OGT-Alabama @ Florida 1/5 7:00 ESPN2

Florida (9-3/0-0 SEC) vs. #15/20 Alabama (10-3/1-0 SEC)
Exactech Arena at the Stephen C. O’Connell Center (10,151)
Gainesville, Fla. | Game 13 | Jan. 5, 2022 | 7 p.m.

BROADCAST INFO
ESPN2 | ESPN App
Play-by-Play: Tom Hart
Analyst: Jimmy Dykes

Gators Sports Network
Play-by-Play: Mick Hubert
Analyst: Lee Humphrey

 

HEAD COACHES
​

Mike White
132-78 | 7th season at UF
233-118 | 11th season overall

Nate Oats
52-25 | 3rd season at Alabama
148-68 | 7th season overall

MATCHUP BASICS​

All-Time Series: 70-76
All-Time/Home: 41-21
Series under White: 4-3
Home/under White: 1-2
Last Meeting:
L, 71-86, 1/5/21 (Away)

 

FLORIDA POSSIBLE STARTERS
# Name Pos. Ht. Wt. Cl. Min. Pts. Reb. Misc.
4 Anthony Duruji F 6-7 220 Sr.* 24.3 9.1 4.2 1.2 stl
12 Colin Castleton F 6-11 231 Sr.* 26.8 14.8 9.3 2.5 blk
22 Tyree Appleby G 6-1 163 Sr.* 27.2 10.0 2.1 3.1 ast
23 Brandon McKissic G 6-3 185 Gr. 27.6 7.3 3.2 1.8 stl
24 Phlandrous Fleming Jr. G 6-5 205 Gr. 23.9 11.8 3.6 3.2 ftm
*Eligible to apply for an additional season due to COVID-19.

Alabama POSSIBLE STARTERS
# Name Pos. Ht. Wt. Cl. Min. Pts. Reb. Misc.
4 Juwan Gary F 6-6 218 So. 19.8 8.8 4.9 .544 fg%
10 Charles Bediako C 7-0 225 Fr. 19.0 6.8 4.4 1.8 blk
5 Jaden Shackelford G 6-3 200 Jr. 33.4 16.5 6.4 3.3 3fg
13 Jahvon Quinerly G 6-1 175 Jr. 31.3 14.9 3.2 4.3 ast
14 Keon Ellis G 6-6 175 Sr. 31.7 12.2 6.7 1.9 3fg

 

NUMBERS OF NOTE​

.643
Phlandrous Fleming has gotten hot from 3-point range, shooting 9-for-
14 over the last four games, including a 4-for-5 day against Stony Brook in
UF’s last game before the break.

37
Florida’s freshmen, sophomores and juniors combined for a season-high
37 points in the Gators’ last outing vs. Stony Brook. Previously, that group’s
highest output had been 18 points vs. Troy.

84
Colin Castleton’s 84 blocked shots through 36 games at UF are tied with
John Egbunu for Florida’s program record for career blocks by an incom-
ing transfer. Egbunu came from USF and played 58 games for the Gators
2015-17.

 

2021-22 AT A GLANCE​

• Florida has another go on its SEC opener after last week’s date at Ole Miss was postponed due to COVID issues. The Gators welcome Alabama to Gainesville for the first time since UF’s 21-point comeback double-overtime victory to open the 2019-20 SEC schedule.

• Phlandrous Fleming Jr. posted his first 20-point performance as a Gator in UF’s win vs. Stony Brook, becoming the third UF player to have a 20-point game this season, joining Myreon Jones (20 vs. Elon) and Colin Castleton (26 vs. North Florida). Fleming has been on fire from 3-point range, shooting 9-for-14 (.643) over the past
four games.

• UF’s 3-point defense has been elite in the Gators’ wins, limiting opponents to .244 shooting (35-for-143) from beyond the arc in those games. Florida’s foes are averaging 3.9 made 3-pointers in its victories, including four
games with just two 3-pointers allowed.

