Florida 7-3/0-0 SEC vs. Michigan 6-5/0-0 Big Ten Spectrum Center (19,000) | Charlotte, N.C. Jumpman Invitational | Game 11 | Dec. 19, 2023 | 7 p.m BROADCAST INFOESPN | ESPN App Play-by-Play: Dave O’Brien Analyst: Debbie Antonelli Sideline: Myron Medcalf Gator Sports Network from LEARFIELD Play-by-Play: Sean Kelley Analyst: Lee Humphrey Producer/Engineer: Steve Egan
December 14 vs. ECU (Lakeland) SEC Net. W 70-65 19 vs. Michigan (Charlotte) ESPN 7 p.m. 22 Grambling State SEC+ 4 p.m. 30 Quinnipiac SEC Net. 1 p.m. HEAD COACHESTodd Golden 23-20 | 2nd season at UF 80-56 | 5th season overall Juwan Howard 85-51 | 5th season at UM/overall MATCHUP BASICSAll-Time Series: 1-3 Series under Golden: 0-0 vs. Big Ten under Golden: 0-0 All-Time vs. Big Ten: 25-37 Last Meeting: L, 49-64, NCAA Tournament, Des Moines, 3/23/19
FLORIDA POSSIBLE STARTERS# Name Pos. Ht. Wt. Cl. Min. Pts. Reb. Misc. 4 Tyrese Samuel F 6-10 239 Gr. 27.5 13.9 8.4 .619 fg% 3 Micah Handlogten C 7-1 235 So. 16.9 6.8 6.9 .632 fg% 1 Walter Clayton Jr. G 6-2 195 Jr. 30.5 16.5 3.8 3.6 ast 2 Riley Kugel G 6-5 207 So. 29.1 12.4 4.3 2.0 ast 5 Will Richard G 6-4 206 Jr. 30.6 9.7 4.3 1.7 last OPPONENT POSSIBLE STARTERS# Name Pos. Ht. Wt. Cl. Min. Pts. Reb. Misc. 5 Terrance Williams II F 6-7 225 Sr. 32.6 11.2 4.4 2.1 3fg 13 Olivier Nkamhoua F 6-9 235 Gr. 32.1 16.5 7.3 2.9 ast 42 Will Tschetter F 6-10 265 So. 17.8 8.8 2.8 .720 fg% 0 Dug McDaniel G 5-11 175 So. 35.4 17.9 3.5 5.0 ast 4 Nimari Burnett G 6-4 200 Gr. 31.1 10.2 4.2 2.5 ast
THE TIP-OFF• Florida takes on Michigan in the second installment of the Jumpman Invitational, facing the Wolverines for the first time since the second round of the 2019 NCAA Tournament. • Tuesday marks the Gators’ second trip to Charlotte this season after previously taking on Virginia in the Basketball Hall of Fame series. • UF came up just short in its first trip to Charlotte while playing without point guard Zyon Pullin, but the Gators’ 70 points in the contest are the most allowed by Virginia yet this season. Both Micah Handlogten and Tyrese Samuel recorded a double-double vs. the Cavaliers. • The Gators have had a 20-point scorer in six straight games and eight of 10 overall this season. 023-24 HIGHLIGHTS • In his homecoming game at Lakeland vs. East Carolina, Walter Clayton Jr. exploded for 20 first-half points on the way to a team-leading 22. Clayton scored 10 of the Gators’ first 12 points out of the gate playing just down the road from his hometown of Lake Wales. • Will Richard earned Orange Bowl Classic MVP honors as he scored 19 of his 21 points in the second half to lead the Gators vs. Richmond. Richard posted a solo 9-0 run as he hit three 3-pointers in a 90-second span that helped create separation vs. the Spiders. • Walter Clayton Jr. scored 21 of his 26 points vs. Merrimack in the second half. Freshman Alex Condon added his first career double-double with 12 points and 16 rebounds. Condon’s 16 boards were the most by a Florida freshman since Al Horford’s 18 vs. Alabama during the 2004-05 season. • Florida came up just short against 13th-ranked Baylor in the NIT Season Tip-Off championship game as Riley Kugel exploded for 25 points and nine rebounds, both career highs. Tyrese Samuel and Zyon Pullin earned All-Tournament Team honors, and Samuel added SEC Player of the Week recognition. • The Gators topped Pitt in the first game of the NIT Season Tip-Off behind 28 points from Walter Clayton Jr. on 6-for-8 shooting from 3-point range, a 20-point, 10-rebound performance from Tyrese Samuel and a 24-to-8 assist-to-turnover showing as a team. • Florida blitzed Florida State, leading 27-5 before taking a 52-22 advantage into halftime. The Gators shot .643 and held the Seminoles to .258 from the field during the first half. Walter Clayton Jr. led UF with 19 points, while Zyon Pullin and Tyrese Samuel added 15 each and Thomas Haugh grabbed 10 rebounds. • Micah Handlogten (14 points, 14 rebounds) and Tyrese Samuel (10 points, 11 rebounds) both posted their first double-double as Gators in a hard-fought loss vs. Virginia in Charlotte.
