20/16 Florida (6-2/0-0 SEC) vs. North Florida (2-8/0-0 A-Sun)
Exactech Arena at the Stephen C. O’Connell Center (10,151)
Gainesville, Fla. Game 9
Dec. 8, 2021
7 p.m.
2021-22 AT A GLANCE
• Florida plays its second game in three days, welcoming UNF to the O’Dome for what has become a nearly annual meet-up between the programs. The Gators have won all nine meetings with UNF, including five under head coach Mike White.
• The Gators have had a balanced offensive attack, with six different players leading or co-leading the team in scoring at least once through the first eight games.
• UF’s defense made its presence felt in the early going, limiting five of its first six opponents to 61 points or fewer. The Gators have held two opponents to 45 points, the first time Florida has multiple opponents to 45 points or fewer in a season since 2014-15.
• Florida ranks among the SEC’s top three in blocked shots (second, 6.0), 3-point percentage defense (third, .274) and scoring defense (third, 59.6).
• Florida battled back from a double-digit deficit to knock off Ohio State on Tyree Appleby’s buzzer-beating 3-pointer to win the Fort Myers Tip-Off . Phlandrous Fleming led the Florida attack with 19 points and four steals, supported by Colin Castleton’s double-double with 11 points and 13 rebounds.
• The Gators rode a strong late-first half performance to victory against Cal, outscoring the Bears 29-10 over the fi nal 8:10 of the opening frame. Four Gators scored in double figures, led by Colin Castleton’s 16 and Tyree Appleby’s 15.
• 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.
• 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 South[1]eastern Conference team to reach every NCAA Tournament in that span (since 2017).
• 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 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 against Florida State, Ohio State, and Maryland.
Exactech Arena at the Stephen C. O’Connell Center (10,151)
Gainesville, Fla. Game 9
Dec. 8, 2021
7 p.m.
2021-22 AT A GLANCE
• Florida plays its second game in three days, welcoming UNF to the O’Dome for what has become a nearly annual meet-up between the programs. The Gators have won all nine meetings with UNF, including five under head coach Mike White.
• The Gators have had a balanced offensive attack, with six different players leading or co-leading the team in scoring at least once through the first eight games.
• UF’s defense made its presence felt in the early going, limiting five of its first six opponents to 61 points or fewer. The Gators have held two opponents to 45 points, the first time Florida has multiple opponents to 45 points or fewer in a season since 2014-15.
• Florida ranks among the SEC’s top three in blocked shots (second, 6.0), 3-point percentage defense (third, .274) and scoring defense (third, 59.6).
• Florida battled back from a double-digit deficit to knock off Ohio State on Tyree Appleby’s buzzer-beating 3-pointer to win the Fort Myers Tip-Off . Phlandrous Fleming led the Florida attack with 19 points and four steals, supported by Colin Castleton’s double-double with 11 points and 13 rebounds.
• The Gators rode a strong late-first half performance to victory against Cal, outscoring the Bears 29-10 over the fi nal 8:10 of the opening frame. Four Gators scored in double figures, led by Colin Castleton’s 16 and Tyree Appleby’s 15.
• 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.
• 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 South[1]eastern Conference team to reach every NCAA Tournament in that span (since 2017).
• 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 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 against Florida State, Ohio State, and Maryland.
