Dec 5 (Tue) 7 PM Gator Sports Network from LEARFIELD Florida vs Merrimack College Gainesville, FL Exactech Arena at Stephen C. O'Connell Center BROADCAST INFOSEC+ | ESPN App Play-by-Play: Kyle Crooks Analyst: Mark Wise Gator Sports Network from LEARFIELD Play-by-Play: Sean Kelley Analyst: Lee Humphrey Producer/Engineer: Steve Ega Listen Live Stats Tickets
HEAD COACHESTodd Golden 20-20 | 2nd season at UF 77-56 | 5th season overall Joe Gallo 107-91 | 8th season at MC/overall MATCHUP BASICS All-Time Series: 0-0 Series under Golden: 0-0 All-Time vs. NEC: 2-0 Last Meeting vs. NEC opponent: W vs. LIU, 119-61, 12/20/98, Home
THE TIP-OFF• Florida and Merrimack College square off for the first time in series history. The Gators have just two previous matchups against Northeast Conference teams, a pair of home wins in the 1990s vs. LIU and St. Francis (PA). • The game is a quick respite from the road for the Gators, as Florida plays six of seven in neutral or road environments during the current stretch. • The Gators look to get back on the winning track and stay undefeated at home with a 3-0 start at the O’Dome. Both of Florida’s recent losses have come with the absence of starting center Micah Handlogten, who injured his ankle in the first minute of the win vs. Pitt. 2023-24 HIGHLIGHTS• 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. All-Tournament Team honorees Tyrese Samuel (18 points) and Zyon Pullin (17 points) also had big performances vs. Baylor, and Pullin finished the two-game tournament with 13 assists vs. one turnover. Samuel’s tournament performance netted him SEC Player of the Week honors. • The Gators topped Pitt in the first game of the NIT Season Tip-Off behind 28 points from Walter Clayton 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. • The Gators started their season hot, going on a 16-0 run over the first six minutes of the season-opening win vs. Loyola Maryland, led by Riley Kugel’s 23 points and six steals. 2023-24 OUTLOOK• Florida moves into its second season under head coach Todd Golden, who brought in eight newcomers with five transfers and three freshmen. • Florida returns four scholarship players, including a pair of starters in Will Richard and Riley Kugel. Richard posted 18 double-figure scoring games last season, while Kugel shone late in the season and earned SEC All-Freshman honors after averaging 17.3 points over the last 10 games of the season. Point guard Denzel Aberdeen and forward Aleks Szymczyk also return as sophomores looking to make a jump. • UF’s transfer class includes guards Walter Clayton Jr., Zyon Pullin and Julian Rishwain along with the frontcourt duo of Micah Handlogten and Tyrese Samuel. The Gators’ freshmen include 6-foot-9 forward Thomas Haugh from Pennsylvania, 6-foot-11 Australian Alex Condon and Lithuanian point guard Kajus Kublickas.
