OGT-#2 Tennessee @ Florida 2/1/2023 7:00 pm ESPN2

Feb 1 (Wed) 7 PM
Gator Sports Network from LEARFIELD
SEC
#2 Tennessee @ Florida
Presented by T-Mobile
Gainesville, FL Exactech Arena at Stephen C. O'Connell Center

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BROADCAST INFO
ESPN2 | ESPN App
Play-by-Play: Kevin Fitzgerald
Analyst: Jimmy Dykes

Gator Sports Network from LEARFIELD
SiriusXM 386 | SXM App 976
Play-by-Play: Sean Kelley
Analyst: Mark Wise

 

HEAD COACHES
Todd Golden
12-9 | 1st season at UF
69-45 | 4th season overall

Rick Barnes
168-84 | 8th season at Tennessee
772-398 | 36th season overall

MATCHUP BASICS
All-Time Series: 58-80
All-Time/Home: 36-25
Series under Golden: 0-0
Home under Golden: 0-0
All-Time vs. Top-5: 22-63
Last Meeting:
L, 71-78, 1/26/22 (Away

 

FLORIDA POSSIBLE STARTERS
# Name Pos. Ht. Wt. Cl. Min. Pts. Reb. Misc.
12 Colin Castleton F 6-11 250 Gr. 30.7 14.9 7.6 3.2 blk
0 Myreon Jones G 6-3 177 Gr. 19.7 5.1 3.0 2.2 ast
5 Will Richard G 6-4 206 So. 27.2 10.2 4.5 1.7 3fg
11 Kyle Lofton G 6-3 188 Gr. 30.9 8.5 2.9 3.1 ast
24 Riley Kugel G 6-5 207 Fr. 18.1 6.8 2.3 0.9 stl

OPPONENT POSSIBLE STARTERS
# Name Pos. Ht. Wt. Cl. Min. Pts. Reb. Misc.
2 Julian Phillips F 6-8 198 Fr. 25.7 9.7 5.1 1.7 ast
13 Olivier Nkamhoua F 6-9 236 Sr. 25.4 11.0 5.1 2.1 ast
5 Zakai Zeigler G 5-9 171 So. 29.2 11.2 3.0 5.1 ast
25 Santiago Vescovi G 6-3 192 Sr. 31.7 12.2 4.3 2.6 3fg
30 Josiah-Jordan James G 6-6 224 Sr. 22.4 10.1 4.5 1.8 3fg

 

NUMBERS OF NOTE​

55​

Florida faces a top-five opponent in back-to-back games for just the
second time in program history and the first time in 55 years. UF
split back-to-back games vs. #4 Tennessee on Jan. 15 and 20, 1968,
losing at UT then winning at home.

3​

Tennessee will be the Gators’ third top-five foe of 2022-23, matching the
most different top-five teams Florida has faced in a season (see page 6).

5​

Florida has five all-time wins vs. top-2 opponents, including last season’s home win vs. #2 Auburn, which marked the highest-ranked home win in Florida history

 

GATORS AT A GLANCE​

• Florida hosts second-ranked Tennessee, as the Gators look to build on five wins over their last six SEC games. UF is facing back-to-back top-five opponents for the second time in program history and the first time in 55 years.

• The Gators have won five of their last six in SEC action and are ranked eighth in defensive efficiency nationally (KenPom) as Florida has held SEC opponents to .374 from the field and .245 from 3-point range.

• Colin Castleton leads UF in scoring (14.9), rebounding (7.6), blocked shots (67), free throws made (81) and steals (21). Kyle Lofton tops the Gators with 58 assists, and Will Richard paces the squad with 33 made 3-pointers and a .402 3-point percentage.

• As a team, the Gators’ 6.0 blocked shots per game are third in the NCAA. Individually, Castleton’s 3.19 blocked shots per game rank third the nation.

• Florida turned in a complete performance vs. South Carolina, where Colin Castleton’s 18 points led five scorers in double figures and the Gators dished a season-high 21 assists vs. five turnovers. Myreon Jones flirted with a triple-double with 10 rebounds and eight assists -- both career highs -- to go along with nine points and
zero turnovers.

• Six SEC schools hired new head coaches in 2022, including Florida. Todd Golden has posted a 5-0 mark against his fellow first-year coaches around the league and swept his first time through last off-season’s hires.

