OGT-Florida vs LSU 3/4/2023 6:00 pm SECN

Mar 4 (Sat) 6 PM Gator Sports Network from LEARFIELD
SEC
Florida vs LSU
Senior Night presented by COX
Gainesville, FL Exactech Arena at Stephen C. O'Connell Center

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BROADCAST INFO
SEC Network | ESPN App
Play-by-Play: Roy Philpott
Analyst: Mark Wise

Gator Sports Network from LEARFIELD
SiriusXM 133/191 | SXM App 962
Play-by-Play: Sean Kelley
Analyst: Lee Humphrey
Engineer/Producer: Steve Egan

 

HEAD COACHES
Todd Golden
15-15 | 1st season at UF
72-51 | 4th season overall

Matt McMahon
13-17 | 1st season at LSU
167-84| 8th season overall

MATCHUP BASICS
All-Time Series: 51-66
All-Time/Home: 31-22
Series under Golden: 1-0
Home under Golden: 0-0
Last Meeting: W, 67-56, 1/10/23 (Away)

 

FLORIDA POSSIBLE STARTERS
# Name Pos. Ht. Wt. Cl. Min. Pts. Reb. Misc.
33 Jason Jitoboh C 6-11 300 Sr. 10.8 2.8 1.4 0.7 blk
0 Myreon Jones G 6-3 177 Gr. 21.4 5.3 3.3 2.2 ast
5 Will Richard G 6-4 206 So. 27.7 10.5 4.4 1.6 3fg
11 Kyle Lofton G 6-3 188 Gr. 32.3 8.8 2.9 3.4 ast
24 Riley Kugel G 6-5 207 Fr. 21.9 9.3 2.8 1.0 last

OPPONENT POSSIBLE STARTERS
# Name Pos. Ht. Wt. Cl. Min. Pts. Reb. Misc.
12 KJ Williams F 6-10 250 5th 32.6 17.3 7.5 1.8 3fg
15 Tyrell Ward F 6-6 185 Fr. 13.1 3.7 1.3 0.8 stl
20 Derek Fountain F 6-10 225 Jr. 23.2 7.9 5.3 1.1 stl
1 Cam Hayes G 6-2 185 Jr. 22.8 8.0 2.5 2.4 ast
44 Adam Miller G 6-3 190 RSo. 33.3 11.9 2.3 2.3 3fg

 

NUMBERS OF NOTE
7​

Riley Kugel has seven straight games in double figures, averaging 17.9 points over that stretch. He looks to become the first Gator freshman to post eight straight double-figure games in conference play since Bradley Beal, who had 10
in a row in the 2011-12 season.

6​

Florida and Todd Golden have won all six meetings to date against other SEC progams also in Year 1 under a new head coach.

.641​

Florida’s starters shot 25-for-39 from the field in Tuesday’s win at Georgia, including 7-for-15 (.467) from 3-point range.

 

GATORS AT A GLANCE​

• Florida hosts LSU for the regular season finale coming off its win at Georgia, led by a career-best 24 points from Will Richard, who knocked down five 3-pointers, and Myreon Jones’ first double-double as a Gator (14 points, 12 rebounds).

• Riley Kugel also continued his exceptional play at Georgia, adding 19 points on 8-for-12 shooting. Kugel has averaged 17.9 points over the last seven games and 20.0 in the four games since losing Colin Castleton (broken hand). Kugel looks to become the first Gator freshman to post eight straight double-figure games in conference play since Bradley Beal, who had 10 in a row in the 2011-12 season.

• With Riley Kugel’s career-high 24 vs. Kentucky and 20 on the road at Vanderbilt, he became the first Florida freshman with back-to-back 20-point games since Kenny Boynton (2009-10).

• Colin Castleton’s injury has posed a significant loss for the Gators as he led UF in scoring (16.0), rebounding (7.7), blocked shots (78) and free throws made (113). His 3.0 blocked shots per game rank fourth nationally.

• Kyle Lofton has a team-high 96 assists and 31 steals, and Will Richard paces Florida with 47 made 3-pointers and a .412 3-point percentage.

• Todd Golden is Florida’s only first-year head coach with multiple top-25 wins since John Lotz in the 1973-74 season, as UF has downed #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 UK.

• 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.

• In UF’s win at Mississippi State, 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. 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​

• LSU has SEC wins vs. Arkansas and Vanderbilt, nearly adding another
against Missouri on Wednesday, in the Tigers’ first season under Matt McMahon.

• KJ Williams leads the team with 17.3 points and 7.5 rebounds per game and a .425 clip from 3-point range (54/127). His 36 steals and 26 blocked shots also pace the team.

• Adam Miller also averages double figures at 11.9 points per game and is the team’s leader in 3-point field goals with 70 (.317). Justice Hill leads with 80 assists.

