Gators at a Glance
* Florida makes its 12th all-time appearance in the National Invitation Tournament, earning a No. 4 seed. The Gators have advanced as far as the NIT semifinals three times previously, in 1986, 1992 and 2008.
* Todd Golden is the second head coach in Florida history to lead the Gators to postseason play in his first year as head coach.
* Colin Castleton earned first-team All-SEC honors from the coaches and USA Today and second-team from the AP, as well as Defensive Player of the Year by USA Today and All-Defensive Team by the coaches.
* Riley Kugel earned SEC All-Freshman honors from the league’s coaches after finishing the regular season with eight straight games in double figures, averaging 18.3 points over that stretch. That streak marked the longest by a UF freshman since Bradley Beal had 10 double-figure SEC games in a row in 2011-12. Kugel’s 12.6 points per game in conference play was also the most since Beal (14.4 ppg).
* Will Richard posted a big week for the Gators to close the regular season, dropping a career-high 24 points at Georgia, including 5-for-8 from the 3-point line, and adding an 18-point performance vs. LSU. He shot 8-for-14 from 3-point range over the Gators’ final two regular season games and looks to bounce back from a 1-for-7 game in the SEC Tournament.
* With Riley Kugel’s career-high 24 vs. Kentucky and 20 on the road at Vanderbilt, he became the first Florida freshman with back-to-back 20-point games since Kenny Boynton (2009-10).
* Colin Castleton’s injury has posed a significant loss for the Gators as he led UF in scoring (16.0), rebounding (7.7), blocked shots (78) and free throws made (113). His 3.0 blocked shots per game rank fourth nationally.
* Kyle Lofton has a team-high 107 assists and 34 steals, and Will Richard paces Florida with 51 made 3-pointers and a .402 3-point percentage.
* Todd Golden is Florida’s only first-year head coach with multiple top-25 wins since John Lotz in the 1973-74 season, as UF has downed #2 Tennessee and #20 Missouri. Only Golden, Lotz and Tommy Bartlett (three, 1966-67) have multiple ranked wins as a first-year coach in UF history.
* Prior to his injury, Colin Castleton had four straight 20-point games, including a 29-point, 10-rebound double-double at #3 Alabama. He had also led the Gators in scoring in eight consecutive contests.
* Colin Castleton’s 20 points and nine rebounds led the Gators’ win vs. #2 Tennessee, along with Kyle Lofton’s 14 points and four rebounds. Both Lofton and Will Richard posted a +26 plus-minus. The win marked Florida’s sixth all-time top-2 win and matched the highest ranked home win in program history.
* With his outing at Kentucky, Colin Castleton became the first player since Dwyane Wade 20 years ago (3/8/03 vs. UK) to post 25 points, eight rebounds, five assists, three blocked shots and a steal against an SEC team.
* Florida turned in a complete performance vs. South Carolina, where Castleton’s 18 points led five scorers in double figures and the Gators dished a season-high 21 assists vs. five turnovers. Myreon Jones flirted with a triple-double with 10 rebounds and eight assists to go along with nine points and zero turnovers.
* In UF’s win at Mississippi State, Colin Castleton posted 13 points, while Will Richard added 12 on 4-for-5 shooting from 3-point range. Kyle Lofton and Myreon Jones combined for 11 assists and zero turnovers.
* Colin Castleton earned SEC Player of the Week honors on Jan. 16 behind strong performances in wins at LSU and vs. #20 Missouri. At LSU, Castleton posted 18 points and five blocks. He followed up with an all-around performance against Mizzou, tallying 16 points, 13 rebounds, six assists, three steals and two blocked shots.
