Exactech Arena at the Stephen C. O’Connell Center
Gainesville, Fla.
Records: #22/23 Florida 10-5 (6-4 SEC), South Carolina (5-6, 3-4 SEC)
Box Score (PDF)<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__floridagators.com_documents_2021_2_3_2021-5F02-5F03-5FUF-5Fvs-5FSC.pdf&d=DwIFAg&c=sJ6xIWYx-zLMB3EPkvcnVg&r=o5LKAX7slotfFMyE71jI7L22NYBIi1-KbRGNSXudTPo&m=IVsr1Rog7Cg7DCf-mHfONWC0PHRfeWaX9uqc0hfWxY8&s=h4ucYfSb9wm0Qogq4hyMzXwsZ7ioPLP_zcR7hxQZy4M&e= >
2020-21 Season Stats<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__floridagators.com_documents_2020_12_2_2020-5F21-5FUFstats.pdf&d=DwIFAg&c=sJ6xIWYx-zLMB3EPkvcnVg&r=o5LKAX7slotfFMyE71jI7L22NYBIi1-KbRGNSXudTPo&m=IVsr1Rog7Cg7DCf-mHfONWC0PHRfeWaX9uqc0hfWxY8&s=GYCXoKn4Hgw9ESFLVpoiK1TstUh91fUV56XCGEQuXIk&e= >
Notable & Quotable
* Tre Mann led the Gators with 17 points and eight rebounds. He is the second player to lead UF in both categories in a game this season, joining Colin Castleton, who has done so twice.
* Florida’s 12 blocked shots were the team’s most ever against an SEC opponent and UF’s most since blocking 12 vs. Florida A&M on Dec. 17, 2006. Overall, it was the eighth time UF has blocked 12+ shots and two off the program record of 14, set vs. Eastern Illinois Nov. 21, 2002.
* Castleton accounted for seven blocks, the fourth time in his last six appearances with five-plus blocked shots.
* After South Carolina started 3-for-4 from 3-point range, Florida limited the Gamecocks to 1-for-15 from beyond the arc after that.
* Over the last six games, Florida is allowing opponents to shoot just .263 from 3-point range (31-for-118). Through the first nine games, UF had been defending the arc at a .378 clip.
* Noah Locke shot 3-for-7 from 3-point range and finished with 15 points. It marks his fourth straight game with at least three 3-pointers and his seventh in a row with multiple treys.
Tre Mann
On South Carolina’s offense…
“They just hit us in mouth. They made plays, plays we didn’t make. Got the offensive rebounds. They made their open shots. They just got whatever they wanted in the late second half.”
On the end of the second half…
“It played a lot to our focus, I don’t think we were focused. We were missing a lot of layups, a lot of open shots and then they were making everything that we were missing. They’re going to win if they make more shots than us, so that’s what happened.”
Head Coach Mike White
On the team’s second half performance…
“I thought we got off to a really tough start defensively in the second half. (We) didn’t respond to what we collectively talked about at half in terms of sharpening up defensively and maintaining offensively, and they got into a good rhythm early second half. Then I thought mid-second half, we collected some stops, we got some scores, I don’t know what we were up- five, six, seven, and it felt like we were gaining control of the game, and we made some really tough decisions with the basketball that led to pick-sixes. Anxious to go watch it, some uncharacteristic stuff.”
On the team potentially getting too comfortable during a winning streak…
“We’ve hammered these guys after any success that we have had. Whether it’s individual success, SEC Player of the Week, you win at West Virginia, our attention to detail and our intensity level for practices and film sessions increases because you’re fearful of what can happen. The human condition is to get comfortable and to get casual after experiencing success.”
