OGT-Florida vs. Vanderbilt 2/11/23 3:30 pm SECN

Florida (13-11/6-5 SEC) vs. Vanderbilt (12-12/5-6 SEC)
Exactech Arena at the Stephen C. O’Connell Center (10,151) | Billy Donovan Court
Gainesville, Fla. | Game 25 | Feb. 11, 2023 | 3:30 p.m.


BROADCAST INFO
SEC Network | ESPN App
Play-by-Play: Paul Sunderland
Analyst: Richard Hendrix

Gator Sports Network from LEARFIELD
SiriusXM 85/191 | SXM App 962
Play-by-Play: Sean Kelley
Analyst: Lee Humphrey
Engineer/Producer: Steve Egan

 

HEAD COACHES
Todd Golden
13-11 | 1st season at UF
70-47 | 4th season overall

Jerry Stackhouse
51-66 | 4th season at Vandy/overall

MATCHUP BASICS
All-Time Series: 73-71
All-Time/Home: 45-20
Series under Golden: 0-0
Home under Golden: 0-0
Last Meeting: W, 82-78, 3/1/22 (Away)

FLORIDA POSSIBLE STARTERS
# Name Pos. Ht. Wt. Cl. Min. Pts. Reb. Misc.
12 Colin Castleton F 6-11 250 Gr. 31.4 16.1 7.8 3.0 blk
0 Myreon Jones G 6-3 177 Gr. 20.4 5.1 3.0 2.2 ast
5 Will Richard G 6-4 206 So. 27.8 10.3 4.5 1.7 3fg
11 Kyle Lofton G 6-3 188 Gr. 31.4 8.7 3.0 3.1 ast
24 Riley Kugel G 6-5 207 Fr. 19.7 7.0 2.6 0.9 stl

OPPONENT POSSIBLE STARTERS
# Name Pos. Ht. Wt. Cl. Min. Pts. Reb. Misc.
42 Quentin Millora-Brown F 6-10 245 5th 17.2 3.6 3.9 0.6 stl
21 Liam Robbins C 7-0 250 5th 22.3 13.4 6.4 3.0 blk
0 Tyrin Lawrence G 6-4 200 Jr. 26.7 11.4 3.8 1.8 ast
5 Ezra Manjon G 6-0 170 Sr. 27.2 8.5 2.8 3.3 ast
12 Trey Thomas G 6-0 160 Jr. 23.5 6.3 1.9 1.7 3fg

 

NUMBERS OF NOTE
189​

Colin Castleton has blocked 189 shots as a Gator, tied with Al
Horford for #3 in program history. Down the stretch, he will look to
join Dwayne Schintzius (272) and Kevarruis Hayes (214) as the only
Gators to block 200 shots.

20​

Colin Castleton is the first Gator to score 20+ points in three consecutive SEC games since Nick Calathes did so in four straight from Jan. 28 through Feb. 10, 2009.

9​

Florida’s active streak of nine consecutive wins against Vanderbilt marks the longest winning streak for either team in series history.

 

GATORS AT A GLANCE​

• After playing six of its last nine games on the road, Florida returns home where it has four straight wins, including a victory vs. #2 Tennessee in the Gators’ last home outing.

• The Gators have played the 11th-toughest schedule in the nation to date (KenPom) and are coming off the most challenging four-game stretch in program history, which included three top-five opponents (two on the road) and a trip to Kentucky.

• Florida ranks 11th in defensive efficiency and ninth in two-point field goal percentage defense nationally (KenPom). The Gators have held SEC opponents to .385 from the field and .282 from 3-point range.

• Colin Castleton leads UF in scoring (16.1), rebounding (7.8), blocked shots (73), free throws made (107) and co-leads in steals (22) with Kyle Lofton. Lofton has dished a team-high 68 assists, and Will Richard paces Florida with 39 made 3-pointers and a .411 3-point percentage.

• As a team, the Gators’ 5.9 blocked shots per game rank third in the NCAA. Individually, Castleton’s 3.04 blocked shots per game rank fourth the nation.

• Colin Castleton posted a 29-point, 10-rebound double-double at #3 Alabama, becoming the first Gator since Nick Calathes in 2009 to post three straight 20-point games in SEC play.

• Colin Castleton’s 20 points and nine rebounds led the Gators’ win vs. #2 Tennessee, along with Kyle Lofton’s 14 points and four rebounds. Both Lofton and Will Richard posted a +26 plus-minus. The win marked Florida’s sixth all-time top-2 win and matched the highest-ranked home win in program history.

• With his outing at Kentucky, Colin Castleton became the first player since Dwyane Wade 20 years ago (3/8/03) vs. UK) to post 25 points, eight rebounds, five assists, three blocked shots and a steal against an SEC team.

• 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.

• 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) to help the Gators snap LSU’s 13-game home winning streak. 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.

• 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​

• Vanderbilt comes in with two straight wins, including a buzzer-beating win vs. #6 Tennessee on Wednesday where Tyrin Lawrence knocked down a corner 3-pointer as time expired.

• Seven-footer Liam Robbins leads Vandy with 13.4 points, 6.4 rebounds and 3.0 blocked shots per game, while Lawrence adds 11.4 points and Jordan Wright scores 10.3.

• Ezra Manjon has a team-high 80 assists and 23 steals, while Myles Stute is the top 3-point threat, shooting .404 (59/146) from beyond the arc.

OPPONENT’S LAST 5 GAMES
Jan. 24 Kentucky L 53-69
Jan. 28 at Texas A&M L 66-72
Jan. 31 at Alabama L 44-101
Feb. 4 Ole Miss W 74-71
Feb. 8 Tennessee W 66-65

OPPONENT’S NEXT 5 GAMES
Feb. 14 at South Carolina
Feb. 18 Auburn
Feb. 22 at LSU
Feb. 25 Florida
March 1 at Kentucky

LAST 20 VS. VANDERBILT (13-7)
March 6, 2013 H W 66-40
Feb. 25, 2014 A W 57-54
Feb. 3, 2015 A L 61-67
Feb. 18, 2015 H W 50-47
Jan. 26, 2016 A L 59-60
Feb. 23, 2016 H L 74-87
Jan. 21, 2017 H L 66-68
March 4, 2017 A L 71-73
March 10, 2017 SEC L/OT 62-72
Dec. 30, 2017 H W 81-74
Feb. 17, 2018 A L 68-71
Feb. 13, 2019 H W 66-57
Feb. 27, 2019 A W 71-55
Feb. 1, 2020 A W 61-55
Feb. 15, 2020 H W 84-66
Dec. 30, 2020 A W 91-72
Jan. 27, 2021 H W 78-71
March 11, 2021 SEC W 69-63
Jan. 22, 2022 H W 61-42
March 1, 2022 A W 82-78