OGT-MBB Florida at Auburn 12/28/2022 ESPN2 7 PM

Dec 28 (Wed) 7 PM
SEC
Florida at Auburn
Auburn, AL
Radio: Gator Sports Network from LEARFIELD

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BROADCAST INFO
ESPN2 | ESPN App
Play-by-Play: Kevin Fitzgerald
Analyst: Jimmy Dykes
Gator Sports Network from LEARFIELD
SiriusXM 383 | SXM App 973
Play-by-Play: Sean Kelley
Analyst: Lee Humphrey

 

HEAD COACHES
Todd Golden
7-5 | 1st season at UF
64-41 | 4th season overall

Bruce Pearl
176-100 | 9th season at Auburn
638-265 | 28th season overall

MATCHUP BASICS
All-Time Series: 82-90
All-Time/Away: 27-57
Series under Golden: 0-0
Away under Golden: 0-0
Last Meeting: W, 63-62, 2/19/21 (Home)

 

FLORIDA POSSIBLE STARTERS
# Name Pos. Ht. Wt. Cl. Min. Pts. Reb. Misc.
3 Alex Fudge F 6-9 200 So. 22.5 8.2 5.4 1.1 blk
12 Colin Castleton F 6-11 250 Gr. 28.7 15.8 7.6 2.5 blk
2 Trey Bonham G 6-0 170 Jr. 19.4 10.2 2.8 1.9 ast
5 Will Richard G 6-4 206 So. 28.1 10.7 4.1 1.5 3fg
11 Kyle Lofton G 6-3 188 Gr. 29.4 8.4 2.9 3.9 last

AUBURN POSSIBLE STARTERS
# Name Pos. Ht. Wt. Cl. Min. Pts. Reb. Misc.
2 Jaylin Williams F 6-8 230 Sr. 25.6 10.0 5.6 1.4 stl
4 Johni Broome F 6-10 235 So. 23.7 12.2 8.2 2.8 blk
5 Chris Moore F 6-6 230 Jr. 17.5 6.6 2.6 .615 3fg%
1 Wendell Green Jr. G 5-11 175 Jr. 24.6 12.6 3.7 3.7 ast
12 Zep Jasper G 6-1 190 Gr. 18.4 3.5 0.9 0.5 stl

 

NUMBERS OF NOTE
30
Florida last tipped off SEC play against Auburn 30 years ago, earning a 76-73
road win against the Tigers on Jan. 6, 1993.

2
Florida head coach Todd Golden spent two seasons on Bruce Pearl’s
Auburn staff, working as director of basketball operations in the 2014-
15 season and assistant coach for the 2015-16 campaign.

10
Florida plays a gauntlet of a schedule with 10 of its 31 regular season
games against teams appearing in this week’s AP Top 25. Wednesday
marks the first of five such contests on the road in SEC play

 

GATORS AT A GLANCE​

• The Gators meet Auburn for the first time since toppling the second-ranked Tigers in Gainesville last February. The game marks a return to Auburn for UF head coach Todd Golden, who worked on Bruce Pearl’s staff for two seasons (2014-16), one as director of basketball operations and one as assistant coach.

• The Golden-Pearl connection was not lost on the schedule-makers, as Florida and Auburn meet in an SEC opener for the first time in 30 years. Florida looks to capitalize on a Quad 1 opportunity in the only scheduled meeting between UF and AU.

• Colin Castleton leads UF in scoring (15.8), rebounding (7.6), blocked shots (30), free throws made (44) and co-leads the team with 13 steals (tied with Trey Bonham).

• Kowacie Reeves exploded for 20 points on 7-for-11 shooting vs. Ohio, including 4-for-7 from 3-point range, to lead the Gators’ rout in Tampa. Both of Reeves’ collegiate 20-point games have come at Amalie Arena, as his career-high 21 points was vs. Texas A&M at the 2022 SEC Tournament held there.

• Alex Fudge had a four-game stretch from Nov. 30-Dec. 14 when averaged 13.3 points and a team-high 8.3 rebounds, shooting 18-for-32 (.563) from the field, 3-for-6 from 3-point range, and hitting 14 of 15 free throw attempts (.933). Fudge had a pair of double-doubles over that span, posting 16 and 10 vs. FAMU and 13 and 10 vs. Ohio.

