Cl. Min. Pts. Reb. Misc.
3 Alex Fudge F 6-9 200 So. 23.3 8.2 5.3 1.1 blk
12 Colin Castleton F 6-11 250 Gr. 29.0 15.0 7.6 2.6 blk
2 Trey Bonham G 6-0 170 Jr. 19.6 9.8 2.8 1.8 ast
5 Will Richard G 6-4 206 So. 27.1 10.0 3.9 1.4 3fg
11 Kyle Lofton G 6-3 188 Gr. 29.4 8.4 2.7 3.7 last

TEXAS A&M POSSIBLE STARTERS
# Name Pos. Ht. Wt. Cl. Min. Pts. Reb. Misc.
15 Henry Coleman III F 6-8 245 Jr. 25.0 11.0 5.3 .545 fg%
34 Julius Marble F 6-9 245 Jr. 18.6 7.7 4.2 .597 fg%
0 Dexter Dennis G 6-5 210 Gr. 25.7 7.2 4.2 1.5 ast
4 Wade Taylor IV G 6-0 185 So. 25.3 15.5 2.5 3.5 ast
23 Tyrece Radford G 6-2 195 Sr. 28.4 12.3 5.2 1.8 as

 

HEAD COACHES
Todd Golden
7-6 | 1st season at UF
64-42 | 4th season overall

Buzz Williams
59-42 | 4th season at Texas A&M
312-197 | 16th season overall

MATCHUP BASICS
All-Time Series: 9-6
All-Time/Home: 5-0
Series under Golden: 0-0
Home under Golden: 0-0
Last Meeting: L/OT, 80-83, 3/10/22 (SEC Tourn.)

 

21​

Florida’s nonconference schedule and overall schedule both rank second-
toughest in the SEC (Alabama). All six of UF’s losses are to top-45 NET teams,
four of those to top-21 teams.

2​

This season marks just the second home-and-home season series
between the Gators and Aggies, with the home team taking both
games in the 2015 series.

14​

Florida and Texas A&M will meet again 14 days after Wednesday’s
contest, a much quicker turnaround than the 734-day wait between
the previous two regular season games (2/12/20 to 2/15/22). COVID
claimed the teams’ 2021 matchup.

 

GATORS AT A GLANCE​

• Florida and Texas A&M collide for the first of two games in a 15-day span, with the Gators making their SEC home debut under Todd Golden and the Aggies opening their SEC slate. The teams had one common opponent in nonconference action, both knocking off Oregon State.

• UF and TAMU are uncommon home-and-home partners, paired up for just the second time. The teams previously split a series in the 2014-15 season, with the home team winning each meeting.

• Colin Castleton leads UF in scoring (15.0), rebounding (7.6), blocked shots (34), free throws made (48) and co-leads the team with 15 steals (tied with Trey Bonham). Kyle Lofton has a team-leading 41 assists, and Kowacie Reeves’ 20 3-point field goals are UF’s most.

• As a team, the Gators’ 5.9 blocked shots per game are tied for eighth in the nation (Illinois). Castleton’s 2.62 swats per game rate 11th in the nation.

• Kowacie Reeves exploded for 20 points on 7-for-11 shooting vs. Ohio, including 4-for-7 from 3-point range, to lead the Gators’ rout in Tampa. Reeves also came back from the holiday break strong, leading UF with 15 points at Auburn.

• Alex Fudge had a four-game stretch from Nov. 30-Dec. 14 when averaged 13.3 points and a team-high 8.3 rebounds, shooting 18-for-32 (.563) from the field, 3-for-6 from 3-point range, and hitting 14 of 15 free throw attempts (.933). Fudge had a pair of double-doubles over that span, posting 16 and 10 vs. FAMU and 13 and 10 vs. Ohio.

• Florida posted a pair of wins vs. in-state foes (FAMU, Stetson) that saw five Gators score in double figures in both games, led by Trey Bonham’s 23 points vs. Florida A&M and Will Richard’s 14 against Stetson.

• Through Will Richard’s first seven appearances of the season, he displayed impressive efficiency scoring 13+ points six times while shooting .607 from the field, .586 from 3-point range and .947 from the free throw line.

• Riley Kugel made his first career start vs. Florida A&M, marking six straight seasons and 15 of the last 16 in which a freshman started at least one game for UF (every season since 2007-08 except 2016-17).

• Colin Castleton’s double-double vs. Xavier (11 points, 10 rebounds) marked his 15th as a Gator, tying him with Joakim Noah and Chandler Parsons for fifth-most by a Gator since the 1996-97 season.

