Florida Gators

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Florida plays its 14th game this season away from Gainesville, as the Gators travel to Starkville and face undefeated and fourth-ranked Mississippi State on Thursday at 9 p.m. ET/8 p.m. CT.
 
SEC Network will televise the game live, with Courtney Lyle and Debbie Antonelli calling the action.
 
Opening Tip

• Ronni Williams continues to lead the SEC in scoring with 17.8 points per game.
• Mississippi State is one of three remaining undefeated NCAA Division I women's teams, with UConn (Jan. 10 def. South Florida) and Virginia Tech (Jan. 11 at Miami) the others.
• Thursday's game is the second consecutive game for Florida against top-5-ranked teams, having played No. 5 South Carolina at home on Sun., January 8.
• Florida is 0-3 this season against nationally-ranked teams, including 0-2 versus top-10 opponents.
• The Gators played their first 12 games on the road trip due to the $64.5 million renovations to its newly renamed home arena - Exactech Arena at the Stephen C. O'Connell Center.

 
The Series: Florida vs. Mississippi State

• 45-Game Series: UF leads 25-20 (UF at Home: 13-7; Away: 8-11; Neutral: 4-2)
• Current Streak: MSU 2-0
• UF's last win in Starkville: January 10, 2013 (61-55)
• Last Year: MSU 76-70 (Jan. 3, 2016) in Gainesville
• Of Note: the 45 games played against MSU are the eighth most versus any Gator opponent

 
Florida vs. Top-5 Teams

• The Gators are 5-64 all-time against teams ranked in the top-5 of the national polls, with four of those wins against teams ranked No. 5.
• Prior to this season, South Carolina was the last top-5-ranked team UF has played and that was when the Gamecocks were No. 2 on Feb. 11, 2016.
• UF's last win versus a top-5 team was when the unranked Gators traveled to Knoxville and stunned the Lady Vols, 95-93 in overtime on Feb. 26, 2006.

 
Flashback

• In last year's game against Mississippi State, the Gators scored 70 points.
• Only 25 of those points were scored by Gators who will be suiting up on Sunday.

 
What Just Happened

• Florida dropped an 81-62 home decision to No. 5 South Carolina on Sunday and fell to 0-3 in SEC action.
• Mississippi State is a perfect 17-0 this season - one of three undefeated teams remaining in NCAA Division I women's basketball (thru games played Jan. 9). Most recently, the Bulldogs defeated Tennessee, 74-64, for the first time ever in Knoxville.

 
Gator Watch

• Ronni Williams - the lone four-year senior on the roster - led UF in scoring as a sophomore and junior and is doing so again this season.
• Williams became the 24th Gator to score 1,000 career points, doing so on Dec. 3 vs. Long Beach State.
• She became the 15th Gator to collect 700 career rebounds, eclipsing the mark on January 5 at LSU.
• In addition to leading the SEC in scoring with 17.8 points per game, Williams also leads the Gators in rebounding (8.1 pg) and is second for assists (45) this year.

 
Who's Hot

• During the last SIX games, Ronni Williams, the lone four-year senior on the team, is contributing 22.2 points and 7.8 rebounds per game, while hitting 61.6 percent (53-86) from the field.
• Classmate Tyshara Fleming has corralled a team-best 9.2 rebounds over the last SIX games, in addition to 10.0 points and sinking 50.0 percent (20-40) from the floor.

 
Quotes from the Court – UF Head Coach Amanda Butler
"Mississippi State is very good. Obviously, they haven't lost yet and have really tested themselves this year. They have size. They have potentially the best scorer in our league in Victory Vivians. I think on most nights they have the best point guard in our league in Morgan William. They are a very complete package. They hang their hat on their defense. They play great at home and they're drawing really well there and it's a fun place to play for them."
 
"We're excited about the ways that we have gotten better and things we've learned through these trials and tribulations we've been through at this point."
 
 
 

Florida's Possible Starting Lineup
POS	##	Gator	HT	CL	PPG	RPG
F	1	Ronni Williams	6-0	SR	17.8	8.1
F	44	Haley Lorenzen	6-3	JR	13.1	6.7
C	24	Tyshara Fleming	6-4	SR	7.8	7.0
G	00	Delicia Washington	5-10	FR	9.6	5.3
G	11	Dyandria Anderson	5-10	JR	5.9	4.2

 
 

Mississippi State's Probable "Starting 5"
Pos	##	Name	HT	YR	PPG	RPG
F	3	Breanna Richardson	6-1	SR	7.9	4.9
C	45	Chinwe Okorie	6-5	SR	9.6	6.6
G	00	Dominique Dillingham	5-9	SR	5.9	2.8
G	2	Morgan William	5-5	JR	11.4	3.9a
G	35	Victoria Vivians	6-1	JR	16.7	4.4

 

Stat Comparisons (All Games)
Stat Check	Florida	Mississippi St.
Record	9-7	17-0
FG%	46.5%	46.8%
3FG%	26.8% (57-213)	37.5% (94-251)
FT%	64.8% (195-301)	70.6% (276-391)
Points Per Gm	74.8	79.6
Points Allowed	66.0	53.3
FG% Defense	37.0%	37.6%
3FG% Defense	32.2%	23.6%
Scoring Margin	+8.8	+26.4
Reb Margin	+7.4	+9.5
Assists PG	16.4	15.4
Turnover Margin	-1.6	+8.0
Steals PG	10.4	10.3
Blocks PG	4.3	3.4

 

Stat Comparisons (SEC Games, ONLY)
Stat Check	Florida	Mississippi St.
Record	0-3	3-0
FG%	41.2%	42.3%
3FG%	31.3% (10-32)	29.5% (40-57)
FT%	65.7% (44-67)	70.2% (40-57)
Points Per Gm	68.0	69.0
Points Allowed	80.3	54.3
FG% Defense	45.0%	31.5%
3FG% Defense	40.4%	13.0%
Scoring Margin	-12.3	+14.7
Reb Margin	+8.3	+5.0
Assists PG	12.0	13.3
Turnover Margin	-10.7	+3.3
Steals PG	8.0	10.0
Blocks PG	2.3	3.0

 
Game Day at a Glance

• Who: Florida (9-7, 0-3 SEC) at #4 Mississippi State (17-0, 3-0 SEC)
• When: Thu., January 12 * 9 pm ET/8 pm CT
• Where: Humphrey Coliseum (10,500) * Starkville, Miss.

 
Game Notes

• Florida
• Mississippi State 

 
Game Coverage & More!

• Radio: LIVE on ESPN Gainesville 98.1 with Adam Schick & Brittany Davis
• Internet Audio: LIVE thru FloridaGators.com (FREE)
• Television: SEC Network with Courtney Lyle and Deb Antonelli 
• Streaming Video: ESPNWatch app 
• Internet Scoring: LIVE through Statbroadcast 

 
Gator Pronunciations:

• DYANDRIA Anderson: dee-ANN-dree-uh
• TYSHARA Fleming: tie-SHEER-uh
• DELICIA Washington: duh-LEE-shuh

 
 
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