The Game Notes aren't yet ready for GatorGrowl to post for us . . . but he can always add them whenever they become available. Until then, I wanted us to have an OGT to discuss the rematch. But first . . .
I hope Growl isn't feeling under the weather today . . . and these aren't the same as his . . . but a few notes: • Florida reached the SEC Tournament semifinals for the first time since 2019 on the power of its highest-scoring SEC Tournament game in program history, rolling up 102 points in Friday’s quarterfinal win vs. #18 Alabama. UF had never scored 100 points in regulation on a ranked opponent in program history until doing so twice vs. Alabama in the past two weeks. • First-team All-SEC honoree Zyon Pullin ranks second in the nation in assist-to-turnover ratio (4.08) and is on pace to post the SEC’s best single-season number of the 2000s. Pullin’s scoring average and assist/turnover ratio combination of 15.6 ppg and 4.08 A/TO has only been surpassed once nationally since the 1996-97 season (Monte Morris, Iowa St., 2016-17, 16.4, 5.17). • Second-team All-SEC guard Walter Clayton Jr. has the 10th-best scoring (571) and 3-point fi eld goals made (83) season in Florida history. His 14 games with 20+ points, including the fi rst two SEC Tournament games here in Nashville, are the most by a Gator since Anthony Roberson had 14 in 2003-04. • In the frontcourt, Florida has gotten 11 double-doubles from AP second-team All-SEC forward Tyrese Samuel, the most by a Gator since Al Horford’s 16 in 2006-07, and a 17.9% off ensive rebounding percentage from Micah Handlogten, which ranks fi fth in the nation. SEC All-Freshman big man Alex Condon leads the league’s freshmen in rebounding (6.2) and blocked shots (40).
NUMBERS OF NOTE : 5 Florida has had five double-figure scorers in both SEC Tournament victories this week, and Walter Clayton Jr. led the group in both outings, posting 22 vs. Georgia and 23 vs. Alabama. UF is 9-2 this season when five players hit double figures. 10 Walter Clayton Jr. now owns Florida’s #10 all-time single-season performances in points scored (571) and 3-point fi eld goals (83). 100 UF had never scored 100 points in regulation vs. a ranked opponent in program history, then did so twice in a 10-day span in its two wins against Alabama.
We have to end this 5-game losing streak to aTm today. They seem to have our number in the SEC Tourney too.
Just win baby! BUT I'd love to see us sub a lot and run the next 2 out of the gym. Play our style on O and dominate on D.
BROADCAST INFO SEC Network | ESPN App Play-by-Play: Tom Hart Analyst: Jimmy Dykes Sideline: Marty Smith Gators Sports Network from LEARFIELD Play-by-Play: Sean Kelley Analyst: Lee Humphrey Producer/Engineer: Steve Egan
FLORIDA POSSIBLE STARTERS # Name Pos. Ht. Wt. Cl. Min. Pts. Reb. Misc. 4 Tyrese Samuel F 6-10 239 Gr. 26.9 14.0 7.6 1.7 ast 3 Micah Handlogten C 7-1 235 So. 19.7 5.6 7.2 .627 fg% 0 Zyon Pullin G 6-4 206 Gr. 33.4 15.6 3.9 5.0 ast 1 Walter Clayton Jr. G 6-2 195 Jr. 31.2 17.3 3.7 2.5 3fg 5 Will Richard G 6-4 206 Jr. 29.3 11.3 4.0 1.9 3fg OPPONENT POSSIBLE STARTERS # Name Pos. Ht. Wt. Cl. Min. Pts. Reb. Misc. 10 Wildens Leveque F 6-11 250 Gr. 9.9 1.7 2.7 0.6 blk 13 Solomon Washington F 6-7 220 So. 23.2 7.0 5.6 1.0 blk 4 Wade Taylor IV G 6-0 175 Jr. 32.6 18.5 3.5 2.5 3fg 23 Tyrece Radford G 6-3 190 Gr. 32.3 15.9 6.0 2.4 ast 35 Manny Obaseki G 6-4 195 Jr. 13.3 6.1 1.2 0.8 as
THE TIP-OFF • Florida reached the SEC Tournament semifinals for the first time since 2019 on the power of its highest-scoring SEC Tournament game in program history, rolling up 102 points in Friday’s quarterfinal win vs. #18 Alabama. UF had never scored 100 points in regulation on a ranked opponent in program history until doing so twice vs. Alabama in the past two weeks. • First-team All-SEC honoree Zyon Pullin ranks second in the nation in assist-to-turnover ratio (4.08) and is on pace to post the SEC’s best single-season number of the 2000s. Pullin’s scoring average and assist/turnover ratio combination of 15.6 ppg and 4.08 A/TO has only been surpassed once nationally since the 1996-97 season (Monte Morris, Iowa St., 2016-17, 16.4, 5.17). • Second-team All-SEC guard