• UF’s 19-point rally at Florida State marked the fourth-largest in team history and the largest on the road since a 22-point comeback at South Carolina on Feb. 24, 1993. Castleton scored 19 of his 25 points in the second half.

• Colin Castleton opened the season on fire and posted back-to-back 30-point outings, notching a career-best 33 vs. Kennesaw State and 30 vs. FAU.

• Castleton became the first Gator with a 30-point double-double since Joakim Noah (37/11 vs. Georgia, 3/1/06) and the only SEC player since the 1996-97 season with 30 points, 12 rebounds and five blocked shots in a game, a stat line he accomplished vs. FAU.

• Golden compiled a 57-36 record over three seasons at San Francisco and led the Dons to their first NCAA Tournament bid since 1998 and their first at-large selection since 1982.
.

 

ABOUT THE OPPONENT​

• Texas A&M wrapped its nonconference slate with a pair of wins
following the holiday break and opens its SEC schedule here in Gaines-
ville. The Aggies have home wins vs. Oregon State and SMU, a neutral
site win vs. Loyola Chicago and a road victory vs. DePaul on its resume.

• Wade Taylor IV leads the Aggies with 15.5 points per game, shooting .388 from 3-point range with a team-best 31 made 3-point field goals. Taylor also paces his squad with 46 assists and 30 steals.

• Tyrece Radford averages 12.3 points with 5.2 rebounds from the backcourt, while Henry Coleman III chips in 11.0 points per game with a team-leading 5.3 boards.

• Texas A&M owns a 35.8% offensive rebounding rate, which rates 22nd
in the nation, and the Aggies’ defense forces a 22.7% turnover rate (34th).

OPPONENT’S LAST 5 GAMES
Dec. 11 Oregon State W 72-54
Dec. 17 at Memphis L 79-83
Dec. 20 Wofford L 62-67
Dec. 27 Northwestern State W 64-52
Dec. 30 Prairie View A&M W 86-66

OPPONENT’S NEXT 5 GAMES
Jan. 7 LSU
Jan. 11 Missouri
Jan. 14 at South Carolina
Jan. 18 Florida
Jan. 21 at Kentucky

ALL-TIME SERIES (9-6)
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
Feb. 15, 2022 A L 55-56
March 10, 2022 SEC L/OT 80-83

UF’S LAST 10 SEC HOME OPENERS (8-2)
Jan. 9, 2013 Georgia W 77-44
Jan. 8, 2014 South Carolina W 74-58
Jan. 10, 2015 #Mississippi State W 72-47
Jan. 2, 2016 Georgia W 77-63
Jan. 3, 2017 #Ole Miss W 70-63
Dec. 30, 2017 Vanderbilt W 81-74
Jan. 5, 2019 South Carolina L 69-71
Jan. 4, 2020 Alabama W/2OT 104-98
Jan. 2, 2021 #LSU W 83-79
Jan. 5, 2022 Alabama L 70-83
#Had already played SEC opener on the road

 

January 03, 2023
Florida vs Texas A&M (Wednesday, 7 pm)

Setup / Series / Last Meeting
Florida will play its home Southeastern Conference opener, while Texas A&M will make its overall league debut. The Gators are coming off a 61-58 loss at 20th-ranked Auburn last week, while the Aggies defeated Prairie View 86-66. ... UF leads the all-time series 9-6, but A&M swept two games in 2021-22, winning 56-55 on Feb. 15 at College Station, Texas, and then eliminating the Gators from the SEC Tournament in Tampa last March 10 with a pulsating 83-80 overtime victory. In the former, Florida led by two when fifth-year wing Phlandrous Fleming Jr. fouled A&M guard Wade Taylor IV on a 3-point attempt with 19.5 seconds left. Taylor made all three free throws and Fleming missed a 3-point try for the win on the Gators' final possession. The rematch in the tournament was even more frustrating, as UF erased a 13-point A&M lead in the final five minutes of regulation, behind a career-high 21 points from freshman guard/forward Kowacie Reeves and 16 points and fine rebounds by guard Niels Lane. In the overtime, Aggies guard Hassan Diara, a 17-percent 3-point shooter in league play, buried a 3-ball with one second left for the win in what turned out to be the final game for Florida coach Mike White. Texas A&M, meanwhile, used that game as a springboard in a run to the tournament championship game, eventually losing to Tennessee in the final. ... UF is 4-0 against A&M at home since the Aggies entered the SEC for the 2012-13 season.