Rupp Arena| Lexington, Ky.
Box Score<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__floridagators.com_documents_2022_2_12_2022-5F02-5F12-5FUF-5Fat-5FUK.pdf&d=DwIFAg&c=sJ6xIWYx-zLMB3EPkvcnVg&r=o5LKAX7slotfFMyE71jI7L22NYBIi1-KbRGNSXudTPo&m=X7mvg-6HHcHcWv6saY0xsmshcdRVzP68jlW5CblX0VYpqqov1ZGf18YoSEYrO2Ai&s=i-WcSWdnvdWpjhkrdda12nSjpde12KUKCjmDdp_y3k8&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=X7mvg-6HHcHcWv6saY0xsmshcdRVzP68jlW5CblX0VYpqqov1ZGf18YoSEYrO2Ai&s=4qV7M4nEWoEHBoBznncWTZKISz5nd3U2yYZirLPxYtE&e= >
Records: Florida 16-9 (6-6 SEC); #5/4 Kentucky 21-4 (10-2 SEC)
Next up for Florida: at Texas A&M, Tuesday, 7 p.m. ET, SEC Network
Notable
* Colin Castleton led the Gators with 18 points and seven rebounds, shooting 8-for-12 from the field.
* Myreon Jones hit two of his three 3-point attempts and is shooting at a .615 clip from 3-point range over the past four games (16-for-26).
* Tyree Appleby re-aggravated a thigh bruise just 6:30 into the game and was limited to eight minutes, returning briefly in the second half.
* Florida hit all of their season-low six free throw attempts. The Gators are shooting .810 from the charity stripe over the last seven games (102-for-126), averaging 14.6 made free throws per game in that span.
Head Coach Mike White
On his thoughts on the game and what led to Kentucky’s runs…
“Transition defense wasn’t our best effort of the season. The biggest key of the game for us was we started the game with less urgency needed, less communication level needed, especially our front court, we were behind the play, pointing at guys ahead, didn’t get to the level of the ball, didn’t cut to the ball which led to some open looks, and started the second half the same way after watching at halftime. Was disappointed in the start of the second half in terms of our energy level. Clawing our way back, I liked the position we were in early-to-mid second half, but then we had a couple of turnovers which led to easy baskets for them and it got out of hand. I thought for 30 minutes, we did some things that put us in position to come in here and be competitive down the stretch, and it fell apart on us.”
On losing Tyree Appleby early in the game…
“It was tough, just like losing anyone else. We have other guys sitting over there by us as well. Kentucky and everyone else has got some injuries. It’s part of the game and you hate it for Ty. He’s really played well as of late, especially down the stretch in some of these wins that we’ve had. He reaggravated an injury that occurred in the not so distant past. In terms of what he said at halftime, nothing. Duke Werner (Associate AD, Sports Health) deals with all of that, and he just tells us at the end of the day who is available and how guys feel. He thought he could give it a go, but obviously, he wasn’t himself.”
#12 Colin Castleton, Senior Forward
On the game and losing Tyree Appleby early…
“It was a bad loss. It just came down to them getting more rebounds, doing the little things better, hustling harder, and transition… They killed us. They outran us rim-to-rim and got so many more second-chance points. Oscar [Tshiebwe] got 10 of his own rebounds – they had 18 and he had 10 of them – and we only had five total. I have to do a better job. That was basically the summary of the game. And then Tyree… He’s one of the toughest dudes I’ve ever played with, so I already knew he was going to try and play but he obviously couldn’t really go with his injury. He’s one of the toughest guys I’ve ever played with.”
On what they did to come back within one…
“Just getting stops – that was the biggest [emphasis] at halftime. We were able to string some stops together and play some defense, which is what we pride ourselves on. But, we got demolished today on the defensive end in the second half. Just getting stops… They’re so good in transition that if you can stop them in the halfcourt, then it evens out. I feel like we were getting good stops, but in the second half, we just completely fell apart and didn’t do everything we were supposed to… Everybody.”
