OGT-Florida (9-4/0-1 SEC) vs. #9 Auburn (13-1/2-0 SEC) ESPN2 8:00 1/8/2022

Florida (9-4/0-1 SEC) vs. #9 Auburn (13-1/2-0 SEC)
Auburn Arena (9,121) | Auburn, Ala.
Game 14 | Jan. 8, 2022 | 8 p.m. ET

BROADCAST INFO
ESPN2 | ESPN App
Play-by-Play: Eric Frede
Analyst: Jimmy Dykes

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

 

HEAD COACHES
Mike White
132-79 | 7th season at UF
233-119 | 11th season overall

Bruce Pearl
151-93 | 8th season at Auburn
613-258 | 27th season overall

MATCHUP BASICS
All-Time Series: 81-89
All-Time/Away: 27-56
Series under White: 5-2
Away/under White: 2-1
Last Meeting:
W, 74-57, 2/23/21 (Away)

 

FLORIDA POSSIBLE STARTERS
# Name Pos. Ht. Wt. Cl. Min. Pts. Reb. Misc.
4 Anthony Duruji F 6-7 220 Sr.* 24.2 8.8 4.3 1.1 stl
12 Colin Castleton F 6-11 231 Sr.* 27.0 15.1 9.2 2.4 blk
0 Myreon Jones G 6-3 175 Sr.* 31.7 9.7 3.8 2.0 ast
22 Tyree Appleby G 6-1 163 Sr.* 27.4 9.9 2.0 3.2 ast
23 Brandon McKissic G 6-3 185 Gr. 27.4 7.2 3.2 1.7 stl
*Eligible to apply for an additional season due to COVID-19.

Auburn POSSIBLE STARTERS
# Name Pos. Ht. Wt. Cl. Min. Pts. Reb. Misc.
10 Jabari Smith F 6-10 220 Fr. 26.8 15.7 6.5 2.3 3fg
13 Walker Kessler F 7-1 245 So. 23.4 10.1 7.6 4.4 blk
0 K.D. Johnson G 6-0 204 So. 25.2 12.1 2.4 2.1 stl
12 Zep Jasper G 6-1 185 Sr. 24.6 5.7 1.1 3.0 ast
35 Devan Cambridge G 6-6 215 Jr. 23.3 7.3 3.4 1.2 3f

 

NUMBERS OF NOTE

5
Florida has five all-time road wins
against AP Top-10 opponents, with
the most recent coming on Jan. 7,
2003, a 74-66 win against #7 Missis-
sippi State. The Gators are 5-61 all-
time and look to snap a stretch of 14
straight losses in such contests.

.465
Florida power forwards Anthony
Duruji (10-for-22) and CJ Felder
(10-for-21) are shooting a combined
.465 from 3-point range.

7.0
Jason Jitoboh has averaged 7.0 points
per game over the last four games,
emerging as a solid post presence
behind Colin Castleton. Jitoboh had
averaged 1.3 with two DNPs through
UF’s first nine games this season

 

2021-22 AT A GLANCE​

• Florida travels to Auburn for a top-10 opportunity on the road on Saturday. The Gators have recorded five all-time road wins against AP top-10 opponents in 66 previous chances, with the most recent victory coming in Jan. 2003 against a seventh-ranked Mississippi State team. Since then, UF has 14 consecutive road losses
against top-10 foes (10 under Billy Donovan, four under Mike White).

• The Gators look to extend a two-game winning streak against the Tigers. Florida defeated #4 Auburn in Gainesville, 69-47, two seasons ago and topped AU on the road, 74-57, last season.

• Florida opens its SEC slate with three straight games vs. ranked opponents, the team’s first such regular-season stretch since Dec. 2014 and first in conference play since Feb. 2001. The Gators played four straight ranked
teams across the 2019 SEC and NCAA Tournaments.

