OGT-Florida vs Ohio State Nov 24 (Wed) 8:30 PM

23/24 Florida (4-0/0-0 SEC) vs. RV/RV Ohio State (4-1/0-0 Big Ten)Suncoast Credit Union Arena | Fort Myers, Fla.
Fort Myers Tip-Off | Game 5 | Nov. 24, 2021 | 8:30 p.m.

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BROADCAST INFO
FS1 | Fox Sports App
Play-by-Play: Brandon Gaudin
Analyst: Bill Raftery

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

 

HEAD COACHES
Mike White
127-75 | 7th season at UF
228-115 | 11th season overall

Chris Holtmann
91-44 | 5th season at Ohio State
205-129 | 11th season overall

MATCHUP BASICS
All-Time Series: 5-8
Under White: 1-0
All-Time vs. Big Ten: 24-36
vs. Big Ten under White: 2-4
Last Meeting:
W, 74-66, 3/20/16 (Away)

 

FLORIDA POSSIBLE STARTERS# Name Pos. Ht. Wt. Cl. Min. Pts. Reb. Misc.
4 Anthony Duruji F 6-7 220 Sr.* 28.1 10.5 6.0 1.3 blk
12 Colin Castleton F 6-11 231 Sr.* 26.9 17.0 9.8 3.5 blk
0 Myreon Jones G 6-3 175 Sr.* 28.8 13.0 4.3 2.5 3fg
22 Tyree Appleby G 6-1 163 Sr.* 28.8 12.0 3.5 4.0 ast
23 Brandon McKissic G 6-3 185 Gr. 26.7 6.5 3.5 1.5 ast
*Eligible to apply for an additional season due to COVID-19.

OPPONENT POSSIBLE STARTERS# Name Pos. Ht. Wt. Cl. Min. Pts. Reb. Misc.
10 Justin Ahrens F 6-6 195 Sr. 25.0 8.8 2.6 .522 3fg%
32 E.J. Liddell F 6-7 240 Jr. 27.8 22.4 6.4 3.6 blk
50 Joey Brunk C 6-11 255 Gr. 7.2 1.0 1.6 0.6 ast
22 Malaki Branhan G 6-5 180 Fr. 21.8 6.2 3.4 2.0 ast
55 Jamari Wheeler G 6-1 170 Gr. 28.0 4.6 3.2 1.2 s

 

NUMBERS OF NOTE
28
Tyree Appleby’s 28 straight made free
throws dating back to last season
mark the longest streak by a Gator
since Egor Koulechov’s 32 in a row
during the 2017-18 season.

1
Florida and Ohio State’s last meet-
ing, a 2016 NIT second-round game
in Columbus, marked UF’s only true
road win vs. a Big Ten opponent in
program history.

44
Florida is going for back-to-back
holiday tournament championships
for the first time in 44 seasons after
also capturing the Nov. 2019 Charleston Classic title. The Gators last did
so with a win in Dec. 1976 Gator
Bowl Tournament in Jacksonville
and the Dec. 1977 Vermont Classic in
Burlington, Vt.

 

2021-22 AT A GLANCE​

• Florida and Ohio State meet for the 14th time in series history and the second time during Mike White’s tenure.
The Gators topped the Buckeyes in Columbus in a 2016 second-round NIT contest in White’s first season at the helm, a win that stands as Florida’s only true road win vs. a Big Ten foe in program history.

• 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 to earn a spot in the Fort Myers Tip-Off championship game. Florida is looking
for its second straight Thanksgiving tournament title, also winning the 2019 Charleston Classic. Florida last won consecutive holiday tournaments in Dec. 1976 (Gator Bowl Tournament) and Dec. 1977 (Vermont Classic)

• The Florida defense’s 7.3 blocked shots per game rank second in the SEC in the early going, while the team’s 55.3 points allowed, +21.3 scoring margin, .281 3-point field goal defense and 8.8 3-pointers made per game rank third.

