Notable
* The Gators lost All-SEC big man Colin Castleton to a broken hand during the contest.
* Florida’s youth stepped up, as sophomores Kowacie Reeves and Will Richard scored 13 points each and freshman Riley Kugel posted 12.
* It was Reeves’ second straight double-figure game off the bench, along with his 14-point showing vs. Vanderbilt last outing.
* Kugel has averaged 15.0 points per game over the last three.
* Myreon Jones led the team with 15 points and hit a season high five 3-pointers (5-for-7). Kyle Lofton rounded out the Gators’ five double-figure scorers, chipping in 10 points and seven assists.
* After Ole Miss cut Florida’s lead to 47-43 with 14:49 to play, the Gators went on a 15-3 run to open up a 16-point lead at the 10-minute mark, 62-46.
* Florida’s .592 field goal percentage marked the team’s highest in SEC play and second-highest overall this season (.621 vs. FAMU).
Note: Postgame press conferences occurred before official word on Castleton’s injury.
Head Coach Todd Golden
On Colin Castleton…
“Yeah, obviously it didn’t look great. We’re still waiting to hear final word on what happened. Obviously, we have a game on Saturday no matter what, so we’re gonna have to, if he’s gonna be out for an extended period of time, it’s next man up and really proud of Jason [Jitoboh] tonight. A guy that’s been playing three, four or five minutes a game comes out and, I’m not sure when Colin [Castleton] went out to injury around 12 minutes or something like that, he played 12 straight minutes in the game, and incredible effort. To be honest, I didn’t know he was gonna be able to do that. I thought we were going to have to get him a rest around eight trying to stretch him out, but he looked great out there. I thought he did a wonderful job defensively, did a decent job on the defensive glass, he was plus six and did a great job of stepping up in that moment. I’m keeping my fingers crossed, but I’m also going to be a realist on the Colin situation and if we don’t have you know, Jason and obviously CJ [Felder] being back will be beneficial and we’ll have to have a lot of guys step up.”
On the team’s depth…
“Myreon [Jones] had five defensive rebounds. Colin only played 21 minutes only scoring three points. If you’d asked me before the game, ‘Hey, how do you like your chances if Castleton only plays 20 minutes and scores three points?’ I’d have said, ‘Man, we’re going to be in for a tough one.’ So the fact that we won that game by 15 speaks to the depth and the performance of those other guys on the roster. MJ [Myreon Jones] going five-for-seven from three. I told him in the locker room, obviously super thrilled with the way he shot the ball. I thought his biggest play was when he dove on the loose one late, for lack of better term, iced the game. That was a great leadership moment. I thought Kyle [Lofton] did a great job controlling the game all 40 minutes, only two turnovers. He did a great job handling their double teams and their hard shows and the trap. Riley [Kugel] found some great backdoor cuts, hit a big three off the ball screen. [Kowacie Reeves] gave us great minutes, great finishes, two big three, so the list goes on and on. But that’s the type of effort you need for multiple guys when your best player goes out with an injury. So really proud of the way everybody stepped up.”
On the message at halftime…
“We were up by 10, but the fundamentals of our game were not good. We were up by 10, but we talked about being process over results. We were getting crushed on the boards and we’re throwing the ball over the gym. The fact we were up 10 was because we were making every shot. We were 14-for-21 at halftime, I believe something like that. It’s a tough formula for winning, making every shot, especially with this team. So we knew that if we wanted to really win this game and win it the right way, we’re gonna have to limit their second chances and do a much better job taking care of the ball. We did both of those much better in the second half compared to the first half.”
Freshman G Riley Kugel
On responding from first half turnovers….
“The first half we had nine turnovers, Coach came back in the locker room and said we need to tighten up, so we just got back out of there, played basketball how we know how to play, and we just controlled it well. “
On his confidence after strong performances recently…
“I’d say it’s pretty high. Like y’all saw in the first half of the season it wasn’t really there, but I just kept pushing, so my confidence is really high right now, and it’s getting me to where I need to be.”
Sophomore G Kowacie Reeves
On operating in the game without Colin Castleton…
“Last year, my freshman year we were without Colin, for a good little while, so it’s like next man up mentality. We trust J [Jason Jitoboh] to have Colin’s back if he can’t go, so I wasn’t alarmed at all.”
On his strong performance…
“Just embracing my role on the team, understanding it more, and just going out and playing basketball, not thinking too much about outside stuff.”
Sophomore G Will Richard
On the team’s outside shooting…
“I feel like it did us well, getting back going from outside. Definitely helped us build confidence for the next few games we have, to get back on track.”
On the second-chance defense..
“We knew they were a really good rebounding team, so just making sure that we got tight and didn’t give them any easy second-chance points. Making sure everyone crowded the rebounder, and just trying to box out harder, everybody going to their assignment and just trying to do the best we can to get them off the glass.”
