OGT-MBB Florida vs South Carolina 1/25/2023 7pm ESPN2

Jan 25 (Wed) 7 PM
SEC
Flprida vs South Carolina
Presented by Pepsi
Gainesville, FL Exactech Arena at Stephen C. O'Connell Center
Radio: Gator Sports Network from LEARFIELD

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BROADCAST INFO
ESPN2 | ESPN App
Play-by-Play: Kevin Fitzgerald
Analyst: Pat Bradley

Gator Sports Network from LEARFIELD
SiriusXM 380 | SXM App 970
Play-by-Play: Sean Kelley
Analyst: Lee Humphrey

 

HEAD COACHES
Todd Golden
11-8 | 1st season at UF
68-44 | 4th season overall

Lamont Paris
8-11 | 1st season at South Carolina
95-83 | 6th season overall

MATCHUP BASICS
All-Time Series: 47-28
All-Time/Away: 21-10
Series under Golden: 0-0
Home under Golden: 0-0
Last Meeting:W, 71-63, 1/15/22 (Away)

 

FLORIDA POSSIBLE STARTERS
# Name Pos. Ht. Wt. Cl. Min. Pts. Reb. Misc.
3 Alex Fudge F 6-9 200 So. 22.6 7.5 5.1 0.8 blk
12 Colin Castleton F 6-11 250 Gr. 31.0 14.8 7.8 3.1 blk
0 Myreon Jones G 6-3 177 Gr. 18.4 4.6 2.5 1.9 ast
5 Will Richard G 6-4 206 So. 27.1 10.2 4.2 1.7 3fg
11 Kyle Lofton G 6-3 188 Gr. 30.8 8.6 2.8 3.2 ast

OPPONENT POSSIBLE STARTERS
# Name Pos. Ht. Wt. Cl. Min. Pts. Reb. Misc.
10 Hayden Brown F 6-5 234 Gr. 29.4 10.8 4.8 1.0 stl
23 Gregory “GG” Jackson II F 6-9 215 Fr. 33.2 15.9 6.7 1.7 3fg
1 Jacobi Wright G 6-2 188 So. 27.1 5.4 2.3 1.6 ast
2 Chico Carter Jr. G 6-3 192 Sr. 32.2 10.9 2.1 2.1 3fg
5 Meechie Johnson G 6-2 180 So. 32.5 12.4 4.2 2.4 3fg

 

NUMBERS OF NOTE
1​

Colin Castleton has blocked 59 shots this season -- 29 in SEC play --and 175 as a Gator, sitting just one away from reaching Florida’s career top-five list and UF’s single-season top 10 for a second time. (His 62 blocks last season are the #9 total in Florida history.)

.400​

After six of Florida’s first seven opponents shot better than 40 percent from the field, the Gators have held 10 of their last 12 foes under that threshold.

6​

The road team has won six straight in the Florida-South Carolina series. UF looks to snap a three-game home skid vs. SC and earn its first home win in the series since 2017.

 

GATORS AT A GLANCE​

• Florida hosts South Carolina looking to buck the recent series trend, which has seen the road team win the last six meetings. Each team has won three in a row on the other’s home court, as UF looks for its first home win vs. the Gamecocks since Feb. 21, 2017.

• The Gators have won four of their last five and are ranked 13th in defensive efficiency nationally (KenPom).

• Six SEC schools hired new head coaches in 2022, including Florida. Todd Golden has posted a 4-0 mark against his fellow first-year coaches around the league and looks to make it a clean sweep his first time facing the 2022 class of hires.

• 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, while Lofton added a season-high and team-leading eight rebounds.

• Colin Castleton leads UF in scoring (14.8), rebounding (7.8), blocked shots (59), free throws made (76) and steals (21). Kyle Lofton tops the Gators with 54 assists, and Will Richard paces the squad with 30 made 3-pointers and a .435 3-point percentage.

• As a team, the Gators’ 5.9 blocked shots per game are tied for fifth in the NCAA. Individually, Castleton’s 3.11 blocked shots per game rank third the nation.

• 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 last week. At LSU, Castleton posted 18 points and five blocks with a career night at the free throw line (12-for-15). 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.

• The Florida defense and Colin Castleton’s 18-point, five-block performance powered the Gators’ win at LSU, which snapped the Tigers’ 13-game home winning streak. As UF made its second-half run, the Gators got timely 3-pointers from Myreon Jones and Riley Kugel, each of whom assisted on the other’s big basket.

• The Gators had five players in double figures in their win vs. UGA, led by Kyle Lofton’s season-high 18. Colin Castleton posted 12 points, eight rebounds, seven blocked shots and five assists, while Will Richard added 14 points and nine rebounds. Myreon Jones (season-high 13 points) and Kowacie Reeves (12) both added a scoring spark off the bench, as UF enjoyed a 35-17 bench scoring edge.

• 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, with 16/10 vs. FAMU and 13/10 vs. Ohio.

• 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).

• 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​

• South Carolina is under first-year head coach Lamont Paris and recently defeated Kentucky on the road. The Gamecocks knocked off Clemson in nonconference action.

• South Carolina assistant coach Eddie Shannon played at Florida 1995-99, serving as a team captain his senior season. He was honored as an SEC Legend in 2015.

• Projected first-round NBA Draft pick GG Jackson leads South Carolina with 15.9 points and 6.7 rebounds per game.

• Meechie Johnson leads the Gamecocks with 60 assists and 40 3-pointers made (.315; 40/127). Chico Carter Jr. (.463; 37/80) and Jackson .324; 33/102) both contribute from beyond the arc, as well.

• Hayden Brown has a team-leading 18 steals, while Jackson and Josh
Gray have each posted 16 blocked shots

OPPONENT’S LAST 5 GAMES
Jan. 7 Tennessee L 42-85
Jan. 10 at Kentucky W 71-68
Jan. 14 Texas A&M L 53-94
Jan. 17 Ole Miss L 58-70
Jan. 21 Auburn L 66-81

OPPONENT’S NEXT 5 GAMES
Jan. 28 at Georgia
Jan. 31 Mississippi State
Feb. 4 Arkansas
Feb. 7 at Missouri
Feb. 11 at Ole Miss

LAST 20 VS. SOUTH CAROLINA (12-8)
Jan. 23, 2010 H W 58-56
Feb. 10, 2010 A L 71-77
Jan. 15, 2011 H L 69-72
Feb. 9, 2011 A W 79-60
Jan. 14, 2012 A W 79-65
Feb. 2, 2012 H W 74-66
Jan. 30, 2013 H W 75-36
Jan. 8, 2014 H W 74-58
March 4, 2014 A W 72-46
Jan. 7, 2015 A W 72-68
Feb. 20, 2016 A L/OT 69-73
Jan. 18, 2017 A L 53-57
Feb. 21, 2017 H W 81-66
March 26, 2017 NCAA L 70-77
Jan. 24, 2018 H L 72-77
Feb. 10, 2018 A W 65-41
Jan. 5, 2019 H L 69-71
Jan. 7, 2020 A W 81-68
Feb. 3, 2021 H L 66-72
Jan. 15, 2022 A W 71-63