Florida vs Troy (Sunday, noon)

Florida vs. Troy

* When: Sunday, noon
* Where: Exactech Arena/O'Connell Center, Gainesville, Fla.
* Records: Florida (5-0); Troy (4-2)
* TV: SEC Network (Mike Morgan and Dane Bradshaw)
* Radio: Gator Sports Network from LEARFIELD (Mick Hubert and Lee Humphrey)

Projected Starters

Senior forward **Colin Castleton** (12) has three double-doubles in his first five games and is averaging a double-double on the season.

Florida	Position	Height / Weight	Class	Statistics
Anthony Duruji	F	6-7 / 220	R-Senior	10.0 ppg / 5.4 rpg
Colin Castleton	F	6-11 / 231	Senior	15.8 ppg / 10.4 rpg / 3.0 bpg
Tyree Appleby	G	6-1 / 163	Graduate	11.2 ppg / 3.0 rpg / 3.6 apg
Brandon McKissic	G	6-3 / 185	Graduate	6.4 ppg / 3.8 rpg
Myreon Jones	G	6-3 / 175	Senior	11.8 ppg / 4.0 rpg

Troy	Position	Height / Weight	Class	Statistics
Efe Odigie	F	6-9 / 250	Junior	13.0 / 5.3 rpg
Nate Tshimanga	F	6-10 / 230	Freshman	3.7 ppg / 3.7 rpg
Nick Stampley	F	6-6 / 210	Senior	4.3 ppg / 2.5 rpg
Desmond Williams	G	6-1 / 175	Sophomore	6.8 ppg / 2.3 rpg
Duke Deen	G	5-8 / NA	Freshman	13.3 ppg / 4.7 rpg / 4.3 apg

The Breakdown

UF players get with the Fort Myers Tip-Off championship trophy following their 71-68 win Wednesday night over Ohio State.

Setup / Series / Last Meeting

Florida is back in action for the first time since its buzzer-beating victory over Ohio State in the Fort Myers Tip-Off title game Wednesday night, courtesy of a 30-footer at the horn from fifth-year senior point guard Tyree Appleby. The Gators' opponent, Sun Belt Conference foe Troy, is the road block that stands in the way of the program's first 6-0 start under Coach Mike White. ... UF would love to keep its momentum going, what with a fourth game in its first seven against a Power 5 conference opponent up next. UF plays at Oklahoma Wednesday night in the first of a home-and-home series that will be returned in 2022. ... The Gators and Trojans have met just once, with UF winning 80-58 at home on Nov. 2009 at the O'Connell Center. In that one, freshman guard Kenny Boynton scored 23 points, while sophomore guard Erving Walker had 13 points (all in the second half), six rebounds and three assists in what was the third game of the season. ... UF is 15-6 all-time against teams currently in the Sun Belt, including 1-0 under White.

Tale of the Tape

Florida	2021-22 Stats	Opponent
75.4	Scoring	77.8
.432	Field-goal percentage	.455
.342	3-point percentage	.342
57.8	Scoring defense	66.0
.405	Field-goal percentage defense	.397
.276	3-point percentage defense	.276
14th	KenPom.com overall ranking	223rd
20th	KenPom.com offensive efficiency	275th
17th	KenPom.com defensive efficiency	156th
171st	KenPom.com adjusted tempo	146th

Team Snapshots

The Gators

By KenPom.com advance metrics, Florida is playing some of the best basketball in the country, especially on the defensive end. Yes, the Gators surrendered 53-percent shooting in the dramatic win over the Buckeyes, but they also had a 16-7 advantage in offensive rebounds and forced 18 turnovers that turned into 19 points. All those extra possessions helped offset UF's 37-percent

shooting for the game, including four of 14 from distance, and 10 missed free throws. ... Forward Colin Castleton has been remarkably consistent with his production, impacting the game on both ends and staying out of foul trouble. His shooting numbers, however, are down. Last year, Castleton hit 59.7 percent of his field goals and an outstanding 78.1 percent from the free-throw line. This year, while playing less minutes per game (29.4 last year to 28.2 this year), Castleton is 54.4 from the floor and just 51.5 after going 3-for-8 against the Buckeyes. ... Point guard (and hero) Tyree Appleby, at just 6-foot-1, often gets his shot blocked and has difficulty finishing against bigger players when attacking the basket. That's natural and a key reason he's making just 38 percent of his shots on the season (compared to 39 from 3). But when Appleby attacks, the defense collapses and (though he gets caught in mid-air sometimes) he has a knack of salvaging the play by finding a teammate. ... Forward/Guard Phlandrous Fleming Jr. had his UF coming-out party against OSU, finishing with 19 points off the bench and four steals. He also went 9-for-10 from the free-throw line, including four consecutive gigantic ones on a single trip, thanks to a technical on Buckeyes coach Chris Holtmann. Fleming, an elite defender who can guard four positions, is now the team's No. 4 scorer at 11.0 points, plus 2.6 boards. ... Forward Anthony Duruji gives the Gators a fifth player averaging in double figures. Once again, in the Ohio State game, he played to his role by floating around the basket and doing yeoman's work defending leading scorer and All-America forward E.J. Liddell, with his biggest defensive stand coming on the Buckeyes last (and failed) offensive possession that set up Appleby's scramble, open-floor 3. ... Guard Myreon Jones (7 points, 4 rebounds vs. OSU) has gotten off to some slow starts shooting this season, but he's going to be on the floor late no matter what because of his understated defense and ability to rebound. Jones didn't make his first (and only) 3 against the Buckeyes until 4:31 remained, but it came when UF was down by seven and started the Gators' run of seven straight to tie the game (and 15-5 run to finish the game). ... Tweeted this during the game the other night and will repeat it here: Brandon McKissic is the "Tasmanian Devil." That's a compliment. Anyone who has watched him play defense and fight for 50-50 balls understands. ... Reserve forward CJ Felder made three of his four shots and four of five free throws for 10 points, and grabbed five rebounds in just over 19 minutes last game. The Gators don't win it without him. ... It's now clear the top backup behind the front-line perimeter players is freshman Elijah Kennedy, who needed to pick up for Appleby (2nd foul with nine minutes left in the first half) and McKissic (hamstring injury) in the first half and gave the team four decent minutes, including a pretty baseline floater.

