#20/16 Florida (7-2/0-0 SEC) vs. Maryland (5-4/0-1 Big Ten)
Barclays Center (17,732)
Brooklyn, N.Y. Basketball Hall of Fame Invitational
Game 10 | Dec. 12, 2021 | 4:30 PM
2021-22 AT A GLANCE
• Florida and Maryland meet for the first time in 18 years, as the Gators return to Barclays Center and the Basketball Hall of Fame Invitational for the second time. Florida topped Providence in the event during its last visit to Brooklyn in Dec. 2019.
• The Gators are seeking their second win of the season vs. a Big Ten opponent, with a victory vs. Ohio State at the Fort Myers Tip-Off already in hand. Florida last had multiple wins vs. the Big Ten in 2006-07 with a regular season win vs. Ohio State before defeating both Purdue and Ohio State in the NCAA Tournament. The Gators last recorded multiple regular season wins vs. the Big Ten in 1987-88, topping Ohio State and Michigan State.
• 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 leads the SEC in 3-point percentage defense (.268) and ranks second in scoring defense (59.1), steals (10.9) and turnover margin (+5.9).
• Florida battled back from a double-digit deficit 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 wtih 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.
• The Gators will play at least 10 games against preseason AP top 25 opponents this season, including nonconference battles vs. Florida State, Ohio State and Maryland.
