GAINESVILLE, FLA- Courtesy of excellent performances by Senior Guard Kyle Loften and Senior Center Colin Castleton, the Florida Gators (8-7, 1-2 SEC) defeated the Georgia Bulldogs (11-4, 1-1) 82-75 on January 7th, earning their first SEC-Conference Win of the season. In addition to this, the Gators have now won seven consecutive games against the Bulldogs, and also managed to spoil Head Coach Mike White’s return to the Stephen C. O’Connell Center Court. For reference, White served as Florida’s Head Coach from 2015-2022 before being fired after missing the NCAA March Madness Tournament, and was later hired by Georgia.
“Different, unique, glad it’s behind me,” White said following his return to Gainesville. “Would have been happier, obviously, if it was behind me with a win. … It was great to see a lot of people today, a lot of loved ones.”
In his first season as the Bulldogs’ Head Coach, White has done a remarkable job in leading a noticeable turnaround of Georgia’s Basketball program. At 11-4, Georgia has almost doubled their win total from last season’s mark of 6-26, and still has 16 games remaining this season. It’s worth noting that prior to Saturday’s loss to Florida, Georgia had won seven of their last eight games, including a 76-64 upset win against No. 22 Auburn.
In spite of White’s transition to Georgia, Florida has been doing just fine under first-year Head Coach Todd Golden, who previously served as the University of San Fransico’s Head Coach from 2020-2022. Through 15 games this season, Florida is 8-7, and twelfth in the SEC, just two games behind No. 4 Alabama for the top spot in the conference.
With this said, Florida’s early-season success can be attributed to the solid two-way play of Loften and Castleton. Following an excellent four-year stint at Saint Bonaventure University, Loften transferred to Florida for the 2022-2023 season, and is currently averaging 9.2 PPG, 2.5 RPG, and 3.5 APG on 40.2% shooting from the field in twelve starts. Meanwhile, Castleton has remained as a dominant force in the paint for the Gators, averaging 14.7 PPG, 7.5 RPG, 2.6 APG, 1.1 SPG, and 3.0 BPG while shooting 48.8% from the field in 15 starts.
Against Georgia, Loften and Castleton both had good statistical showing. In 33 minutes, Loften scored a season-high 18 points on 7-11 (63.6%) shooting from the field, along with three assists. Similarly, Castleton recorded a well-rounded stat line of twelve points, eight rebounds, five assists, and seven blocks on 5-8 (62.5%) shooting from the field in 34 minutes.
In addition to Loften and Castleton, three other Gators scored double-digit points in the tight win over the Bulldogs. First and foremost, Sophomore Guard Will Richard notched 14 points, nine rebounds, two assists, and one steal on 5-7 (71.4%) shooting from the field and 2-4 (50.0%) shooting from three-point range. Likewise, Sophomore Guard Kowacie Reeves (12/5/3) and Senior Guard Myreon Jones (13/3/2/3) played well off the bench, scoring twelve and thirteen points, respectively.
Although Georgia’s loss to Florida was their first since December Sixth, White had a few Bulldogs produce solid performances, most notably Senior Guard Terry Roberts. In 37 minutes, Roberts recorded 25 points, eight rebounds, four assists, and three steals, all team-highs. While Roberts shot just 7-22 (31.8%) from the field, the 6’3″, 180 pound Guard made four three-point shots and was 7-9 (77.7%) from the free-throw line.
Georgia relied heavily on Roberts for offensive production, as Junior Guard Kario Oquendo struggled mightily, scoring nine points on 3-10 (30.0%) shooting from the field and 1-5 (20.0%) from downtown. Outside of Roberts, Junior Forward Matthew-Alexander Moncrieffe (9/7/1) and Senior Center Braelen Bridges (10/5/0) both had nice games while in the starting lineup, and Jabri Abdur-Rahim pitched in twelve points and three rebounds in 23 minutes off the bench.
Following their seven-point win over Georgia, Florida will begin to prepare to play LSU (12-3, 1-2 SEC) on January 10th at 7:00 PM ET. Meanwhile, Georgia will travel back to Stegeman Coliseum to welcome Mississippi State (12-3, 1-2 SEC), who won eleven straight games to start the season before losing three of their last four matchups.