• 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. Though Florida lost its SEC opener, the Gators limited a prolific
3-point shooting Alabama team to a .281 3-point field goal percentage.

• Florida is among the SEC leaders in blocked shots (second, 5.8) and 3-point field goal percentage defense (third, .286). Individually, Colin Castleton ranks second in rebounding (9.2), offensive rebounds (3.3), blocked shots (2.4) and third in field goal percentage (.526)

• 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 with 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.

• The Gators used a 13-0 second-half run to spark the win against 20th-ranked FSU, and Colin Castleton earned EC 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’ quartet of veteran impact transfers combined for 3,882 career points scored at their previous schools. Brandon McKissic (UMKC) and Phlandrous Fleming Jr. (Charleston Southern) both bring conference defensive player of the year and first-team all-conference credentials to Gainesville as graduate transfers.

• The Gators also added Myreon Jones (Penn State) and CJ Felder (Boston College). Jones led the Nittany Lions in scoring last season with 15.3 points per game, while Felder averaged 9.7 points and 5.9 rebounds last season.

• The Gators’ regular-season slate includes 10 games against preseason AP top 25 opponents, including nonconference battles vs. Florida State, Ohio State, and Maryland.

 

ABOUT THE OPPONENT

• Auburn is led by freshman Jabari Smith, a projected lottery pick, who
averages 15.7 points and 2.5 made 3-pointers per game while shoot-
ing at a .438 clip beyond the arc.

• Wendell Green Jr. (12.7 ppg) has mainly come off the bench, while
Georgia transfer K.D. Johnson (12.1 ppg) and UNC transfer Walker
Kessler (10.1 ppg) all average double-figure scoring.

• Johnson has a team-high 30 steals, and Kessler is the Tigers’ leading
rebounder (7.6) and the SEC’s leading shot-blocker (4.4).

• Returner Allen Flanigan has been limited by injury with just two
appearances this season.

 

OPPONENT’S LAST 5 GAMES
Dec. 14 North Alabama W 70-44
Dec. 18 at Saint Louis W 74-70
Dec. 22 Murray State W 71-58
Dec. 29 LSU W 70-55
Jan. 4 at South Carolina W 81-66

OPPONENT’S NEXT 5 GAMES
Jan. 11 at Alabama
Jan. 15 at Ole Miss
Jan. 19 Georgia
Jan. 22 Kentucky
Jan. 25 at Missouri

SERIES UNDER WHITE (5-2)
Jan. 23, 2016 H W 95-63
Feb. 14, 2017 A W 114-95
Feb. 24, 2018 H W 72-66
Feb. 5, 2019 A L 62-76
March 16, 2019 SEC L 62-65
Jan. 18, 2020 H W 69-47
Feb. 23, 2021 A W 74-57

 

VS. TOP 10 UNDER WHITE (5-13)
Dec. 12, 2015 at #1 Michigan State L 52-58
Jan. 30, 2016 #9 West Virginia W 88-71
Dec. 6, 2016 vs. #5 Duke L 74-84
Feb. 4, 2017 #8 Kentucky W 88-66
Nov. 26, 2017 vs. #1 Duke L 84-87
Dec. 8, 2018 #10 Michigan State L 59-63
Jan. 12, 2019 #3 Tennessee L 67-78
Feb. 2, 2019 #7 Kentucky L 54-65
Feb. 9, 2019 at #1 Tennessee L 61-73
March 6, 2019 #10 LSU L/OT 78-79
March 9, 2019 at #6 Kentucky L 57-66
March 15, 2019 vs. #9 LSU W 76-73
March 23, 2019 vs. #8 Michigan L 49-64
Jan. 18, 2020 #4 Auburn W 69-47
Jan. 25, 2020 #1 Baylor L 61-72
Feb. 22, 2020 at #10 Kentucky L 59-65
March 7, 2020 #6 Kentucky L 70-71
Jan. 19, 2021 #6 Tennessee W 75-49