OGT-Grambling State @ Florida 12/22/23 4:00 pm SECN

Dec 22 (Fri) 4 PM Gator Sports Network from LEARFIELD
Florida vs Grambling State
Gainesville, FL Exactech Arena at Stephen C. O'Connell Center

BROADCAST INFO​

SEC+ | ESPN App
Play-by-Play: Kyle Crooks
Analyst: Patric Young

Play-by-Play: Sean Kelley
Analyst: Lee Humphrey
Producer/Engineer: Steve Egan

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HEAD COACHES​

Todd Golden
24-20 | 2nd season at UF
80-56 | 5th season overall

Donte’ Jackson
98-94 | 7th season at GSU/overall

MATCHUP BASICS​

All-Time Series: 0-0
Series under Golden: 0-0
All-Time vs. SWAC: 28-1
vs. SWAC under Golden: 2-0
Last Meeting: None

 

FLORIDA POSSIBLE STARTERS​

# Name Pos. Ht. Wt. Cl. Min. Pts. Reb. Misc.
4 Tyrese Samuel F 6-10 239 Gr. 28.2 14.5 8.6 .635 fg%
3 Micah Handlogten C 7-1 235 So. 17.7 7.0 7.1 .651 fg%
1 Walter Clayton Jr. G 6-2 195 Jr. 30.6 16.1 4.2 3.5 ast
2 Riley Kugel G 6-5 207 So. 29.2 11.6 4.2 2.1 ast
5 Will Richard G 6-4 206 Jr. 31.4 10.4 4.3 1.5 last

OPPONENT POSSIBLE STARTERS​

# Name Pos. Ht. Wt. Cl. Min. Pts. Reb. Misc.
10 Jalen Johnson F 6-8 Gr. 24.1 9.1 4.2 0.7 stl
12 Jonathan Aku F 6-11 Sr. 23.0 4.5 5.9 .553 fg%
00 Kentavious Dozier G 6-1 Jr. 25.5 14.9 2.5 1.1 3fg
4 Antwan Burnett G 6-5 So. 33.1 9.0 5.5 1.0 ast
3 Mikale Stevenson G 6-2 So. 19.3 5.2 2.1 2.5 ast

 

NUMBERS OF NOTE
6​

Florida already has six games with 20+ offensive rebounds, more such
performances than any season this century. The Gators’ .423 offensive
rebounding percentage ranks fourth in the country.

4​

Florida owns a season-best four-game winning streak. With a win
on Friday, the Gators would have their longest winning streak since
Nov. 2021, when UF opened the season with six straight victories.

25​

Tyrese Samuel is closing in on the 1,000-point career scoring mark.
He enters Friday’s game with 975 points, including 160 scored at
Florida and 815 at Seton Hall.

 

THE TIP-OFF​

• Florida hosts Grambling State in the first of three straight home games spanning the holiday break and the opening of SEC play. The Gators return to their home floor after playing six of their last seven away from
Gainesville.

• UF enters Friday’s contest on a season-best four-game winning streak following Tuesday’s epic double overtime outlasting of Michigan, a 106-101 affair that marked UF’s most points scored since Nov. 24, 2017 and the most points allowed by the Wolverines since March 4, 2000.

• Florida holds a 4-0 record at home and is hunting for its first undefeated nonconference home record since an 8-0 record in 2013-14 (excludes 1-0 marks in 2016-17 and 2020-21).

• The Gators have had a 20-point scorer in seven straight contests and nine of 11 games overall this season.

2023-24 HIGHLIGHTS​

• 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.

• Florida came up just short against 13th-ranked Baylor in the NIT Season Tip-Off championship game as Riley Kugel exploded for 25 points and nine rebounds, both career highs. Tyrese Samuel and Zyon Pullin earned All-Tournament Team honors, and Samuel added SEC Player of the Week recognition.

• 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.

• Micah Handlogten (14 points, 14 rebounds) and Tyrese Samuel (10 points, 11 rebounds) both posted their first double-double as Gators in a hard-fought loss vs. Virginia in Charlotte.

 

ABOUT THE OPPONENT​

• Grambling State has played one of the nation’s most challenging
nonconference schedules, and Friday marks the team’s sixth consecu-
tive road game.

• Kintavious Dozier leads GSU with 14.9 points per game, highlighted
by a 34-point outing at Washington State where he shot 10-for-16
from the field, 4-for-9 from 3-point range and hit 10 of 11 free throws.
Dozier’s 12 made 3-pointers this season also lead the team.

• Jalen Johnson adds 9.1 points per game, and Antwan Burnett chips
in 9.0.

• Tra’Michael Moton has dished a team-leading 31 assists, while he and
Mikale Stevenson pace the squad with 14 steals each.

• Jonathan Aku leads the Tigers in rebounding at 5.9 per game and
blocked shots with.

OPPONENT’S LAST 5 GAMES​

Nov. 24 at Troy L 67-80
Dec. 2 at Dayton L 46-76
Dec. 10 at Washington State L 65-83
Dec. 14 at Drake L 56-68
Dec. 20 at Southeastern Louisiana L 47-48

OPPONENT’S NEXT 5 GAMES​

Jan. 2 College of Biblical Studies
Jan. 6 Prairie View A&M
Jan. 8 Texas Southern
Jan. 13 at Bethune-Cookman
Jan. 15 at Florida A&M

ALL-TIME VS. SWAC (28-1)​

Nov. 23, 1991 Florida A&M W 76-66
Nov. 25, 1996 Bethune-Cookman W 68-59
Nov. 23, 1998 Bethune-Cookman W 91-61
Dec. 4, 1999 Florida A&M W 96-44
Dec. 11, 1999 Bethune-Cookman W 93-77
Dec. 10, 2000 Florida A&M W 125-50
Dec. 19, 2000 Bethune-Cookman W 106-64
Dec. 28, 2002 Bethune-Cookman W 99-64
Dec. 30, 2002 Florida A&M W 91-58
Dec. 2, 2003 Florida A&M W 102-78
Nov. 30, 2004 Florida A&M W 88-51
Nov. 28, 2005 Alabama State W 87-60
Dec. 9, 2005 Bethune-Cookman W 88-58
Dec. 30, 2005 Florida A&M W 84-47
Nov. 21, 2006 Prairie View A&M W 94-33
Nov. 28, 2006 Southern W 83-27
Dec. 17, 2006 Florida A&M W 72-57
March 16, 2007 *vs. Jackson State W 112-69
Dec. 5, 2007 Florida A&M W 91-52
Dec. 2, 2008 Florida A&M W 73-58
Dec. 1, 2009 Florida A&M W 80-59
Nov. 11, 2011 Jackson State W 99-59
Dec. 19, 2011 Mississippi Valley State W 82-54
Nov. 11, 2012 Alabama State W 84-35
Nov. 18, 2013 Southern W 67-53
Dec. 12, 2014 Texas Southern W 75-50
Dec. 6, 2021 Texas Southern L 54-69
Nov. 30, 2022 Florida A&M W 102-62
Nov. 14, 2023 Florida A&M W 89-68
*NCAA Tourname