:OGT-Florida vs. Missouri 1/20/24 8:00 PM ESPNU

Florida 11-6/1-3 SEC vs. Missouri 8-9/0-4 SEC
Mizzou Arena (15,061) | Columbia, Mo.
Game 18 | Jan. 20, 2024 | 8 p.m. EST

BROADCAST INFO
ESPNU | ESPN App
Play-by-Play: Kevin Fitzgerald
Analyst: Daymeon Fishback

Gator Sports Network from LEARFIELD
Play-by-Play: Sean Kelley
Analyst: Lee Humphrey
Producer/Engineer: Steve Egan

 

HEAD COACHESTodd Golden
27-23 | 2nd season at UF
84-59 | 5th season overall

Dennis Gates
33-19 | 2nd season at Missouri
83-59 | 5th season overall

MATCHUP BASICS
All-Time Series: 9-4
All-Time Away: 3-3
Series under Golden: 1-0
Away under Golden: 0-0
Last Meeting: W, 73-64, 1/14/23 (Home)

 

FLORIDA POSSIBLE STARTERS
# Name Pos. Ht. Wt. Cl. Min. Pts. Reb. Misc.
4 Tyrese Samuel F 6-10 239 Gr. 27.3 13.4 8.6 1.5 stl
3 Micah Handlogten C 7-1 235 So. 18.0 6.3 7.3 .652 fg%
0 Zyon Pullin G 6-4 206 Gr. 30.4 14.9 3.6 4.9 ast
1 Walter Clayton Jr. G 6-2 195 Jr. 29.9 15.9 3.8 2.0 3fg
5 Will Richard G 6-4 206 Jr. 28.7 10.6 3.5 1.9 3fg

OPPONENT POSSIBLE STARTERS
# Name Pos. Ht. Wt. Cl. Min. Pts. Reb. Misc.
35 Noah Carter F 6-6 235 Gr. 28.1 12.8 5.7 1.4 3fg
75 Connor Vanover C 7-5 230 Gr. 11.8 4.2 2.3 0.9 blk
2 Tamar Bates G 6-5 195 Jr. 21.7 11.3 1.8 1.2 3fg
10 Nick Honor G 5-10 200 Gr. 30.7 10.8 1.4 2.2 3fg
55 Sean East II G 6-3 180 Gr. 33.4 16.5 3.5 3.8 ast

 

:08
Two of Florida’s three all-time wins at Missouri have come on points
scored in the final eight seconds of the game.
99
The Gators’ strength of schedule has jumped 99 places through the
first two weeks of SEC play (141st to via KenPom). UF has played
three ranked opponents through its first four SEC games.
50
Micah Handlogten has scored 50 of his 94 points this season as
second-chance points, averaging 3.3 per game. Handlogten ranks
second in the SEC with 3.8 offensive rebounds per game.

HEAD COACHES
Todd Golden
27-23 | 2nd season at UF
84-59 | 5th season overall

Dennis Gates
33-19 | 2nd season at Missouri
83-59 | 5th season overall

MATCHUP BASICS
All-Time Series: 9-4
All-Time Away: 3-3
Series under Golden: 1-0
Away under Golden: 0-0
Last Meeting: W, 73-64, 1/14/23 (Home)[/QUOTE]

 

THE TIP-OFF​

• Florida plays its second straight road game and makes its first trip to Missouri under Todd Golden. The Gators
won last season’s meeting in Gainesville, topping a 20th-ranked Mizzou squad.

• Two of Florida’s three wins at Missouri in series history have come in the final seconds of the game. Chris Chiozza’s last-second steal and layup at the horn gave the Gators a two-point win in 2018. Most recently,
two Tyree Appleby free throws with 7.9 seconds left helped lift Florida to a one-point victory in its last trip to Mizzou in 2022, a game played at 2 p.m. (CST) on a Wednesday due to a snowstorm.

• Zyon Pullin not only leads the SEC in assist/turnover ratio (4.1) and rates second in assists (4.9), but has also scored in double figures in all 14 appearances this season.

• Florida has three of the top nine offensive rebounders in the SEC in Micah Handlogten (3.8), Tyrese Samuel (3.4)
and Alex Condon (2.5). Handlogten averages 3.3 second-chance points per game, getting more than half of his points from the offensive glass.

2023-24 HIGHLIGHTS
• Five Gators in double figures highlighted UF’s win vs. Arkansas, as Riley Kugel scored 20 points off the bench to lead the way and Tyrese Samuel added a double-double with 17 points and 11 rebounds.

• Alex Condon’s 10 offensive rebounds at Ole Miss marked the most by any Gator in available records (since 1996), and he is the only UF freshman over that same time with multiple 15-rebound games (16 vs. Merrimack).

• Zyon Pullin scored 22 and Tyrese Samuel posted 21 points and 11 rebounds in the Gators’ double-overtime victory vs. Michigan in Charlotte. Pullin’s 3-pointer with 8.9 seconds remaining in the first overtime forced the second extra session, where an 11-0 UF run put the game away.

• In his homecoming game at Lakeland vs. East Carolina, Walter Clayton Jr. exploded for 20 first-half points on the way to a team-leading 22. Clayton scored 10 of the Gators’ first 12 points out of the gate playing just down the road from his hometown of Lake Wales.

• Will Richard earned Orange Bowl Classic MVP honors as he scored 19 of his 21 points in the second half to lead the Gators vs. Richmond. Richard posted a solo 9-0 run as he hit three 3-pointers in a 90-second span that helped create separation vs. the Spiders.

• Walter Clayton Jr. scored 21 of his 26 points vs. Merrimack in the second half. Freshman Alex Condon added his first career double-double with 12 points and 16 rebounds. Condon’s 16 boards were the most by a Florida freshman since Al Horford’s 18 vs. Alabama during the 2004-05 season.

• The Gators topped Pitt in the first game of the NIT Season Tip-Off behind 28 points from Walter Clayton Jr. 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.