OPPONENT’S LAST 5 GAMES
Feb. 14 at Georgia L 63-65
Feb. 18 South Carolina L 73-82
Feb. 22 Vanderbilt W 84-77
Feb. 25 at Ole Miss L 69-82
March 1 Missouri L 76-8

OPPONENT’S UPCOMING GAMES
March 8 vs. Georgia

LAST 20 VS. LSU (14-6)
Jan. 16, 2010 H W 72-58
Feb. 20, 2011 A W 68-61
Jan. 21, 2012 H W 76-64
Jan. 12, 2013 A W 74-52
March 15, 2013 SEC W 80-58
March 1, 2014 H W 79-61
Jan. 20, 2015 H L 61-79
Feb. 21, 2015 A L 63-70
Jan. 9, 2016 H W 68-62
Feb. 27, 2016 A L 91-96
Feb. 25, 2017 A W 106-71
Feb. 7, 2018 H W 73-64
Feb. 20, 2019 A W/OT 82-77
March 6, 2019 H L/OT 78-79
March 15, 2019 SEC W 76-73
Jan. 21, 2020 A L 82-84
Feb. 26, 2020 H W 81-66
Jan. 2, 2021 H W 83-79
Jan. 12, 2022 H L 58-64
Jan. 10, 2023 A W 67-56

 

Florida vs. LSU

* When: Saturday, 6 p.m. (ET)
* Where: Exactech Arena/O'Connell Center / Gainesville, Fla.
Setup / Series / Last Meeting
Florida and Louisiana State meet in the regular season finale for both teams, with UF's final home game doubling as "Senior Night" for a trio of players, including two-time All-Southeastern Conference forward Colin Castleton, who suffered a season-ending broken right hand on Feb. 11. ... The outcome of the game will help determine the final seeding for the SEC Tournament, which starts Wednesday at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tenn., and will run through March 12. The Tigers will play in one of the Wednesday "play-in" games along with the league's three other bottom seeds, while the Gators already have a spot locked into Thursday's second round. ... UF is coming off Tuesday night's 77-67 road win at Georgia, while the Tigers lost to Missouri 81-76 in their home finale Wednesday. ... The game will mark the second of a rotating home-and-home series between the two teams this season, as determined by the league office. LSU leads the all-time series 66-51, but Florida won the first meeting of 2023 with a 67-56 victory at Baton Rouge on Jan. 16. In that one, the Gators rallied from a three-point deficit at the break to shoot 55.8 percent in the second half while holding the Tigers to 29 percent, including 0-for-11 from the 3-point line. UF was led by Castleton's 18 points and 10 rebounds, while sophomore wing Kowacie Reeves came off the bench to score 11 points. LSU forward KJ Williams had 23 points and seven rebounds, but the Tigers were undermined by their 16 turnovers that led to 23 Florida points, as the Gators won transition scoring column 16-1. ... LSU coach Matt McMahon is 0-1 against UF coach Todd Golden, but 1-1 against Golden overall, having won their NCAA Tournament first-round meeting last March when McMahon led No. 7-seed Murray State to a 92-87 overtime defeat of Golden's 10th-seed San Francisco at Indianapolis.

The Gators
They need a win to assure themselves no worse than a .500 record for the '22-23 season, which would avoid the program's first losing season since 2014-15. A victory could also (pending outcomes elsewhere around the league) improve UF's seed in the SEC Tournament, which come late Saturday could be as high as No. 7 or as low as No. 10. ... In winning for the first time since the

Alex Fudge (3)
Castleton injury, UF played one of its best all-around games of the season and did so on both ends of the floor. The Gators shot nearly 54 percent for the game, including 63 percent from the 2-point area, and stymied the Bulldogs into 33-percent shooting in the second half despite having no truly viable post presence, as Castleton's two main replacements, Jason Jitoboh and 6-foot-10 backup Aleks Szymczyk combined for six points, four rebounds, four blocks and four turnovers over 28 minutes. UF gave sophomore Alex Fudge (5.9 ppg, 4.5 rpg) some late second-half possessions in the post and he responded with four points and six rebounds, all but one on the defensive end. The 6-9 Fudge struggles with thicker, sturdier guys, but his length can challenge shots and he's got as much bounce as anyone on the team. Look for him to get some more reps down low as the Gators' minus-Castleton "makeover" remains a work in progress. ... Guard Will Richard had the best game of his college career against the Bulldogs, finishing with 24 points on 8-for-11 shooting, going 5-for-8 from the 3-point line. He also had five rebounds and a pair of blocks. His season's numbers now show nearly 50 percent from the floor, just under 42 from the arc and 87 at the free-throw line. ... Stop if you've read this before (actually, keep going): Guard Riley Kugel continued on his torrid streak with 19 points, plus five rebounds, and has now hit double-figure scoring in seven consecutive games. That's the longest run by a UF freshman since Noah Locke did it nine straight games in 2018-19. Kugel, now the team's No. 3 scoring leader, is averaging 17.8 points and shooting 53 percent from the floor during that current string. ... Guard Myreon Jones had a rugged three-game stretch (a microcosm of his team after the Gators lost Castleton), but snapped out of it in a big way at Athens, posting just the second double-double of his career and first in a UF uniform. Jones had 14 points, a career-best 12 boards to go with four assists, two steals and just one turnover. His backcourt mate, Kyle Lofton, kept the Gators offense flowing without impacting the score too much (2 points, 4 assists, 3 turnovers, 3 steals). When Lofton is on point, though, the UF offense seems to move with a purpose. ... Backup guards Niels Lane and Trey Bonham, who have played very little in SEC action, each got more than five minutes at UGA. Bonham scored four points (all from the free-throw line), while Lane had two points, one rebound and a steal. ... Reeves, who had averaged 11.8 points over the previous five games, managed just two free throws against UGA in nine minutes. ... The Florida "Senior Night" celebration will honor Castleton, Lofton and Jitoboh, while Jones, a grad-transfer, declined to go through the ceremony after doing so last year.

