OGT-Florida @ South Carolina 1/15/2022 1:00 pm SEC Net

Florida (9-6/0-3 SEC) vs. South Carolina (10-5/1-2 SEC)
Colonial Life Arena (18,000) | Columbia, S.C.
Game 16 | Jan. 15, 2022 | 1 p.m

BROADCAST INFO
SEC Network | ESPN App
Play-by-Play: Dave Neal
Analyst: Jon Sundvold

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

 

HEAD COACHES
Mike White
132-81 | 7th season at UF
233-121 | 11th season overall
Frank Martin
163-139 | 10th season at SC
280-193 | 15th season overall

MATCHUP BASICS
All-Time Series: 46-28
All-Time/Away: 23-15
Series under White: 3-6
Away/under White: 2-2
Last Meeting:
L, 66-72, 2/3/21 (Home)

 

FLORIDA POSSIBLE STARTERS
# Name Pos. Ht. Wt. Cl. Min. Pts. Reb. Misc.
4 Anthony Duruji F 6-7 220 Sr. 24.6 9.1 4.2 1.1 stl
12 Colin Castleton F 6-11 231 Sr. 27.9 15.8 9.2 2.4 blk
0 Myreon Jones G 6-3 175 Sr. 31.7 9.9 3.7 1.9 3fg
22 Tyree Appleby G 6-1 163 Sr. 27.1 9.5 2.1 3.5 ast
23 Brandon McKissic G 6-3 185 Gr. 27.3 6.7 3.1 1.5 stl

South Carolina POSSIBLE STARTERS
# Name Pos. Ht. Wt. Cl. Min. Pts. Reb. Misc.
12 AJ Wilson F 6-7 234 Gr. 16.8 3.7 4.2 0.8 blk
15 Wildens Leveque F 6-10 255 Jr. 23.7 9.7 5.9 .685 fg%
0 James Reese V G 6-4 170 Gr. 27.6 10.2 2.8 2.1 3fg
5 Jermaine Cousinard G 6-4 211 RJr. 21.8 9.9 2.6 2.2 ast
10 Erik Stevenson G 6-4 209 Sr. 25.5 11.3 4.7 2.7 ast

 

NUMBERS OF NOTE​

5
The road team has won five straight in the series, including a pair of
Florida wins in its last two trips to Columbia.

20.0
Colin Castleton is averaging 20.0 points per game on .618 shooting in
SEC action against three top-15 foes. Castleton is putting UF’s opponent
in foul trouble and making them pay, drawing 7.3 fouls per game and
shooting .750 from the line with 6.0
made free throws per game.

3
UF is coming off the hardest three-game SEC-opening stretch in program
history, meeting a trio of ranked teams -- all in the top 15 -- to start its
SEC slate for the first time ever. It was only the fourth time the Gators faced
three straight top-25 teams in SEC play and first since Feb. 2001.

 

2021-22 AT A GLANCE​

• Florida visits South Carolina coming off the most difficult opening to its SEC schedule in program history, taking on three top-15 teams in succession. The Gators hope to maintain the recent series trend of road team success. The visitor has won five straight meetings in the UF-SC series.

• The Gators met three straight ranked SEC foes for the fourth time and the first time since Feb. 2001. Florida had never before opened its SEC slate with three consecutive contests vs. top-25 opponents, and its first three league opponents brought a combined 37-5 record into their meetings against the Gators.

• Despite the outcomes, Colin Castleton has had a monster opening to conference play, averaging 20.0 points and 8.7 rebounds, shooting .618 from the field with six blocked shots on the defensive end. The 6-foot-11 Castleton has drawn 22 fouls in the three games, shooting 18-for-24 from the free throw line, and induced
foul-outs from both of LSU’s big men in a combined 20 minutes of action.

• 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 leaders in blocked shots (second, 5.8), 3-point field goal percentage defense (third,.300) and offensive rebounds (13.1). Individually, Colin Castleton ranks second in rebounding (9.2), offensive rebounds (3.5), field goal percentage (.535) and blocked shots (2.4).

• 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 performace 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 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’ 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​

• South Carolina topped Vanderbilt on the road for its SEC win, and the
Gamecocks earned a neutral-site victory vs. Florida State and a solid
home win against UAB, a KenPom top-50 team, in the non-conference
schedule.

• Senior guard Erik Stevenson, who comes to South Carolina after stops
at Wichita State and Washington, leads the team with 11.3 points per
game, followed by North Texas grad transfer James Reese V with a
10.2 scoring average.

• Reese’s 27 made 3-pointers (.391) leads the way, followed by Steven-
son’s 26 (.286). Stevenson also paces the Gamecocks in assists (40) and
steals (19).

• Wildens Leveque leads the team in rebounding (5.9 per game), and
Keyshawn Bryant has a team-best 14 blocked shots. Jermaine Cousi-
nard chips in across several categories with 9.9 points per game, 24
assists and 18 made 3-pointers (.375).

 

OPPONENT’S LAST 5 GAMES
Dec. 18 at Clemson L 56-70
Dec. 22 Army W 105-75
Jan. 4 Auburn L 66-81
Jan. 8 at Vanderbilt W 72-70
Jan. 11 at Tennessee L 46-66

OPPONENT’S NEXT 5 GAMES
Jan. 18 at Arkansas
Jan. 22 Georgia
Jan. 26 Vanderbilt
Jan. 29 at Texas A&M
Feb. 1 at Mississippi State

SERIES UNDER WHITE (3-6)
Feb. 20, 2016 A L/OT 69-73
Jan. 18, 2017 A L 53-57
Feb. 21, 2017 H W 81-66
March 26, 2017 NCAA L 70-77
Jan. 24, 2018 H L 72-77
Feb. 10, 2018 A W 65-41
Jan. 5, 2019 H L 69-71
Jan. 7, 2020 A W 81-68
Feb. 3, 2021 H L 66-7