Florida Men’s Basketball (14-6, 4-3 SEC) at #10/8 Kentucky (15-4, 5-2 SEC)
Florida Game Notes<https://floridagators.com/documents/2024/1/30/2024.01.31_atKentucky.pdf> | 2023-24 Media Guide<https://floridagators.com/documents/2023/10/30/2023-24_Media_Guide_Web.pdf> | Media Resources<https://www.dropbox.com/sh/iv6cc1nl98a49pv/AAD_LkZm6hKvVz7FpyboOUR1a?dl=0>
Rupp Arena | Lexington, Ky.
Wednesday, Jan. 31, 2024 | 8 p.m.
TV/Streaming
ESPN | ESPN App<http://www.espn.com/watch/player?id=ed48fc9d-7697-46b0-879b-4a520c864233>
Play-by-Play: Karl Ravech | Analyst: Jay Bilas | Sideline: Marty Smith
Radio
Gator Sports Network from LEARFIELD | FloridaGators.com<https://floridagators.com/showcase?Live=5296> | The Varsity Network App | SiriusXM 390 & SXM App<https://sxm.app.link/980>
Play-by-Play: Sean Kelley | Analyst: Lee Humphrey | Producer/Engineer: Steve Egan
The Tip-Off
* Florida enters Wednesday’s game with three straight wins and looks to continue its upward trajectory with three straight Quad 1 opportunities on deck.
* The Gators are 5-65 all-time on the road against AP Top-10 opponents and are looking for their first such win since a 2003 victory at #7 Mississippi State. Three of those five victories have come at Kentucky.
* Zyon Pullin leads the SEC in assist/turnover ratio both overall (4.5) and in conference play (6.8). His 4.8 assists per game rank second in the SEC, and Pullin has scored in double figures in every appearance this season.
* Florida has two of the top three offensive rebounders in the SEC in Micah Handlogten (3.8) and Tyrese Samuel (3.4). Handlogten averages 3.5 second-chance points per game, getting nearly half of his points from the offensive glass (63 of 133).
* Florida’s .746 free throw percentage in SEC play represents a 9.2 percent increase over its nonconference rate of .654. The Gators’ 18.0 free throws made per game in conference play trail only Georgia.
2023-24 Highlights
* Micah Handlogten posted 23 points and 17 rebounds in the win vs. Georgia, while Zyon Pullin scored seven of his 20 points in the overtime period. Handlogten is just the fifth SEC player over the last 10 seasons to post 23 and 17 in a conference game, joining Oscar Tshiebwe, Sindarius Thornwell, Ben Simmons & Jordan Mickey.
* Will Richard led the Gators with 23 points and nine rebounds in the win vs. Mississippi State as Florida committed a season-low seven turnovers. Zyon Pullin and Walter Clayton Jr. each added 15 points.
* Five Gators scored in double figures in the victory at Mizzou, led by Tyrese Samuel’s 17, while Micah Handlogten posted a 10-point, 13-rebound double-double.
* Five Gators in double figures highlighted UF’s win vs. Arkansas, as Riley Kugel scored 20 points off the bench to lead the way and Tyrese Samuel added a double-double with 17 points and 11 rebounds.
* 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.
* 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.
