Florida 106, Michigan 101 (2OT)
Jumpman Invitational
Spectrum Center | Charlotte, N.C.
Box Score<https://floridagators.com/documents/2023/12/19/2023.12.19_Florida_vs._Michigan.PDF> | Season Stats<https://floridagators.com/documents/2023/11/17/2023-24_UFStats.pdf> | Media Resources<https://www.dropbox.com/sh/iv6cc1nl98a49pv/AAD_LkZm6hKvVz7FpyboOUR1a?dl=0>
Records: Florida 8-3; Michigan 6-6
Next up for Florida: Grambling State, Friday, Dec. 22, 4 p.m., SEC+
Notable
* Zyon Pullin’s 3-pointer with less than :10 left in overtime forced the second extra period where the Gators pulled away, leading by as many as nine. Pullin finished with a team-leading and season-high 22 points and added six rebounds and five assists with just one turnover.
* Tyrese Samuel posted a season-best 21 points along with 11 rebounds, his fourth double-double as a Gator and his second 20/10 performance of the season.
* Will Richard scored 15 of his 17 points after the halftime break, shooting 5-for-7 from the field over the final 30 minutes of action.
* Florida shot 9-for-17 from the field (.529) during the overtime periods and limited Michigan to 3-for-12 (.250) from the field.
* Alex Condon added 14 points off the bench, as he and Pullin powered UF to a 43-3 bench scoring advantage.
* It marked Florida’s first double-overtime game since a 104-98 home win vs. Alabama on Jan. 4, 2020.
Head Coach Todd Golden
Opening statement…
“Just an incredible college basketball game, wasn’t it? Double overtime. Moments where it looked like… Both teams had moments in regulation and the first overtime where it looked like they were going to be victorious. Credit to them to cut that four-point lead in regulation. Credit to us, big shot by ZP [Zyon Pullin] to tie that thing and to take it to a second overtime. I’m just really proud of our team. They’ve done a really good job of executing and doing what we’re asking them to do. this should give us a lot of confidence as we move forward, as we get in these tough, highly-contested games against really good clubs that we can find a way to win. But obviously just really happy and excited for our team.”
On Micah Handlogten playing in front of a hometown crowd…
“Great guy, wonderful guy. Comes from a great family and just a really good up-and-coming player. He impacts the game in a lot of ways. He’s a great really good protector, a great rebounder, really easy to play with, really good feel, really good passer for a big. The collection of our frontcourt players is a huge, huge upgrade for us this year compared to last, and he’s a huge part of that.”
On what kind of litmus test this game was…
“A huge one for us, obviously. A neutral site game against a team that’s going to be playing for an NCAA Tournament bid. I know their win-loss record isn’t great, but they’ve played one of the toughest schedules in America and they played a lot of those teams really, really close. So we knew this was going to be a big challenge for us. Obviously, this is going to be a Quad 1 or Quad 2 win. We have three of those right now. At this point last year, we had zero of them. So you can see some of the growth in our program in some of the areas where we’re covering ground. Again, Coach [Juwan] Howard does a great job. They have really good players, man. It’s a really good team, and I think for our guys to be able to find a way to push through to victory tonight, there’s no other way than to gain confidence from that.”
Grad G Zyon Pullin
On Florida’s depth advantage helping the team stay energized as the game went on…
“Yeah, I think there were definitely some moments where you could hear them breathing a little harder. [We] just tried to make it difficult for those guys, some high-usage guys, and just try to get stops and keep defending, just try to make their looks a little tougher.”
On whether Dug McDaniel was a problem…
“I mean, he had 33. [Laughter] He’s a super-talented player. You know he’s going to get his looks, and I was just trying to make it a longer night.”
Junior G Will Richard
On Florida’s depth advantage helping the team stay energized as the game went on…
“We definitely saw them wearing down a little bit, but for us it was just keep trying to do what we were doing – pushing the pace, keep attacking them on defense and offense and just try to slow them down because we knew they were not going to play a lot of guys.”
On what got the team going when they fell behind by nine…
“For us, it was just showing fight. We’ve been in situations like that before and it all just goes back to executing and trusting your work. When it gets tough, I feel like we all pull together. We were like, ‘All right, let’s do this,’ and that was what flipped the switch for us.”
