OGT #7 Florida vs #10 Colorado 3/22/2024 4:30 pm TBS | March Madness App

Mar 22 (Fri) 4:30 PM TBS Gators Sports Network from LEARFIELD
Florida vs Boise State / Colorado
vs
Boise State / Colorado
Indianapolis, IN

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• Game Notes

BROADCAST INFO
TBS | March Madness App
Play-by-Play: Kevin Harlan
Analysts: Dan Bonner &
Stan Van Gundy
Sideline: Andy Katz

Gators Sports Network from LEARFIELD
Play-by-Play: Sean Kelley
Analyst: Lee Humphrey
Producer/Engineer: Steve Egan

 

HEAD COACHES
Todd Golden
40-28 | 2nd season at UF
97-64 | 5th season overall
Leon Rice
290-164 | 14th season at BSU/overall
Tad Boyle
296-181 | 14th season at Colorado
352-247 | 18th season overall

MATCHUP BASICS
UF in NCAA Tournament: 45-19
NCAA Tourn. under Golden: 0-0
UF in NCAA 1st Round: 16-5
Last NCAA 1st Round Game:
vs. (10) Va. Tech, W/OT, 75-70,
3/19/21 (Indianapolis/Hinkle)

 

FLORIDA USUAL STARTERS
# Name Pos. Ht. Wt. Cl. Min. Pts. Reb. Misc.
4 Tyrese Samuel F 6-10 239 Gr. 26.9 14.0 7.6 1.8 ast
3 Micah Handlogten* C 7-1 235 So. 19.0 5.3 6.9 .622 fg%
0 Zyon Pullin G 6-4 206 Gr. 33.5 15.6 4.0 4.9 ast
1 Walter Clayton Jr. G 6-2 195 Jr. 31.0 17.1 3.6 2.5 3fg
5 Will Richard G 6-4 206 Jr. 29.5 11.5 4.0 2.0 3fg
*Injured in SEC Tournament championship game & will miss NCAA Tournament.
FLORIDA RESERVES
# Name Pos. Ht. Wt. Cl. Min. Pts. Reb. Misc.
2 Riley Kugel G 6-5 207 So. 23.3 9.2 3.5 1.5 ast
21 Alex Condon F/C 6-11 230 Fr. 20.1 7.7 6.3 1.3 blk
10 Thomas Haugh F 6-9 210 Fr. 14.5 3.9 3.7 0.7 blk
11 Denzel Aberdeen G 6-5 190 So. 9.6 3.3 0.9 0.7 ast
30 Kajus Kublickas G 6-2 171 Fr. 4.0 0.8 0.3 0.4 ast

 

NUMBERS OF NOTE
1st​

Florida’s first NCAA championship (2006) and first NCAA champion-
ship game appearance (2000) both occurred in Indianapolis.

4​

Zyon Pullin is one of four active players with 1,800 career points,
550 rebounds and 550 assists, along with Baylor Scheierman,
Tristen Newton and RayJ Dennis.

500 ​

Walter Clayton Jr. has scored 600 points this season, followed by Zyon Pullin (499) and Tyrese Samuel (489). They seek to become the first trio in Florida history to all net 500 points in a season.

 

THE TIP-OFF​

• Florida returns to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2021 and for the first time under second-year head coach Todd Golden, who becomes the fifth head coach in Florida history to lead the Gators to an NCAA berth. The Gators will face Colorado or Boise State, which will be the first meeting ever vs. either opponent.

• First-team All-SEC honoree Zyon Pullin ranks third in the nation in assist-to-turnover ratio (3.76) and is on pace to post the SEC’s best single-season A/TO number of the 2000s. Second-team All-SEC guard Walter Clayton Jr. has the #6 scoring season (600) and tied for #8 most 3-point field goals (89) in a season in Florida history. Clayton also enters the NCAA Tournament with 33 straight free throws made, matching Florida’s third-longest streak (42 by Canyon Barry, 37 by Taurean Green). Clayton has hit 42 of his last 43 from the charity stripe.

• 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. However, the Gators will be without 7-footer Micah Handlogten (leg), whose 17.8% offensive rebounding percentage ranks fifth in the nation. SEC All-Freshman big man Alex Condon leads the SEC’s freshmen in rebounding (6.3) and blocked shots (43)
THE TIP-OFF
• Florida returns to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2021 and for the first time under second-year
head coach Todd Golden, who becomes the fifth head coach in Florida history to lead the Gators to an NCAA
berth. The Gators will face Colorado or Boise State, which will be the first meeting ever vs. either opponent.
• First-team All-SEC honoree Zyon Pullin ranks third in the nation in assist-to-turnover ratio (3.76) and is on pace
to post the SEC’s best single-season A/TO number of the 2000s. Second-team All-SEC guard Walter Clayton
Jr. has the #6 scoring season (600) and tied for #8 most 3-point field goals (89) in a season in Florida history.
Clayton also enters the NCAA Tournament with 33 straight free throws made, matching Florida’s third-longest
streak (42 by Canyon Barry, 37 by Taurean Green). Clayton has hit 42 of his last 43 from the charity stripe.
• 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. However, the Gators will be without 7-footer Micah
Handlogten (leg), whose 17.8% offensive rebounding percentage ranks fifth in the nation. SEC All-Freshman
big man Alex Condon leads the SEC’s freshmen in rebounding (6.3) and blocked shots (43).