The Trojans

They're in the third season under Scott Cross, with a 24-41 record to show for it. Last season, Troy went 12-16 overall and 5-12 in the Sun Belt, which placed the team last in the SBC East Division

and 11th overall in the 12-team league. ... The Trojans opened with a 70-59 loss at Butler, then won their home opener against Jacksonville State in triple-OT before heading to Boca Raton, Fla., to play in the six-team, Florida Atlantic-hosted Paradise Classic. Troy lost its first game, 74-72, to North Dakota, but rebounded with wins over UT-Martin and FAU Monday. ... The Trojans play a full-court, high-pressure defensive game that has forced 20.0 turnovers and created 10.3 steals per game. ... Statistically, the Trojans offensive metrics were awful in '20-21. They were 322nd in offensive efficiency, 336th in field-goal percentage, 341st in 3-point percentage and 297th in 2-point percentage. Those numbers look much better this season, as Troy is playing with some confidence. ... Forward Nick Stampley was their but their best player last season, but has lead gotten off to a difficult start (28 percent from the floor, 17 from 3) after leading the team in scoring (12.6 ppg), minutes (30.2), field goals made (123) and attempted (279) in '20-21. ... Duke Deen is a freshman transfer from Panola Junior College in Texas and already leads the team in scoring, 3-pointers made, assists and steals. Duke Miles is a sophomore who has played in just two games, but scored 17 points in the team's win over FAU last week. When both Deen and Miles are in the game, the Trojans call it their "Double Duke" backcourt. ... Forward Efe Odigie started his collegiate career at Fresno State, then transferred to UTEP, where his first season he averaged 12.7 points and 10.1 rebounds. Odigie never approached those numbers his next two years and transferred to Troy. Now he's the team's No. 2 scorer and rebounder. ... The Trojans have two players, forward Kam Woods and guard Christyon "Spudd" Eugene, by way of Eastern Florida State College in Brevard County.

Numbers of Note

Then-UF center Patric Young flexes against Marquette during the 2012 SEC/Big East Challenge.

* .938 — Appleby's team-leading free-throw percentage after his streak of 27 consecutive makes dating back to last season was snapped in the Ohio State game. Appleby missed his first attempt, but made his remaining three, including two clutch ones with 2:57 left to tie the game at 65.

* 3 — Combined guys who go by "Duke" on the two benches Sunday. In addition to Deen and Miles for the Trojans, let's not forget beloved UF trainer Dave Werner, a.k.a. "Duke" (or "Duker").

* 4 — Castleton's place in the KenPom Player of the Year ratings standings. The guys ranked ahead of the UF big man: 1) Liddell (Ohio State); 2) Drew Timme (Gonzaga); 3) Keegan Murray (Iowa). That's it. Worth noting: Gonzaga's 7-1 freak Chet Holmgren (Gonzaga), a looming No. 5 pick in the 2022 NBA Draft, checks in fifth and Michigan's Hunter Dickinson, who the Wolverines recruited on top of Castleton and thus led to his UF transfer, is No. 9.

* 11 — Double-digit comeback wins for UF during White's seven seasons. The Gators trailed Ohio State by 10 early in the second half Wednesday. UF's first White-led comeback from such a deficit was the double-overtime, "Sweet 16" victory over Wisconsin (see Chiozza, Chris) in the 2017 NCAA Tournament at Madison Square Garden.

* 2012 — The last year the Gators opened a season 6-0. On Nov. 29 of that year, No. 7 Florida demolished Marquette 82-49 in a rematch of their NCAA "Sweet 16" game eight months earlier at Phoenix. The Gators got 17 points from freshman guard Michael Frazier that night and a stat-stuffing effort off the bench from junior Patric Young, who scored 10 points, grabbed 10 rebounds, blocked three shots and dished three assists.

Bottom Line

They aced their last prosperity test. How will the veteran Gators fare with this one?

Gators Calendar

Florida vs Troy (Sunday, noon)