Exactech Arena at the Stephen C. O’Connell Center | Gainesville, Fla.
Box Score<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__floridagators.com_documents_2022_1_5_1984702.PDF&d=DwIGaQ&c=sJ6xIWYx-zLMB3EPkvcnVg&r=o5LKAX7slotfFMyE71jI7L22NYBIi1-KbRGNSXudTPo&m=VfRoeVdN9BotH2rc29PsuPx6uhM-nQoZv9AY5XQBdPnTVxq1kizKE8zjRFrUKK7_&s=f7jc7t0h9xrLewRFG_NlVhVM08dxWFWLTj4QUflkYrU&e= > | Season Stats<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__floridagators.com_documents_2021_11_9_2021-5F22-5FUFStats.pdf&d=DwIGaQ&c=sJ6xIWYx-zLMB3EPkvcnVg&r=o5LKAX7slotfFMyE71jI7L22NYBIi1-KbRGNSXudTPo&m=VfRoeVdN9BotH2rc29PsuPx6uhM-nQoZv9AY5XQBdPnTVxq1kizKE8zjRFrUKK7_&s=n8XgiQiZOb3xmteHfMyQlovxMWKe9D6ly2_odVBqG-c&e= >
Records: Florida 9-4 (0-1 SEC); #15 Alabama 11-3 (2-0 SEC)
Notable
* Colin Castleton led the Gators with 19 points on 7-for-10 shooting from the floor, adding seven rebounds and a blocked shot.
* The blocked shot was Castleton’s 85th as a Gator, the most for an incoming Florida transfer. Castleton set the mark in 37 games, passing John Egbunu, who blocked 84 shots in 54 games at UF from 2015-17.
* The bench was a bright spot for the Gators, who posted a 19-7 edge in bench scoring. CJ Felder had season highs with 12 points and six rebounds, while Jason Jitoboh continued his recent upswing with six points and three rebounds.
* Jitoboh has averaged 7.0 points over the last four games after averaging 1.3 with two DNPs through the Gators first nine games this season.
* Florida limited Alabama to 28.1% from 3-point range, but the Tide still managed nine 3-pointers, just shy of their season average entering the game (9.7). Alabama also enjoyed a 20-shot edge in field goal attempts due to 20 offensive rebounds and 20 Florida turnovers.
Head Coach Mike White
On performance coming into second half…
“First and foremost, I look forward to coming back and watching it… I’ll start watching in about 20 minutes. Off the top of my head, early second half, our energy level coming out of the locker room was not correct and theirs was. They threw the first few punches the second half. Light ball turnovers killed us. 20 offensive rebounds, 20 turnovers, and light ball turnovers against these guys is not a good recipe for success. Then, defensive transition, even in our possessions, were misses early second half. We did not include the amount of communication and intensity that’s needed to stop these guys in transition offense. We had a couple miscues based on Alabama’s defense. But, the 20 offensive rebounds and the 20 turnovers are hard to [beat] anyone in this league.”
On energy coming into second half…
“I don’t know. We’re going to talk about it. It may be a halftime routine… It starts with me, right? We’ve got to come out the second half throwing haymakers like we did at the tip of the game. I loved their energy level at the tip and I thought we played really hard for the first 20. For whatever reason, in the first minutes of the second half, we just looked a little flat. But of course, they had something to do with that. When you turn it over and you give up the baskets at the rim, you miss a couple hits… They just had their mojo going at the offensive glass. They were just playing a lot better than us at the start of the second half. Some of the energy level is because of that and some of it is because of the energy level. Then all these guys, we’re all human. When you see that thing go in, it’s a little bit easier. It shouldn’t be, and we’re going to continue to preach that. If we had gotten a score or two early in the second half, it may have been different for us. They may not have built a lead like they did.”
On the keys to being a 40-minute team…
“Mental and physical toughness. Connectivity. Guys wanting to fight for one another. Sometimes it’s as simple as execution, both offensively and defensively. I think this team is emotional at times. It’s something that’s a hurdle and we’ve got to overcome. It’s a positive for us at times and it’s a negative at times. I think this team is very competitive, and when things are going well for us, we tend to play better and execute better. But, when we face some adversity, we’ve got to be better with how we address that adversity, whether that’s a call, whether it’s a late clock score by the opponent, a missed hit, or, ‘Oh, coach is about to get on me’, you know, stuff like that… We’ve got to be better. We’ve got to play with emotion, but we’ve got to be a little bit less emotional.”
#0 Myreon Jones, Senior, Guard
On the second half…
“We just didn’t have the grit that we had in the first half. We got out-muscled. They were just more physical than us. That’s what we talked about at halftime going into the second half and we just didn’t do it.”
#12 Colin Castleton, Senior, Forward
On the two-week rest…
“They cut the period of time that we had to be off, so that didn’t really play a part in it. I don’t think anybody said they were tired that much during the game. Our bench did a decent job, came in and played confident. It all just was down to what we did in the second half. We didn’t play the level we were supposed to.”
On C.J. Felder’s season-high in points and rebounds…
“We know how good he is and what he’s capable of. Him and [Anthony Duruji] have a really good one-two punch. He just brings it every night. He just keeps working.”
