Mar 5 (Tue) 7 PMGator Sports Network from LEARFIELD SEC Florida vs Alabama Senior Night presented by GFL Gainesville, FL Exactech Arena at Stephen C. O'Connell Center Watch Listen Live Stats Tickets Game Notes BROADCAST INFO '= ESPN | EPN App Play-by-Play: Tom Hart Analyst: Jimmy Dykes Sideline: Marty Smith Gators Sports Gators Sports Network from LEARFIELD Play-by-Play: Sean Kelley Analyst: Lee Humphrey Producer/Engineer: Steve Egan
HEAD COACHES Todd Golden 36-26 2nd season at UF 93-62 5th season overall Nate Oats 112-51 5th season at Alabama 208-94 9th season overall MATCHUP BASICS All-Time Series: 70-79 All-Time Home: 41-22 Series under Golden: 0-2 Home under Golden: 0-0 Last Meeting: L/OT, 98-93, 2/21/24 (Away)
FLORIDA POSSIBLE STARTERS # Name Pos. Ht. Wt. Cl. Min. Pts. Reb. Misc. 4 Tyrese Samuel F 6-10 239 Gr. 27.1 13.5 7.8 1.7 ast 3 Micah Handlogten C 7-1 235 So. 20.5 6.2 7.5 .650 fg% 0 Zyon Pullin G 6-4 206 Gr. 33.6 15.4 3.8 5.0 ast 1 Walter Clayton Jr. G 6-2 195 Jr. 30.9 16.9 3.7 2.6 3fg 5 Will Richard G 6-4 206 Jr. 29.2 11.0 3.8 1.9 3fg OPPONENT POSSIBLE STARTERS # Name Pos. Ht. Wt. Cl. Min. Pts. Reb. Misc. 2 Grant Nelson F 6-11 230 Sr. 25.7 11.9 5.5 1.5 blk 15 Jarin Stevenson F 6-11 210 Fr. 17.1 5.3 2.7 0.8 3fg 1 Mark Sears G 6-1 185 Sr. 32.4 20.7 4.2 2.3 3fg 3 Rylan Griff en G 6-6 190 So. 26.4 11.4 3.7 2.0 3fg 55 Aaron Estrada G 6-3 190 Gr. 29.3 13.3 5.4 4.5 ast
NUMBERS OF NOTE 5 Florida hosts a ranked vs. ranked matchup in March for the fi fth time in program history, the fi rst since #1 Florida defeated #25 Kentucky to cap the Gators’ 18-0 2014 SEC slate. UF split the prior four such games, all since 2001 against UK. 500. 500 Walter Clayton Jr. has scored 490 points this season and looks to become the fi rst Gator since Jalen Hudson in 2017-18 to post 500. UF has had 38 previous individual 500-point seasons. 4.16 Zyon Pullin’s 4.16 assist-to turnover ratio ranks second in the nation and is on pace to break Chris Chiozza’s program record of 3.41, set in the 2017-18 season
THE TIP-OFF • Florida gets a rematch against Alabama on its home court two weeks after the Tide edged out the Gators in an overtime thriller, 98-93. Walter Clayton Jr. scored a game-high 27 in the fi rst meeting, while Zyon Pullin and Tyrese Samuel added 17 points each. • Zyon Pullin ranks second in the nation and is on pace to set Florida’s all-time record with and assist/turnover ratio of 4.16, and his 4.96 assists per game rank second in the SEC. Walter Clayton Jr., meanwhile, has 11 20-point outings this season, most by a Gator since Kenny Boynton’s 13 in 2011-12. • Florida has two of the top three offensive rebounders in the SEC in Micah Handlogten (3.63) and Tyrese Samuel (3.07). UF’s 39.1% off ensive rebounding rate is third-highest in the nation, while Handlogten’s 18.2% offensive rebounding rate ranks fourth nationally' THE TIP-OFF • Florida gets a rematch against Alabama on its home court two weeks after the Tide edged out the Gators in an overtime thriller, 98-93. Walter Clayton Jr. scored a game-high 27 in the first meeting, while Zyon Pullin and Tyrese Samuel added 17 points each. • Zyon Pullin ranks second in the nation and is on pace to set Florida’s all-time record with and assist/turnover ratio of 4.16, and his 4.96 assists per game rank second in the SEC. Walter Clayton Jr., meanwhile, has 11 20-point outings this season, most by a Gator since Kenny Boynton’s 13 in 2011-12. • Florida has two of the top three off ensive rebounders in the SEC in Micah Handlogten (3.63) and Tyrese Samuel (3.07). UF’s 39.1% offensive rebounding rate is third-highest in the nation, while Handlogten’s 18.2% offensive rebounding rate ranks fourth nationally assist-to-turnover showing as a team.
ABOUT THE OPPONENT • Alabama leads the nation with 90.9 points per game and ranks second with 11.5 3-point field goals per game. • Mark Sears leads Alabama with 20.7 points per game and has 68 made 3-pointers at a .433 rate. Sears also shoots .510 from the fi eld and has 157 made free throws while leading the Tide with 51 steals. • Aaron Estrada scores 13.3 points per game and a team-high 130 assists. • Grant Nelson adds 11.9 points and a team-leading 5.5 rebounds per game and 44 blocked shots. • Rylan Griffin rounds out the double figure scorers at 11.4 points per game and has 59 3-pointers, second on the team behind Sears. OPPONENT’S LAST 5 GAMES Feb. 17 Texas A&M W 100-75 Feb. 21 Florida W/OT 98-93 Feb. 24 at Kentucky L 95-117 Feb. 28 at Ole Miss W 103-88 March 2 Tennessee L 74-81 OPPONENT’S UPCOMING GAMES March 9 Arkansas March 13-17 SEC Tournament
We need good Kugel tonight, he was a non factor last matchup. If we get the aggressive Kugel, I don't care about pts as much as his decision making. It would be nice to have Richard's get back on track and see a couple go in from deep.
Agree, these guys have to be on track and we need our bigs to be able to score. Foul shooting was the difference last game, we need to make our foul shots, Handlogten and Samuels can’t go with at least fifty per cent of their foul shots.
I was thinking more “ Good Richard”, since he’s the starter & plays the most minutes, but I see your point. RK May or may not get a chance to be a factor. We need production from all 3 perimeter spots.
Richard has been a puzzle this year. Some games he can't miss, other games he couldn't hit the ocean with a water pistol. Need all hands on deck tonight.
Hope they play “ physical “ at the point of attack on both offense & defense. Play with force & edge for 40 minutes. Be the puncher, not the receiver of the punch. Be constantly in motion, no standing in the deep corners waiting on the ball.