2023-24 HIGHLIGHTS​

• The Gators made a run to the SEC Tournament championship game for the first time since 2014, playing four games in a 65-hour span. In three wins vs. Georgia, #18 Alabama and Texas A&M, the Gators averaged 94.0 points and shot .429 from 3-point range with five double-figure scorers in all three wins, including five with 15+ points vs. Texas A&M.

• 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 won at Georgia behind 21 points from Walter Clayton Jr. and 17 by Thomas Haugh, then downed UGA in Nashville to make it 11 straight wins against the Bulldogs.

• Will Richard led the Gators with 23 points and nine rebounds in the win vs. Mississippi State as Florida commit ed just 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 tea

 

FLORIDA IN THE NCAA TOURNAMENT​

• Florida remains the last team to win back-to-back national champion-
ships, doing so with the same five starters in 2006 and 2007.

• Two of those national championship starters are with the program
currently: assistant coach Taurean Green earned 2006 All-Final Four
team and 2007 Regional Most Outstanding Player, and radio analyst Lee Humphrey garnered 2006 and 2007 All-Final Four Team recognition and still holds the record for career 3-point field goals in the NCAA
Tournament (47).

• Todd Golden becomes the fifth head coach to lead Florida to the NCAA
Tournament, joining Norm Sloan, Lon Kruger, Billy Donovan and Mike
White.

• Florida’s 22 NCAA appearances have all come over the last 36 seasons.

• The Gators’ eight Elite Eight appearances since 2000 trail only Kansas
(11), North Carolina (10), Kentucky, and Michigan State (nine), and is
tied with Duke.

BOISE STATE’S LAST 5 GAMES
Feb. 27 at Air Force W 79-48
March 2 New Mexico W 89-79
March 5 Nevada L 66-76
March 8 at San Diego State W/OT 79-77
March 14 vs. New Mexico L 66-76

COLORADO’S LAST 5 GAMES
March 7 at Oregon W 79-75
March 9 at Oregon State W 73-57
March 14 vs. Utah W 72-58
March 15 vs. Washington State W 58-52
March 16 vs. Oregon L 68-75

NCAA GAMES IN INDIANAPOLIS (4-2)
April 1, 2000 vs. (8) North Carolina W 71-59
April 3, 2000 vs. (1) Michigan State L 76-89
April 1, 2006 vs. (11) George Mason W 73-58
April 3, 2006 vs. (2) UCLA W 73-57
March 19, 2021 vs. (7) Virginia Tech W/OT 75-70
March 21, 2021 vs. (15) Oral Roberts L 78-81

FLORIDA IN THE FIRST ROUND (16-5)
March 17, 1989 vs. (10) Colorado State L 46-68
March 17, 1994 vs. (14) James Madison W 64-62
March 17, 1995 vs. (7) Iowa State L 61-64
March 11, 1999 vs. (11) Penn W 75-61
March 17, 2000 vs. (12) Butler W/OT 69-68
March 16, 2001 vs. (14) Western Kentucky W 69-56
March 15, 2002 vs. (12) Creighton L/2OT 82-83
March 21, 2003 vs. (15) Sam Houston State W 85-55
March 18, 2004 vs. (12) Manhattan L 60-75
March 18, 2005 vs. (13) Ohio W 67-62
March 16, 2006 vs. (14) South Alabama W 76-50
March 16, 2007 vs. (16) Jackson State W 112-69
March 18, 2010 vs. (7) BYU L/2OT 92-99
March 17, 2011 vs. (15) UC Santa Barbara W 79-51
March 17, 2012 vs. (10) Virginia W 71-45
March 22, 2013 vs. (14) Northwestern State W 79-47
March 20, 2014 vs. (16) Albany W 67-55
March 16, 2017 vs. (13) East Tennessee State W 80-65
March 15, 2018 vs. (11) St. Bonaventure W 77-62
March 21, 2019 vs. (7) Nevada W 70-61
March 19, 2021 vs. (10) Virginia Tech W/O

FLORIDA AS A 7 SEED (4-3)
March 17, 1989 vs. (10) Colorado State L 46-68
March 16, 2012 vs. (10) Virginia W 71-45
March 18, 2012 vs. (15) Norfolk State W 84-50
March 22, 2012 vs. (3) Marquette W 68-58
March 24, 2012 vs. (4) Louisville L 68-72
March 19, 2021 vs. (10) Virginia Tech W/OT 75-70
March 21, 2021 vs. (15) Oral Roberts L 78-81