OGT-Florida vs. Vanderbilt Game 29 | Feb. 25, 2023 | 6 p.m. EST ESPN2 | ESPN App

Florida (14-14/7-8 SEC) vs. Vanderbilt (15-13/8-7 SEC)
Memorial Gym (14,316) | Nashville, Tenn.
Game 29 | Feb. 25, 2023 | 6 p.m. ES

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BROADCAST INFO
ESPN2 | ESPN App
Play-by-Play: Mike Morgan
Analyst: Mark Wise

Gator Sports Network from LEARFIELD
SiriusXM 380 | SXM App 970
Play-by-Play: Sean Kelley
Analyst: Lee Humphrey
Engineer/Producer: Steve Egan

 

HEAD COACHES
Todd Golden
14-14 | 1st season at UF
71-50 | 4th season overall

Jerry Stackhouse
54-67 | 4th season at Vandy/overall

MATCHUP BASICS
All-Time Series: 73-72
All-Time/Away: 21-48
Series under Golden: 0-1
Away under Golden: 0-0
Last Meeting:L, 80-88, 2/11/23 (Home)

 

FLORIDA POSSIBLE STARTERS
# Name Pos. Ht. Wt. Cl. Min. Pts. Reb. Misc.
33 Jason Jitoboh C 6-11 300 Sr. 10.2 2.6 1.3 0.5 blk
0 Myreon Jones G 6-3 177 Gr. 21.2 5.1 3.0 2.1 ast
5 Will Richard G 6-4 206 So. 27.4 10.1 4.3 1.5 3fg
11 Kyle Lofton G 6-3 188 Gr. 31.9 8.8 3.0 3.5 ast
24 Riley Kugel G 6-5 207 Fr. 21.0 8.6 2.6 0.8 stl

OPPONENT POSSIBLE STARTERS
# Name Pos. Ht. Wt. Cl. Min. Pts. Reb. Misc.
10 Miles Stute F 6-7 215 Jr. 26.9 9.1 5.1 2.3 3fg
21 Liam Robbins C 7-0 250 5th 23.6 15.4 7.0 3.2 blk
0 Tyrin Lawrence G 6-4 200 Jr. 27.3 11.3 4.0 1.9 ast
5 Ezra Manjon G 6-0 170 Sr. 27.8 8.7 2.8 3.8 ast
12 Trey Thomas G 6-0 160 Jr. 24.5 6.9 1.9 1.8 3f

 

NUMBERS OF NOTE
24​

Riley Kugel’s 24 points vs. Kentucky were the most by a Florida fresh-
man since Noah Locke’s 27-point game vs. Texas A&M on Jan. 22,
2019. Kugel is averaging 17.2 points per game over the last five games.

35​

Freshman Aleks Szymczyk has logged 35 minutes of action over the last two games after playing just 15 minutes over the course of UF’s first 26 games of the season.

12​

Kyle Lofton is 12 minutes from passing Jordan Bohannon (Iowa, 2016-22) for second-most career minutes by any player this century. Lofton’s 5,252 minutes trail Bohannon (5,263) and Jacob Gilyard (5,749, Richmond, 2017-22

 

GATORS AT A GLANCE​

• Florida travels to Nashville to take on a Vanderbilt team that has won five of its last six games. The Gators dropped this season’s meeting in Gainesville and look to earn a season split.

• Freshman Riley Kugel has stepped up in the absence of Colin Castleton (broken hand suffered 2/15 vs. Ole Miss), scoring 24 vs. Kentucky on the heels of a 17-point game at Arkansas. Kugel has scored 12+ in five straight outings, averaging 17.2 points over UF’s last five games.

• Colin Castleton’s injury poses a significant loss for the Gators as he has led UF in scoring (16.0), rebounding (7.7), blocked shots (78) and free throws made (113). Kyle Lofton has a team-high 90 assists and 27 steals, and Will Richard paces Florida with 41 made 3-pointers and a .402 3-point percentage.