• 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. Castleton became the first Gator with 15+ points and rebounds and five+ blocked shots since Joakim Noah went for 21/15/5 in
the 2006 Elite Eight vs. Villanova.

• 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).

• All-SEC frontcourt man Colin Castleton returns to UF after testing the NBA waters this summer, along with fellow 2020-21 starters Tyree Appleby and Anthony Duruji. Castleton was recognized with preseason All-SEC first-team status by coaches and the media this season, along with a spot on the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Award
watch list. Other returners include wing Niels Lane and post Jason Jitoboh.

• The Gators added a quartet of veteran impact transfers who have a combined 3,882 career points scored at their previous schools. Florida’s 2021 class of incoming transfers rates in the nation’s top two in career points
(Arkansas, 4,125 points, 6 players).

• Guards Brandon McKissic (UMKC) and Phlandrous Fleming Jr. (Charleston Southern) both bring conference a defensive player of the year and first-team all-conference credentials to Gainesville as graduate transfers.

• The Gators also added a pair of undergrad transfers in senior guard Myreon Jones (Penn State) and junior forward CJ Felder (Boston College). Jones led the Nittany Lions in scoring last season with 15.3 points per game and averaged 2.4 3-pointers made, while Felder posted 9.7 points and 5.9 rebounds per game last season.

• UF also brings in two freshmen guards in ESPN Top 100 prospect Kowacie Reeves (Macon, Ga.) and pure-shooting lefty Elijah Kennedy (Virginia Beach, Va.), along with junior college transfer Tuongthach Gatkek.

• The Gators will play at least 10 games against preseason AP top 25 opponents this season, including nonconference battles vs. Florida State, Ohio State, and Maryland.

 

ABOUT THE OPPONENT
• Ohio State comes in off a hard-fought win vs. #21 Seton Hall in the Fort
Myers Tip-Off semifinal, winning on a Meechie Johnson Jr. 3-pointer
in the final seconds. E.J. Liddell led the way with 28 points, including
a 10-for-10 night at the free-throw line.

• Liddell leads the way with 22.4 points per game, followed by Zed Key
(9.8) and Johnson (9.2).

• Jamari Wheeler and Myreon Jones were teammates at Penn State the
past three seasons. Wheeler hails from Live Oak, Fla., and attended
The Rock School.

OPPONENT’S LAST 5 GAMES
Nov. 9 Akron W 67-66
Nov. 12 Niagara W 84-74
Nov. 15 Bowling Green W 89-58
Nov. 18 at Xavier L 65-71
Nov. 22 vs. Seton Hall W 79-76

OPPONENT’S NEXT 5 GAMES
Nov. 30 Duke
Dec. 5 at Penn State
Dec. 8 Towson
Dec. 11 Wisconsin
Dec. 18 vs. Kentucky

 

ALL-TIME SERIES (5-8)Dec. 22, 1981 A L 58-61
Dec. 3, 1982 H L 74-80
Dec. 3, 1985 A L 73-80
Dec. 20, 1986 N W 82-72
Dec. 30, 1986 N L 84-88
Dec. 16, 1987 H W 102-69
Dec. 27, 1988 N L 68-93
Dec. 23, 2006 H W 86-60
April 2, 2007 N* W 84-75
Dec. 22, 2007 A L 49-62
Nov. 16, 2010 H L 75-93
Nov. 15, 2011 A L 74-81
March 20, 2016 A^ W 74-66
*NCAA Tournament; ^NIT

VS. BIG TEN UNDER WHITE (2-4)
Nov. 22, 2015 vs. Purdue L 70-85
Dec. 12, 2015 at Michigan State L 52-58
March 20, 2016 ^at Ohio State W 74-66
March 24, 2017 *vs. Wisconsin W/OT 84-83
Dec. 8, 2018 Michigan State L 59-63
March 23, 2019 *vs. Michigan L 49-64
*NCAA Tournament; ^NIT