#23/24 Florida 71, RV/RV Ohio State 68
Box Score<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__floridagators.com_documents_2021_11_25_2021-5F11-5F24-5FUF-5Fvs-5FOhio-5FSt-5F.pdf&d=DwIFAg&c=sJ6xIWYx-zLMB3EPkvcnVg&r=o5LKAX7slotfFMyE71jI7L22NYBIi1-KbRGNSXudTPo&m=_FgFKUhB_gr8jXkx1MAARJMIutx9lhhrQOCWfImcUyPGQUvOF2gEzYoKw6k0A2DL&s=3pEZTZp8eyscfVyGZBa7wlyMsARRfbBUSweJZ1G2X2k&e= > | Season Stats<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__floridagators.com_documents_2021_11_9_2021-5F22-5FUFStats.pdf&d=DwIFAg&c=sJ6xIWYx-zLMB3EPkvcnVg&r=o5LKAX7slotfFMyE71jI7L22NYBIi1-KbRGNSXudTPo&m=_FgFKUhB_gr8jXkx1MAARJMIutx9lhhrQOCWfImcUyPGQUvOF2gEzYoKw6k0A2DL&s=1Gl1WYNyRqkfBrOQCmk8rZsh7eLyI-7KsAKICdpCIac&e= >
Notable
* Florida rallied from 10 down with 12:58 to play to win the game on Tyree Appleby’s buzzer-beating 3-pointer.
* The Gators faced their first deficit this season of more than four points, trailing by as many as 10, 47-37, when Mike White called timeout with 12:58 to play. The Gators responded with an 8-0 run out of the timeout to get back within two and eventually re-took the lead with 2:15 remaining.
* It marked the Gators’ first double-digit rally since winning at Kentucky, 71-67, on Feb. 27, 2021, after facing a 26-16 deficit.
* Appleby, Phlandrous Fleming and Colin Castleton earned All-Tournament Team honors, with Castleton being named MVP.
* Fleming exploded for 19 points, eight rebounds and four steals off the bench, all his most as a Gator. He also shot 9-for-10 from the free throw line.
* Castleton earned a double-double, his third in five games this season, with 11 points and 13 rebounds.
* The Gators have earned back-to-back holiday tournament titles, adding the 2021 Fort Myers Tip-Off title following their 2019 Charleston Classic championship, their first time doing so since claiming the 1976 Gator Bowl Tournament and 1977 Vermont Classic.
* Florida improves to 5-0 on the season, the team’s third season with a 5-0 start under Mike White (2016-17, 2017-18) and Florida’s 18th all-time. The Gators improve to 6-8 all-time against Ohio State, including 2-0 under White.
* The Gators battled through a tough shooting night, hitting on a season-low .367 from the field, but used its pressure defense to force 18 turnovers on a season-high 13 steals.
Head Coach Mike White
On what grit he saw from the team closing out the game…
“Our guys showed a lot of grit – we have some gritty guys. A tough-nose group that just found a way. It wasn’t very pretty in a lot of areas for about 30 minutes. I thought the last 10, we executed at a better rate. The resilience though, defensively, forcing the 18 turnovers gave us a chance. I’m proud of our group. It’s something to build on. We beat one of the better programs in the country, and we have a of lot stuff to improve upon. Really proud of Tyree (Appleby) and the way he finished it, of course. Throughout the game, we had a lot of adversity and found a way. It’s exciting.”
On Tyree Appleby hitting the buzzer beater…
“He’s a gutsy guy, he’s ultra-competitive and tough, he has a high level of confidence and he’s the type of guy who makes that type of shot. He had some finishes at the rim that kind of hung up there on the rim – three or four if I’m not mistaken – that almost went down for him. But, he kept coming.”
On what it meant for the fans to win this game at the buzzer…
“Hopefully, our fans enjoyed what they saw. We’re definitely appreciative they came out and supported us. It’s always great to play in front of Gator fans you don’t normally have a chance to play in front of often. It was good seeing our guys celebrating with the Gator fans up in the stands.”
#24 Phlandrous Fleming Jr., Graduate Guard
On the defensive intensity…
“We tried to bring them down the whole game. They’re a really, really good basketball team. Late, we kind of got to them a little bit – that was our plan, so it went pretty well.”
On the final minute of the game…
“It was crazy. In the sequence, I thought I had got out of the charge circle and I thought I had beat him outside, but they said my right foot was on the back. We kept telling everybody, ‘Believe. Believe. Believe. We’re going to win this game.’ And that’s what a team does. We had a lot of hope. App just is a big-time player making big-time plays. He came in clutch in the end.”
On what it was like to win this game and in the locker room…
“It was beautiful. We are continuing to build, continuing to learn one another and continuing to love on each other. These guys in the locker room are amazing. All the coaches and coaching staff are amazing. The medical staff is amazing. We’re all just a unit on-and-off the court, so it was just a great thing to battle Ohio State. They are a great basketball team, and to beat them in the championship, it was so much fun. We’re having so much fun now and I’m just excited for our next step.”
#22 Tyree Appleby, Senior Guard
On his buzzer beater shot…
“It felt good, just seeing one go in. My teammates kept pushing me during the game saying, ‘Next shot, next shot will go in.’ They always kept me confident throughout the whole game.”
On the game-tying play at the end of the game…
“That’s one of coach’s secret plays. He called that play a possession before. He knew it was going to work and it worked to perfection.”
On what was going through his head with four seconds left…
“Just trying to get up a shot as quickly as possible. I knew we had four seconds left, but I looked up at the clock when MJ had the ball. I was just trying to get a clean look when the buzzer went off.”
On the intensity of the game…
“We’re a grade A team. We knew today was going to be tough. They have their bigs and their star player, E.J. Liddell. So, we knew this game was going to be tough. Going down by 10 late in the second half, we knew that we just had to come together both defensively and offensively. But, mostly defensively because that’s what we pride ourselves on – the defensive end. I think we picked it up on the defense. In every huddle, we knew… Our coaches and even our players on the bench, kept saying, ‘We’re going to win this game.’ So, we always had that confidence in us.”
On the post-game celebration…
“It was like a movie. It felt like a movie. Once I hit the shot, I looked up and saw my teammates right there with me. So, it was probably one of the best moments in my college career and in my life. It was just, ‘Wow.’ I would say that.”