Walter Clayton Jr. has the 10th-best scoring (571) and 3-point field goals made (83) season in Florida history. His 14 games with 20+ points, including the first two SEC Tournament games here in Nashville, are the most by a Gator since Anthony Roberson had 14 in 2003-04. • In the frontcourt, Florida has gotten 11 double-doubles from AP second-team All-SEC forward Tyrese Samuel, the most by a Gator since Al Horford’s 16 in 2006-07, and a 17.9% offensive rebounding percentage from Micah Handlogten, which ranks fifth in the nation. SEC All-Freshman big man Alex Condon leads the league’s freshmen in rebounding (6.2) and blocked shots (40). 2023-24 HIGHLIGHTS• Florida lit the scoreboard for 105 points in the home win vs. 16th-ranked Alabama, the Gators’ most all-time in regulation vs. a ranked opponent. Will Richard led the attack with 23 points and Walter Clayton Jr. added 22, while Zyon Pullin and Tyrese Samuel scored 19 points each. • Tyrese Samuel’s career-high 28 points led the Gators in the win vs. Missouri. Samuel (10 rebounds) and Micah Handlogten (12 points/12 rebounds) both posted double-doubles, while Zyon Pullin added 21 points. • Florida’s win vs. #12 Auburn marked the Gators’ 15th in a row at home vs. the Tigers. Riley Kugel’s 22 points led the Gators, along with 20 points from Walter Clayton Jr. and 19 by Zyon Pullin. • The Gators win at 10th-ranked Kentucky featured a trio of 20-point scorers in Walter Clayton Jr. (23), Tyrese Samuel (22) and Zyon Pullin (21). Clayton’s 3-pointer with 3.0 seconds left in regulation forced overtime. • Micah Handlogten posted 23 points and 17 rebounds in the home win vs. Georgia, while Zyon Pullin scored seven of his 20 points in the overtime period. The Gators completed the sweep in Athens for a 10th straight win vs. Georgia behind 21 points from Walter Clayton Jr. and 17 by Thomas Haugh. • Will Richard led the Gators with 23 points and nine rebounds in the win vs. Mississippi State as Florida committed a season-low seven turnovers. Zyon Pullin and Walter Clayton Jr. each added 15 points. • Zyon Pullin scored 22 and Tyrese Samuel posted 21 points and 11 rebounds in the Gators’ double overtime victory vs. Michigan in Charlotte. Pullin’s 3-pointer with 8.9 seconds remaining in OT forced the final session. • The Gators topped Pitt in the first game of the NIT Season Tip-Off behind 28 points from Walter Clayton Jr. , a 20-point, 10-rebound performance from Tyrese Samuel and a 24-to-8 assist-to-turnover showing as a team.
FLORIDA IN THE SEC TOURNAMENT• All-Time Record: 48-52 • Championships: 4 (2005, 2006, 2007, 2014) • Runner-Up: 6 (1934, 1989, 1994, 2004, 2011, 2013) • Florida notched its first SEC Tournament win since 2021 and advanced to the semifinals for the first time since 2019. • The Gators’ last trip to the semis came when they knocked off top-seeded LSU in the quarterfinals on Andrew Nembhard’s buzzer- beater. Until this year, that marked UF’s lone semifinal appearance since winning the tournament in 2014. • Texas A&M has taken both prior meetings in the SEC Tournament, including most recently an overtime win in Tampa in 2022 OPPONENT’S LAST 5 GAMES March 2 at Georgia W 70-56 March 6 Mississippi State W 75-69 March 9 at Ole Miss W 86-60 March 14 vs. Ole Miss W 80-71 March 15 vs. Kentucky W 97-87 VS. A&M IN SEC TOURNAMENT (0-2) March 11, 2016 Nashville L 66-72 March 10, 2022 Tampa L/OT 80-83 ALL-TIME SERIES (9-9) 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 Jan. 4, 2023 H L 63-66 Jan. 18, 2023 A L 52-54 Feb. 3, 2024 A L 66-67
3rd game in 3 days, so depth is critical. If the Gators can force the issue and get an up and down the court game going, they have the advantage, IMO. Outside shooting could be a problem for both teams, as fatigued legs lead to shots coming up short. Pound the rock and dominate the paint, inside out passing and don;t commit lazy reaching or over the back fouls. Those, also, come from being tired.
Watching games today makes me really appreciate how composed our team is. Very little emotion from our guys. Don’t yell and pout. By looking at them it is hard to tell whether things are going well or poorly. It’s refreshing, a really mature team.