• UF built a 16-point first-half lead at Mississippi State, then staved off the Bulldogs’ rally, getting a stop on the final possession of the game to seal the win. Colin Castleton posted 13 points, while Will Richard added 12 on 4-for-5 shooting from 3-point range. Kyle Lofton and Myreon Jones combined for 11 assists and zero turnovers, and Lofton chipped in a season-high and team-leading eight rebounds.

• Colin Castleton earned SEC Player of the Week honors on Jan. 16 behind two strong performances in the wins at LSU and vs. #20 Missouri. At LSU, Castleton posted 18 points and five blocks with a career night at the free throw line (12-for-15). He followed up with an all-around performance against Mizzou, tallying 16 points, 13 rebounds, a career-high six assists, three steals and two blocked shots.

• The Gators’ win at LSU snapped the Tigers’ 13-game home winning streak. As UF made its second-half run, the Gators got timely 3-pointers from Myreon Jones and Riley Kugel, each of whom assisted on the other’s big basket.

• The Gators had five players in double figures in their win vs. UGA, led by Kyle Lofton’s season-high 18. Colin Castleton posted 12 points, eight rebounds, seven blocked shots and five assists, while Will Richard added 14 points and nine rebounds.

• Alex Fudge had a four-game stretch from Nov. 30-Dec. 14 when averaged 13.3 points and a team-high 8.3 rebounds, shooting 18-for-32 (.563) from the field, 3-for-6 from 3-point range, and hitting 14 of 15 free throw attempts (.933). Fudge had a pair of double-doubles over that span, with 16/10 vs. FAMU and 13/10 vs. Ohio.

• UF’s 19-point rally at Florida State marked the fourth-largest in team history and the largest on the road since a 22-point comeback at South Carolina on Feb. 24, 1993. Castleton scored 19 of his 25 points in the second half.

 

ABOUT THE OPPONENT​

• Santiago Vescovi leads the Volunteers with 12.2 points per game and has a team-high 46 made 3-pointers (.402).

• Zakai Zeigler (11.2), Olivier Nkamhoua (11.0) and Josiah-Jordan James (10.1) also average in double figures, with Zeigler pacing the team in assists (108) and steals (48).

• Jonas Aidoo is the team’s top rebounder (5.1 per game) and shot-blocker (24).

OPPONENT’S LAST 5 GAMES
Jan. 14 Kentucky L 56-63
Jan. 17 at Mississippi State W 70-59
Jan. 21 at LSU W 77-56
Jan. 25 Georgia W 70-41
Jan. 28 Texas W 82-71

OPPONENT’S NEXT 5 GAMES
Feb. 4 Auburn
Feb. 8 at Vanderbilt
Feb. 11 Missouri
Feb. 15 Alabama
Feb. 18 at Kentucky

LAST 20 VS. TENNESSEE (9-11)
Jan. 11, 2011 A W/OT 81-75
Feb. 12, 2011 H W 61-60
March 11, 2011 SEC W 85-74
Jan. 7, 2012 A L 56-67
Feb. 11, 2012 H L 70-75
Feb. 26, 2013 A L 58-64
Jan. 25, 2014 H W 67-41
Feb. 11, 2014 A W 67-58
March 15, 2014 SEC W 56-49
Feb. 28, 2015 H W 66-49
Jan. 6, 2016 A L 69-83
Jan. 7, 2017 H W 83-70
Feb. 21, 2018 A L 57-62
Jan. 12, 2019 H L 67-78
Feb. 9, 2019 A L 61-73
Feb. 29, 2020 A L 58-63
Jan. 19, 2021 H W 75-49
March 7, 2021 A L 54-65
March 12, 2021 SEC L 66-78
Jan. 26, 2022 A L 71-78

UF’S ALL-TIME TOP-2 WINS (5-26)
March 24, 2000 *vs. #1 Duke (Syracuse) W 87-78
Nov. 29, 2002 vs. #2 Kansas (NYC) W 83-73
April 2, 2007 *vs. #1 Ohio State (Atlanta) W 84-75
Nov. 27, 2009 vs. #2 Mich. St. (Atlantic City) W 77-74
Feb. 19, 2022 #2 Auburn W 63-62
*NCAA Tournament