Florida Gators

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The Gators cap an exciting weekend at Exactech Arena on Sunday at 1 p.m., when Florida plays host to Texas A&M.
 
SEC Network will televise the game live with Paul Sunderland, Nell Fortner, Andy Landers and Steffi Sorensen all covering the action.
 
This is the first of two meetings this season between the Gators and Aggies. The teams will meet again in College Station on Thur., February 2 - just 18 days from Sunday.
 
We Back Pat

• Both teams will be wearing special pre-game warmup shirts honoring the late Pat Summitt, whose foundation is dedicated to finding a cure for Alzheimer's. Purple is the designated color for the disease.

 
Twice the Fun

• During the 2016-17 season's 16-game SEC schedule, the Gators will play Georgia (their 'permanent' rival), Tennessee and Texas A&M twice.

 
The Series: Florida vs. Texas A&M

• 5-Game Series: UF trails 1-4 (UF Home: 1-1; Away: 0-3; Neutral: 0-0)
• Current Streak: Florida 1-0
• Last Year: UF won 83-81 (Feb. 4, 2016) in Gainesville
• Of Note: The teams met once prior to TAMU becoming a member of the SEC. It was an NCAA Tournament game that also was the final collegiate game played by then-Gator senior Amanda Butler

 
A&M's SEC Stat Leaders

• No. 1 scorer: Danni Williams, 17.8 ppg
• No. 1 rebounder: Anriel Howard, 11.5 rpg
• No. 1 assists: Curtyce Knox, 9.9 apg
• No. 2 FG%: Khaalia Hillsman, 63.5%

 
Gators vs. Aggies: Historic First Meeting

• Florida and TAMU played once prior to the Aggie's membership into the SEC – March 16, 1994.
• Texas A&M won inaugural meeting in the series between the Gators and Aggies, taking the 78-76 win in the first round of the 1994 NCAA Tournament.
• The game was played in College Station, Texas, however Florida was the higher-seed (No. 4) and would have been awarded the host site if a Rod Stewart concert was not already scheduled in the O'Connell Center that weekend.
• Instead, the Gators took their game on the road in what would be the final collegiate game for Amanda Butler, who was Florida's senior captain. Butler scored 15 points, hitting four three-pointers, while dishing five assists in 39 minutes of action.

 
Flashback

• In last year's game against Texas A&M, the Gators scored 83 points.
• 48 of those points were scored by Gators who will be suiting up on Sunday.

 
 

Florida's Probable "Starting 5"
Pos	##	Name	HT	YR	PPG	RPG
F	1	Ronni Williams	6-0	SR	17.4	7.9
F	44	Haley Lorenzen	6-3	JR	12.5	6.5
C	24	Tyshara Fleming	6-4	SR	7.7	6.9
G	00	Delicia Washington	5-10	FR	10.1	5.3
G	11	Dyandria Anderson	5-10	JR	6.0	4.1

 

Texas A&M's Probable "Starting 5"
Pos	##	Name	HT	YR	PPG	RPG
F	4	Anriel Howard	5-11	SO	11.3	11.5
F/G	21	Jasmine Lumpkin	6-0	JR	8.7	4.0
C	00	Khaalia Hillsman	6-5	JR	17.1	8.0
G	11	Curtyce Knox	5-7	RSR	9.6	9.9a
G	12	Danni Williams	5-10	SO	17.8	2.7

 

Stat Comparisons (All Games)
Stat Check	Florida	Texas A&M
Record	9-8	13-4
FG%	46.2%	45.5%
3FG%	27.6%	33.1%
FT%	65.0% (208-320)	75.9% (286-377)
Points Per Gm	73.2	74.8
Points Allowed	66.9	62.5
FG% Defense	37.6%	40.8%
3FG% Defense	31.7%	31.8%
Scoring Margin	+6.3	+12.2
Reb Margin	+6.6	+9.5
Assists PG	15.9	16.9
Turnover Margin	-2.5	+1.3
Steals PG	10.0	8.1
Blocks PG	4.2	3.6
Stat Comparison (SEC Games, ONLY)
Stat Check	Florida	Texas A&M
Record	0-4	3-1
FG%	40.8%	45.7%
3FG%	35.0 (14-40)	32.4% (12-37)
FT%	66.3 (57-86)	84.8% (67-79)
Points Per Gm	63.2	75.8
Points Allowed	80.8	68.5
FG% Defense	45.5%	44.5%
3FG% Defense	35.3%	27.9%
Scoring Margin	-17.5	+7.3
Reb Margin	+5.0	+5.0
Assists PG	11.3	15.8
Turnover Margin	-12.2	+0.5
Steals PG	7.0	6.8
Blocks PG	2.8	3.3

 
 
 
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 Gators in scoring with 17.5 points per game, Williams also leads the Gators in rebounding (7.9 pg) and is second for assists (46) this year.

 
Who's Hot

• During the last SIX games, Ronni Williams, the lone four-year senior on the team, is contributing 20.3 points and 7.7 rebounds per game, while hitting 59.5 percent from the field.
• Classmate Tyshara Fleming has corralled a team-best 8.7 rebounds over the last SIX games, in addition to 8.8 points.

 
SEC Veteran Coaches

• Amanda Butler is in her 10th year at her alma mater and is tied for the second-longest active tenured head coach in the SEC behind Texas A&M's Gary Blair, who is in his 14th season.
• Kentucky's Matthew Mitchell also is in his 10th season - he was hired 10 days (April 23, 2007) after the Gators hired Butler (April 13, 2007).

 
 
What Just Happened

• Florida dropped an 82-49 decision to No. 4 Mississippi State on Thursday evening in Starkville and fell to 0-4 in SEC action.
• Texas A&M is 3-1 in SEC play and is coming off a big 90-65 home win against Arkansas. The Aggies also defeated Kentucky in Lexington, 77-68, to start their two-game win streak.

 
What's Next for the Gators

• UF has its SEC bye on Thur., January 19.
• The Gators return to the court on Sun., Jan. 22, when the team plays at Georgia.

 
 
Notes from Florida's Last Game: lost at No. 4 Miss. State, 82-49, Jan. 12

• The Bulldogs used a 14-0 run early in the first quarter to take a 20-5 lead and maintained that spread through the end of the quarter.
• Florida scored the first five points of the second quarter with a bucket from Ronni Williams and a three-pointer from Dyandria Anderson and closed to within 24-14, before MSU closed the half on a 24-8 march for a 48-22 halftime advantage. Florida never recovered.

 
Game Day at a Glance

• Who: Florida (9-8, 0-4 SEC) hosts rv/rv Texas A&M (13-4, 3-1 SEC)
• Where: Exactech Arena (10,151) * Gainesville, Florida
• When: Sun., January 15 * 1 pm ET

 
Game Notes

• Florida
• Texas A&M 

 
Game Coverage & More!

• Radio: LIVE on ESPN Gainesville 98.1 & SportsRadio 930 with Adam Schick & Brittany Davis
• Internet Audio: LIVE thru FloridaGators.com (FREE)
• Television: SEC Network with Paul Sunderland, Nell Fortner, Andy Landers and Steffi Sorensen
• Streaming Video: ESPNWatch app
• Internet Scoring: LIVE through FloridaGators.com

 
Opening Tip

• This is the first of two meetings this season between Florida and Texas A&M. The teams will meet again in 18 days on February 2 in College Station.
• The top two scorers in the SEC will be on the court Sunday, with TAMU's Danni Williams (17.8 ppg) just edging UF's Ronni Williams (17.4 ppg).

 
Additional Hoopla

• There are a number of fun fan activities and giveaways for Sunday's game!

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