FLORIDA POSSIBLE STARTERS # Name Pos. Ht. Wt. Cl. Min. Pts. Reb. Misc. 4 Tyrese Samuel F 6-10 239 Gr. 27.1 14.1 8.3 .650 fg% 10 Thomas Haugh F 6-9 210 Fr. 18.8 4.0 4.9 1.0 blk 0 Zyon Pullin G 6-4 206 Gr. 30.9 13.5 3.5 5.5 ast 1 Walter Clayton Jr. G 6-2 195 Jr. 30.4 15.6 4.1 4.0 ast 2 Riley Kugel G 6-5 207 So. 31.1 15.1 4.3 2.3 ast OPPONENT POSSIBLE STARTERS # Name Pos. Ht. Wt. Cl. Min. Pts. Reb. Misc. 2 Samba Diallo F 6-7 195 Gr. 28.8 9.3 4.7 1.8 ast 11 Bryan Etumnu F 6-7 215 So. 21.7 7.4 4.9 2.2 blk 0 Adam “Budd” Clark G 5-10 155 Fr. 31.0 12.2 2.4 3.7 ast 4 Jordan Derkack G 6-5 205 So. 29.1 17.8 6.4 2.6 stl 5 Devon Savage G 6-4 190 Jr. 29.4 11.2 4.1 2.6 3fg
NUMBERS OF NOTE 1Florida has battled to a 4-3 start that has included five high-major opponents while playing just one game (FSU) with its full roster. Zyon Pullin missed the first three games due to an NCAA ruling, and Micah Handlogten has missed the last three with an ankle injury. 34Tuesday marks Florida’s only home game during a 34-day span, as UF plays five neutral-site and one road game over a seven-game stretch. 24.5Riley Kugel is averaging 24.5 points over the past two games, shooting 19-for-34 (.559) from the field and hitting 8 of 12 (.667) from 3-point range. Florida 4-3/0-0 SEC vs. Merrimack College 4-5/0-0 NEC
THE TIP-OFF• Florida and Merrimack College square off for the first time in series history. The Gators have just two previous matchups against Northeast Conference teams, a pair of home wins in the 1990s vs. LIU and St. Francis (PA). • The game is a quick respite from the road for the Gators, as Florida plays six of seven in neutral or road environments during the current stretch. • The Gators look to get back on the winning track and stay undefeated at home with a 3-0 start at the O’Dome. Both of Florida’s recent losses have come with the absence of starting center Micah Handlogten, who injured his ankle in the first minute of the win vs. Pitt. 2023-24 HIGHLIGHTS • 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. All-Tournament Team honorees Tyrese Samuel (18 points) and Zyon Pullin (17 points) also had big performances vs. Baylor, and Pullin finished the two-game tournament with 13 assists vs. one turnover. Samuel’s tournament performance netted him SEC Player of the Week honors. • The Gators topped Pitt in the first game of the NIT Season Tip-Off behind 28 points from Walter Clayton 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. • The Gators started their season hot, going on a 16-0 run over the first six minutes of the season-opening win vs. Loyola Maryland, led by Riley Kugel’s 23 points and six steals. 2023-24 OUTLOOK • Florida moves into its second season under head coach Todd Golden, who brought in eight newcomers with five transfers and three freshmen. • Florida returns four scholarship players, including a pair of starters in Will Richard and Riley Kugel. Richard posted 18 double-figure scoring games last season, while Kugel shone late in the season and earned SEC All-Freshman honors after averaging 17.3 points over the last 10 games of the season. Point guard Denzel Aberdeen and forward Aleks Szymczyk also return as sophomores looking to make a jump. • UF’s transfer class includes guards Walter Clayton Jr., Zyon Pullin and Julian Rishwain along with the frontcourt duo of Micah Handlogten and Tyrese Samuel. The Gators’ freshmen include 6-foot-9 forward Thomas Haugh from Pennsylvania, 6-foot-11 Australian Alex Condon and Lithuanian point guard Kajus Kublickas.
Merrimack College is 4-5, with wins over Worcester State, Maine, North Carolina A&T and UMass-Lowell; losses to Vermont, Ohio State, Samford, Alabama State and Georgetown.
Oh the madness! At this point I think we all will know if Micah will play by the first TV timeout of tonight's game.
Here you go... https://247sports.com/college/flori...ogten-gators-todd-golden-merrimack-222402379/ Florida sophomore center Micah Handlogten is viewed as probable to take the court Tuesday night after going through shoot-around on Tuesday afternoon, a source familiar with the development told Swamp247 on Tuesday afternoon.
In other news, grad-transfer point Zyon Pullin will come off the bench after starting the last four games, but not because of anything he did wrong. Pullin, who is averaging 13.5 points and shows a stellar 24-to-2 assist-to-turnover ratio, was held from practice late last week and Monday due to a sore shoulder from when he took a nasty spill at Wake. He was limited to non-contact drills Monday, but was back on the floor full-go earlier Tuesday. Look for junior wing Will Richard to move back into the first unit, with Pullin an early check on off the bench.
Saw the first stop and nice assist from Haugh to Kugel. Stepped into the kitchen to grab a snack and it's 6-2 Merrimack.