• Florida posted a pair of wins vs. in-state foes (FAMU, Stetson) that saw five Gators score in double figures in both games, led by Trey Bonham’s 23 points vs. Florida A&M and Will Richard’s 14 against Stetson.

• Through Will Richard’s first seven appearances of the season, he displayed impressive efficiency scoring 13+ points six times while shooting .607 from the field, .586 from 3-point range and .947 from the free throw line.

• Riley Kugel made his first career start vs. Florida A&M, marking six straight seasons and 15 of the last 16 in which a freshman started at least one game for UF (every season since 2007-08 except 2016-17). Kugel co-led the Gators with 13 points vs. UConn.

• Colin Castleton’s double-double vs. Xavier (11 points, 10 rebounds) marked his 15th as a Gator, tying him with Joakim Noah and Chandler Parsons for fifth-most by a Gator since the 1996-97 season.

• 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.

• Colin Castleton opened the season on fire and posted back-to-back 30-point outings, notching a career-best 33 vs. Kennesaw State and 30 vs. FAU. An individual has recorded back-to-back 30-point games nine times in UF history and Castleton is the seventh different player to accomplish the feat (see page 6 for full list).

• Castleton became the first Gator with a 30-point double-double since Joakim Noah (37/11 vs. Georgia, 3/1/06) and the only SEC player since the 1996-97 season with 30 points, 12 rebounds and five blocked shots in a game, a stat line he accomplished vs. FAU.

• Golden compiled a 57-36 record over three seasons at San Francisco and led the Dons to their first NCAA Tournament bid since 1998 and their first at-large selection since 1982.

 

ABOUT THE OPPONENT​

• Auburn opens SEC action coming off a West Coast trip where the Tigers split two road games, falling at USC before a rout of Washington leading into the holiday break. AU owns a home win vs. Saint Louis and neutral-site victories vs. Northwestern and Bradley.

• Wendell Green Jr. leads Auburn with 12.6 points per game, followed by Johni Broome (12.2) and Jaylin Williams (10.0). Broome paces the Tigers with 8.2 rebounds per game and 31 blocked shots, while Williams has a team-best 15 steals.

• Green, Williams and K.D. Johnson have each knocked down 13 3-pointers, with Allen Flanigan close behind at 12. Williams is hitting at a .419 clip, while Chris Moore is shooting .615 from 3 with fewer attempts (8-for-13).

OPPONENT’S LAST 5 GAMES
Dec. 2 Colgate W 93-66
Dec. 10 vs. Memphis L 73-82
Dec. 14 Georgia State W 72-64
Dec. 18 at USC L 71-74
Dec. 21 at Washington W 84-61

OPPONENT’S NEXT 5 GAMES
Jan. 4 at Georgia
Jan. 7 Arkansas
Jan. 10 at Ole Miss
Jan. 14 Mississippi State
Jan. 18 at LSU

LAST 15 VS. AUBURN (12-3)
Jan. 20, 2011 A W 45-40
Feb. 21, 2012 H W 63-47
Feb. 16, 2013 A W 83-52
Jan. 18, 2014 A W 68-61
Feb. 19, 2014 H W 71-66
Jan. 15, 2015 H W 75-55
Jan. 23, 2016 H W 95-63
Feb. 14, 2017 A W 114-95
Feb. 24, 2018 H W 72-66
Feb. 5, 2019 A L 62-76
March 16, 2019 SEC L 62-65
Jan. 18, 2020 H W 69-47
Feb. 23, 2021 A W 74-57
Jan. 8, 2022 A L 73-85
Feb. 19, 2022 H W 63-62

LAST 10 SEC OPENERS (8-2)
Jan. 9, 2013 Georgia W 77-44
Jan. 8, 2014 South Carolina W 74-58
Jan. 7, 2015 at South Carolina W 72-68
Jan. 2, 2016 Georgia W 77-63
Dec. 29, 2016 at Arkansas W 81-72
Dec. 30, 2017 Vanderbilt W 81-74
Jan. 5, 2019 South Carolina L 69-71
Jan. 4, 2020 Alabama W/2OT 104-98
Dec. 30, 2020 at Vanderbilt W 91-72
Jan. 5, 2022 Alabama L 70-83