Maryland 70, #20 Florida 68
Barclays Center | Brooklyn, N.Y.
Basketball Hall of Fame Invitational
Box Score<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__floridagators.com_documents_2021_12_12_21-5F12-5F12-5FUF-5Fvs-5FMaryland.pdf&d=DwIFAg&c=sJ6xIWYx-zLMB3EPkvcnVg&r=o5LKAX7slotfFMyE71jI7L22NYBIi1-KbRGNSXudTPo&m=_5kUAP2ypVvdgDfIkOpOLcyAK5bDC8RFlxsLKZA5VrhxvgJQkEPGnW3xu1aN5ASz&s=QiXqObdOEX8uTN4rLoY73nzYiuBChW0LDCZZvwUqmT0&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=_5kUAP2ypVvdgDfIkOpOLcyAK5bDC8RFlxsLKZA5VrhxvgJQkEPGnW3xu1aN5ASz&s=_Gz2sRuB5MEfQvJfSyYlKqvZTKJo_cNfarn5G18pUVc&e= >
Notable
* Tyree Appleby hit five 3-pointers in the second half, but his potential game-winning attempt rimmed out at the buzzer. He finished with 15 points, matching his season high.
* Phlandrous Fleming Jr. posted 15 points and 11 rebounds, his first double-double as a Gator and 24th of his career.
* Florida’s frontcourt reserves had a solid first half as UF’s starting big men battled foul trouble. CJ Felder hit a season-high three 3-pointers, and Jason Jitoboh matched a career high with six points, all in the first half.
Head Coach Mike White
On if he was OK with the team’s effort…
“I thought we were a little bit starstruck in the beginning. You can usually tell by the team’s decibel level – how often and how loud they are talking to one another… I thought we got a little disjointed at times with guys coaching each other. It was a little bit different than the other night in our last outing on Wednesday, but that’s easier said than done when you have a sizeable lead on an opponent as opposed to a very talented Big Ten team. I thought we played very hard, especially down the stretch when the game was on the line.”
On Tyree Appleby’s performance…
“Tyree faced a little adversity there in the first half and early in the second half, but he was electric down the stretch. He gave us a chance, made some huge individual plays and played with a lot of heart, as he always does.”
On Maryland coming out with emotions in this game after what they’ve been through…
“We thought it could go one way or the other with a lot of emotions and a lot of unique stuff, if you will, that [Maryland] is dealing with. It was a big key for us to get off to a really good start. We thought that maybe if we could significantly outplay them in the first 10 minutes, it could be a huge advantage for us. Credit to them with what they’ve been through – Danny and his staff – they’re very good and they had a productive week.”
#24 Phlandrous Fleming Jr., Graduate Guard
On where he thought the game took a turn…
“I think we just, from the tip, weren’t totally locked in. I think we played really hard, we just weren’t totally locked in on the scout. We didn’t do what we were supposed to do.”
On if he was surprised on Maryland’s ability to hit three-pointers…
“No, our coaches did a great job of telling us we needed to make these guys bounce despite their percentages and despite individual players. These guys are really good and we didn’t do a good job in making them bounce. We gave them open looks and they were really good in making [threes]. It wasn’t that we were surprised, we knew coming in because they harped on it in our scouting reports.”