The Tigers
They started the first season under McMahon by rolling to a 12-1 start that included a win over Arkansas in the SEC opener. Since? Yikes. LSU has lost 16 of the 17, with the lone win a surprising upset of red-hot Vanderbilt two weeks ago (three days after the Commodores beat the Gators at the O'Dome). The Tigers need a win Saturday to avoid finishing alone at the bottom of the conference standings. ... LSU is 0-8 on the road this season. ... In Wednesday's home loss to

KJ Williams
Missouri, LSU built a 19-point lead late in the first half by dropping an astounding 11 of 14 shots from the 3-point line. That's 78.6 percent. The Tigers cooled to 3-for-14 in the second half (that's 21.4 percent) and were outscored 47-29, as Mizzou shot 51.5 percent the final 20 minutes, while LSU dipped to 37. ... In bolting Murray State for Baton Rouge, McMahon took three of his best Racers with him last spring -- three of the team's top four scorers, in fact -- and they've all been prominent contributors this season, starting with Williams, who ranks second in the SEC in scoring and sixth in rebounding. His 49 percent from the floor rates sixth in the league and he's not just posting his big body for those numbers. Williams is hitting 41 percent from the 3-point line and has 10 double doubles on the season. ... Point guard Justice Hill, another former Racer, isn't scoring or assisting like he did at Murray, in great part because the Tigers are not a great shooting team beyond Williams. ... Former Racer No. 3 is guard Trae Hannibal (6.4 ppg, 4.1 rpg), a sturdy, football player-looking guard and outstanding defender that UF fans might recall played two seasons for Frank Martin at South Carolina. Hannibal was the first sub off the bench earlier in the season (and had 12 rebounds against the Gators), but played just nine minutes Wednesday and has just 15 points over the last five games since missing three games with an injury. ... Guard Cam Hayes (50 percent from the floor, 34.7 from 3), a transfer from North Carolina State, is a guy who if allowed to get going could be trouble. ... Guard Adam Miller came from Illinois two years ago, but sat out the '21-22 season after suffering a season-ending knee injury in preseason practice. Miller is at nearly 31 percent from 3, but can get them in bunches. He has five games with at least five 3s, including against Missouri last game. ... Forward Derrick Fountain is a transfer from Mississippi State, where he was a seldom-used role player the last two seasons but has started 22 consecutive games for the Tigers. He doesn't step out much (just 21 attempts from deep), but is at 58 percent from the 2-point area. ... Backup, 6-10, 230-pound freshman forward Jalen Reed (3.6 ppg, 3.0 rpg) from Jackson, Miss., signed with Florida last year as part of then-Coach Mike White's last recruiting class, but opted out after the change in staff. He's playing much better than earlier in the season, having averaged 8.6 points and hit 54 percent of his shots over the last five games.

* 1.000 — Golden's winning percentage against his five fellow first-year SEC coaches, based on a 6-0 record after defeating White a second time. Golden will try to make it 7-0 with a win against McMahon, with a possibility of some more rematches in the conference tournament.

* 8 — Number of 3-point attempts by Richard at Georgia. He hit at a 62.5-percent clip.

* 9 — Number of 3-point attempts by Richard the previous five games combined (before Georgia). He hit at a 33.3-percent clip during that stretch, but definitely should have been taking more.

* 2012 — The last year a UF freshman scored in double figures for seven straight SEC games, like Kugel's current streak. That freshman was Bradley Beal, who did it for 10 consecutive games and after the season declared for the NBA Draft. He was taken third overall by the Washington Wizards.

Bottom Line
The Gators have beaten all the inferior opponents (as in the teams currently them in the SEC standings) this season. Would be a shame for that trend to stop now.