Florida Men’s Basketball (12-6, 2-3 SEC) vs. Mississippi State (13-5, 2-3 SEC)
Florida Game Notes<https://floridagators.com/documents/2024/1/23/2024.01.24_MississippiState.pdf> | 2023-24 Media Guide<https://floridagators.com/documents/2023/10/30/2023-24_Media_Guide_Web.pdf> | Media Resources<https://www.dropbox.com/sh/iv6cc1nl98a49pv/AAD_LkZm6hKvVz7FpyboOUR1a?dl=0>
Exactech Arena at the Stephen C. O’Connell Center | Gainesville, Fla.
Wednesday, Jan. 24, 2024 | 8:30 p.m.
TV/Streaming
SEC Network | ESPN App<http://www.espn.com/watch/player?id=f350fb5e-f0e3-4129-86e4-0f08655a5db5>
Play-by-Play: Mike Morgan | Analyst: Mark Wise
Radio
Gator Sports Network from LEARFIELD | FloridaGators.com<https://floridagators.com/showcase?Live=5293> | The Varsity Network App | SiriusXM 119 or 190 & SXM App<https://sxm.app.link/961>
Play-by-Play: Sean Kelley | Analyst: Lee Humphrey | Producer/Engineer: Steve Egan
The Tip-Off
* Florida readies for two home games this week after earning a road win at Missouri on Saturday. Florida and Mississippi State split a pair of meetings last season with the Gators winning in Starkville before MSU took a one-point overtime decision in the SEC Tournament.
* Five Gators scored in double figures in Saturday’s victory at Mizzou, led by Tyrese Samuel’s 17, while Micah Handlogten posted a 10-point, 13-rebound double-double.
* Zyon Pullin not only leads the SEC in assist/turnover ratio (4.1) and rates second in assists (4.9), but has also scored in double figures in all 15 appearances this season.
* Florida has three of the top 10 offensive rebounders in the SEC in Micah Handlogten (3.8), Tyrese Samuel (3.2) and Alex Condon (2.3). Handlogten averages 3.4 second-chance points per game, getting more than half of his points from the offensive glass (54 of 104).
2023-24 Highlights
* Florida picked up a road win at Missouri, led by Tyrese Samuel’s 17 points and a double-double from Micah Handlogten (10 points, 13 rebounds). The Gators matched a season low by committing just eight turnovers.
* Five Gators in double figures highlighted UF’s win vs. Arkansas, as Riley Kugel scored 20 points off the bench to lead the way and Tyrese Samuel added a double-double with 17 points and 11 rebounds.
* Alex Condon’s 10 offensive rebounds at Ole Miss marked the most by any Gator in available records (since 1996), and he is the only UF freshman over that same time with multiple 15-rebound games (16 vs. Merrimack).
* Zyon Pullin scored 22 and Tyrese Samuel posted 21 points and 11 rebounds in the Gators’ double overtime victory vs. Michigan in Charlotte. Pullin’s 3-pointer with 8.9 seconds remaining in the first overtime forced the second extra session, where an 11-0 UF run put the game away.
* In his homecoming game at Lakeland vs. East Carolina, Walter Clayton Jr. exploded for 20 first-half points on the way to a team-leading 22. Clayton scored 10 of the Gators’ first 12 points out of the gate playing just down the road from his hometown of Lake Wales.
* Will Richard earned Orange Bowl Classic MVP honors as he scored 19 of his 21 points in the second half to lead the Gators vs. Richmond. Richard posted a solo 9-0 run as he hit three 3-pointers in a 90-second span that helped create separation vs. the Spiders.
* Walter Clayton Jr. scored 21 of his 26 points vs. Merrimack in the second half. Freshman Alex Condon added his first career double-double with 12 points and 16 rebounds. Condon’s 16 boards were the most by a Florida freshman since Al Horford’s 18 vs. Alabama during the 2004-05 season.
* The Gators topped Pitt in the first game of the NIT Season Tip-Off behind 28 points from Walter Clayton Jr. on 6-for-8 shooting from 3-point range, a 20-point, 10-rebound performance from Tyrese Samuel and a 24-to-8 assist-to-turnover showing as a team.
* Florida blitzed Florida State, leading 27-5 before taking a 52-22 advantage into halftime. The Gators shot .643 and held the Seminoles to .258 from the field during the first half. Walter Clayton Jr. led UF with 19 points, while Zyon Pullin and Tyrese Samuel added 15 each and Thomas Haugh grabbed 10 rebounds.