• Florida ranks 24th in defensive efficiency and 17th in two-point field goal percentage defense nationally (KenPom). As a team, the Gators’ 5.4 blocked shots per game are ninth in the NCAA. Individually, Colin Castleton’s 3.00 blocked shots per game rank fourth the nation.

• Todd Golden is Florida’s only first-year head coach with multiple top-25 wins since John Lotz in the 1973-74 season, topping #2 Tennessee and #20 Missouri. Only Golden, Lotz and Tommy Bartlett (three, 1966-67) have multiple ranked wins as a first-year coach in UF history.

• The Gators have played a top-20 schedule in the nation (KenPom) that included the most challenging four-game stretch in program history, which featured three top-five opponents (two on the road) and a trip to Kentucky.

• Prior to his injury, Colin Castleton had four straight 20-point games, including a 29-point, 10-rebound double-double at #3 Alabama. He had also led the Gators in scoring in eight consecutive contests.

• Colin Castleton’s 20 points and nine rebounds led the Gators’ win vs. #2 Tennessee, along with Kyle Lofton’s 14 points and four rebounds. Both Lofton and Will Richard posted a +26 plus-minus. The win marked Florida’s sixth all-time top-2 win and matched the highest-ranked home win in program history.

• With his outing at Kentucky, Colin Castleton became the first player since Dwyane Wade 20 years ago (3/8/03 vs. UK) to post 25 points, eight rebounds, five assists, three blocked shots and a steal against an SEC team.

• Florida turned in a complete performance vs. South Carolina, where Castleton’s 18 points led five scorers in double figures and the Gators dished a season-high 21 assists vs. five turnovers. Myreon Jones flirted with a triple-double with 10 rebounds and eight assists to go along with nine points and zero turnovers.

• UF built a 16-point first-half lead at Mississippi State, then staved off the Bulldogs’ rally, getting a stop on the final possession of the game to seal the win. Colin Castleton posted 13 points, while Will Richard added 12 on 4-for-5 shooting from 3-point range. Kyle Lofton and Myreon Jones combined for 11 assists and zero turnovers, and Lofton chipped in a season-high and team-leading eight rebounds.

• Colin Castleton earned SEC Player of the Week honors on Jan. 16 behind strong performances in wins at LSU and vs. #20 Missouri. At LSU, Castleton posted 18 points and five blocks with a career night at the free throw line (12-for-15) to help the Gators snap LSU’s 13-game home winning streak. He followed up with an all-around performance against Mizzou, tallying 16 points, 13 rebounds, six assists, three steals and two blocked shots.

 

ABOUT THE OPPONENT​

• Vanderbilt saw its five-game winning streak snapped on Wednesday and enters with three straight home victories, topping Ole Miss, Tennessee and Auburn in Memorial Gym in recent weeks.

• Seven-footer Liam Robbins leads the Commodores with 15.4 points,
7.0 rebounds and 3.2 blocked shots per game. Tyrin Lawrence is also
averaging in double figures at 11.3 points per game.

• Ezra Manjon leads with 106 assists and 25 steals, while Myles Stute’s 65 made 3-pointers pace the squad (.387).

OPPONENT’S LAST 5 GAMES
Feb. 8 Tennessee W 66-65
Feb. 11 at Florida W 88-80
Feb. 14 at South Carolina W 75-64
Feb. 18 Auburn W 67-65
Feb. 22 at LSU L 77-84

OPPONENT’S UPCOMING GAMES
March 1 at Kentucky
March 4 Mississippi State
March 8-12 SEC Tournament

LAST 20 VS. VANDERBILT (12-8)
Feb. 25, 2014 A W 57-54
Feb. 3, 2015 A L 61-67
Feb. 18, 2015 H W 50-47
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
March 1, 2022 A W 82-78
Feb. 11, 2023 H L 80-88