NUMBERS OF NOTE 5Florida already has five games with 20+ offensive rebounds, more such performances than any season this century. The Gators’ .425 offensive rebounding percentage ranks fourth in the country. 20UF has had a 20-point scorer in six straight games and eight of 10 contests overall. Walter Clayton Jr. and Riley Kugel lead the way with three 20-point games each. Will Richard (twice) and Tyrese Samuel (once) have also reached the mark. 7Florida and Michigan are both playing their seventh road/neutral game of the season, most by any power conference teams to date
ABOUT THE OPPONENT• Michigan used the same starting five for each of the first 10 games until Will Tschetter made his first start on Saturday in place of Tarris Reed Jr. • Five-foot-11 guard Dug McDaniel leads the team in scoring at 17.9 points per game, also pacing Michigan in 3-point field goals (25), assists (55) and steals (13). • Tennessee transfer Olivier Nkamhoua adds 16.5 and a team-high 7.3 rebounds, while Terrence Williams II (11.2 ppg) and Nimari Burnett (10.2 ppg) also average double-figure scoring. • Reed owns a team-leading 17 blocked shots. OPPONENT’S LAST 5 GAMESNov. 24 vs. Texas Tech L 57-73 Dec. 2 at Oregon L/OT 83-86 Dec. 5 Indiana L 75-78 Dec. 10 at Iowa W 90-80 Dec. 16 Eastern Michigan W 83-66 OPPONENT’S NEXT 5 GAMESDec. 29 McNeese State Jan. 4 Minnesota Jan. 7 at Penn State Jan. 11 at Maryland Jan. 15 Ohio State ALL-TIME SERIES (1-3*)March 19, 1988 NCAA* L 85-108 Dec. 27, 1998 N W 79-63 March 31, 2013 NCAA L 59-79 March 23, 2019 NCAA L 49-64 *UF’s 1988 NCAA Tournament appearance vacated by NCAA LAST 10 VS. CURRENT BIG TEN (3-7)March 31, 2013 *vs. Michigan L 59-79 Nov. 12, 2013 at Wisconsin L 53-59 Nov. 22, 2015 vs. Purdue L 70-85 Dec. 12, 2015 at Michigan State L 52-58 March 20, 2016 ^at Ohio State W 74-66 March 24, 2017 *vs. Wisconsin W/OT 84-83 Dec. 8, 2018 Michigan State L 59-63 March 23, 2019 *vs. Michigan L 49-64 Nov. 24, 2021 vs. Ohio State W 71-68 Dec. 12, 2021 vs. Maryland L 68-70 *NCAA Tournament; ^NIT
GO GATORS!!! We need this win. Pullin guard McDaniel. Richard/Kugel guard Burnett. Clayton guard anyone please.
The is a high profile game the Gators need to win to start getting some respect. They have the talent. Can they limit turnovers, hit close to 40% of their 3's, guard the 3 better and make close to 80% of their free throws? And will the real Riley Kugel, please stand up!
Harry sums it up well... hopeful and frustrating... UF Searching (Individually, Collectively) For Its Sweet Spot - Florida Gators
I like this: "Worth noting: In the three games when the Gators have had their full rotation (Florida State, Richmond and East Carolina), they've led for 117:26 out of a possible 120 minutes. Now, imagine if Clayton, Kugel and, say, either Richard or Pullin started to mesh on the outside (or, dare to dream, all four at the same time), while Samuel, Handlogten and Condon continued doing their dominant dirty work on the glass".
Harry said what I said in a previous thread: Coach is playing with lineups trying to find the magic, but injuries, suspensions, and (maybe most significantly) inconsistent play has made that hard. No excuses, though. It's his job to get players to execute consistently. Let's start tonight, please
If we had beaten one of Virginia, Baylor, or Wake I’d say there isn’t much pressure to win. But we are 2-3 vs. top 100 NET teams and that type of a record is a reason we always seem to be on the bubble. Tonight is a huge chance to beat a very beatable team that can not only boost your resume, but also get your momentum going in the right direction before Kentucky comes to town.
Meeting my buddy who is a big UM fan at the sports bar tonight. Hoping for an epic beat down by the Mighty Gators...
Huge Gator game. imho, we need to win this (Q2) & the other two OOC games (Q4) along with Miss State(Q2), LSU(Q4) & Arkansas(Q3), then sweep Missouri(Q2/Q3), UGA(Q2/Q3) & Vandy(Q4), then one of Bama/Auburn/UK Q1 games at home, we might get in. Q1: 2-10, Q2: 5-1, Q3: 4-0, Q4:9-0
