Florida (8-3/0-0 SEC) vs. Stony Brook (7-4/0-0 America East)
Exactech Arena at the Stephen C. O’Connell Center (10,151)
Gainesville, Fla. Game 12
Dec. 22, 2021 | 2 PM
THE STORYLINE
2021-22 AT A GLANCE
• Florida wraps the early nonconference portion of its schedule with its first all-time meeting against Stony Brook. The Gators have won all nine meetings vs. America East opponents, including victories against Vermont and New Hampshire under head coach Mike White.
• UF’s 3-point defense has been elite in the Gators’ wins, limiting opponents to .242 shooting (30-for-124) from beyond the arc in those eight victories. Florida’s foes are averaging 3.8 made 3-pointers in those games, including four games with just two 3-pointers allowed.
• The Gators have had a balanced offensive attack, with six different players leading or co-leading the team in scoring at least once within the first eight games of the season. Florida’s leading or co-leading scorer has come off the bench four times this season.
• Florida is among the Southeastern Conference’s top three teams in blocked shots (second, 5.7) and scoring defense (third, 59.7).
• Florida battled back from a double-digit defi cit to knock off Ohio State on Tyree Appleby’s buzzer-beating 3-pointer to win the Fort Myers Tip-Off . Phlandrous Fleming led the Florida attack with 19 points and four steals, supported by Colin Castleton’s double-double with 11 points and 13 rebounds.
• The Gators rode a strong late-first half performance to victory against Cal, outscoring the Bears 29-10 over the final 8:10 of the opening frame. Four Gators scored in double figures, led by Colin Castleton’s 16 and Tyree Appleby’s 15.
• The Gators used a 13-0 second-half run to spark the win against 20th-ranked FSU, and Colin Castleton earned SEC Player of the Week honors with a 15-point, 16-rebound, six-blocked shot performance.
• After playing with no seniors on their roster last season, the Gators have six senior or graduate players on the active roster this season.
• The Gators are one of six teams nationally with a win in each of the past four tournaments and the only Southeastern Conference team to reach every NCAA Tournament in that span (since 2017).
• The Gators added a quartet of veteran impact transfers who have a combined 3,882 career points scored at their previous schools. Florida’s 2021 class of incoming transfers rates in the nation’s top two in career points (Arkansas, 4,125 points, 6 players).
• Guards Brandon McKissic (UMKC) and Phlandrous Fleming Jr. (Charleston Southern) both bring conference defensive player of the year and first-team all-conference credentials to Gainesville as graduate transfers.
• The Gators also added a pair of undergrad transfers in senior guard Myreon Jones (Penn State) and junior forward CJ Felder (Boston College). Jones led the Nittany Lions in scoring last season with 15.3 points per game and averaged 2.4 3-pointers made, while Felder posted 9.7 points and 5.9 rebounds per game last season.