• Florida is among the SEC’s top three teams in blocked shots (tie-second, 5.7), scoring defense (second, 59.9), 3-point field goal percentage defense (third, .287) and offensive rebounding (third, 13.0).

• Florida battled back from a double-digit deficit to knock off Ohio State on Tyree Appleby’s buzzer-beating 3-pointer to win the Fort Myers Tip-Off. Phlandrous Fleming led the Florida attack wtih 19 points and four steals, supported by Colin Castleton’s double-double with 11 points and 13 rebounds.

• The Gators rode a strong late-first half performance to victory against Cal, outscoring the Bears 29-10 over the final 8:10 of the opening frame. Four Gators scored in double figures, led by Colin Castleton’s 16 and Tyree Appleby’s 15.

• The Gators used a 13-0 second-half run to spark the win against 20th-ranked FSU, and Colin Castleton earned SEC Player of the Week honors with a 15-point, 16-rebound, six-blocked shot performance.

• After playing with no seniors on their roster last season, the Gators have six senior or graduate players on the active roster this season.

• The Gators are one of six teams nationally with a win in each of the past four tournaments and the only Southeastern Conference team to reach every NCAA Tournament in that span (since 2017).

• The Gators added a quartet of veteran impact transfers who have a combined 3,882 career points scored at their previous schools. Florida’s 2021 class of incoming transfers rates in the nation’s top two in career points (Arkansas, 4,125 points, 6 players).

• Guards Brandon McKissic (UMKC) and Phlandrous Fleming Jr. (Charleston Southern) both bring the conference defensive player of the year and first-team all-conference credentials to Gainesville as graduate transfers.

• The Gators also added a pair of undergrad transfers in senior guard Myreon Jones (Penn State) and junior forward CJ Felder (Boston College). Jones led the Nittany Lions in scoring last season with 15.3 points per game and averaged 2.4 3-pointers made, while Felder posted 9.7 points and 5.9 rebounds per game last season.

• The Gators will play at least 10 games against preseason AP top 25 opponents this season, including nonconference battles vs. Florida State, Ohio State, and Maryland

 

ABOUT THE OPPONENT​

• The Alabama non-conference slate is highlighted by wins vs. Gonzaga
and Houston, and UA opened the SEC slate with a win vs. Tennessee.

• Alabama’s high-scoring offense is led by Jaden Shackelford (16.5 ppg),
Jahvon Quinerly (14.9) and Keon Ellis (12.2), with Shackelford leading
the 3-point attack by hitting 43 of 109 attempts (.394) this season.

• JD Davison has a team-high 57 assists, followed closely by Quinerly’s
56.

• Ellis paces the Crimson Tide in rebounding (6.7 rpg) and steals (18),
while Charles Bediako has a team-best 24 blocked shots

 

OPPONENT’S LAST 5 GAMES​

Dec. 11 Houston W 83-82
Dec. 14 at Memphis L 78-92
Dec. 18 Jacksonville State W 65-59
Dec. 21 vs. Davidson L 78-79
Dec. 29 Tennessee W 73-68

OPPONENT’S NEXT 5 GAMES​

Jan. 8 at Missouri
Jan. 11 Auburn
Jan. 15 at Mississippi State
Jan. 19 LSU
Jan. 22 Missouri

SERIES UNDER WHITE (4-3)​

Feb. 13, 2016 H L 55-61
Jan. 10, 2017 A W 80-67
Feb. 3, 2018 H L 50-68
Feb. 27, 2018 A W 73-52
Feb. 16, 2019 A W 71-53
Jan. 4, 2020 H W/2OT 104-98
Jan. 5, 2021 A L 71-86

SEC OPENERS UNDER WHITE (5-1)​

Jan. 2, 2016 Georgia W 77-63
Dec. 29, 2016 at Arkansas W 81-72
Dec. 30, 2017 Vanderbilt W 81-74
Jan. 5, 2019 South Carolina L 69-71
Jan. 4, 2020 Alabama W/2OT 104-98
Dec. 30, 2020 at Vanderbilt W 91-7