2021–22 Florida Gators men's basketball team

2021–22 Florida Gators men's basketball
Fort Myers Tip-Off Beach Division champions
NIT, Second Round
ConferenceSoutheastern Conference
Record20–14 (9–9 SEC)
Head coach
Associate head coachAl Pinkins
Assistant coaches
  • Erik Pastrana
  • Akeem Miskdeen
Home arenaO'Connell Center
Seasons
2021–22 Southeastern Conference men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
No. 14 Auburn 15 – 3   .833 28 – 6   .824
No. 16 Kentucky 14 – 4   .778 26 – 8   .765
No. 15 Tennessee † 14 – 4   .778 27 – 8   .771
No. 8 Arkansas 13 – 5   .722 28 – 9   .757
LSU 9 – 9   .500 22 – 12   .647
Alabama 9 – 9   .500 19 – 14   .576
South Carolina 9 – 9   .500 18 – 13   .581
Texas A&M 9 – 9   .500 27 – 13   .675
Florida 9 – 9   .500 20 – 14   .588
Mississippi State 8 – 10   .444 18 – 16   .529
Vanderbilt 7 – 11   .389 19 – 17   .528
Missouri 5 – 13   .278 12 – 21   .364
Ole Miss 4 – 14   .222 13 – 19   .406
Georgia 1 – 17   .056 6 – 26   .188
† 2022 SEC tournament winner
Rankings from AP poll

The 2021–22 Florida Gators men's basketball team represented the University of Florida during the 2021–22 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The team was led by seventh-year head coach Mike White, and played their home games at the O'Connell Center in Gainesville, Florida as a member of the Southeastern Conference. They finished the season 20–14, 9–9 in SEC Play to finish a five-way tie for fifth place. As the No. 9 seed in the SEC tournament, they lost in the second round to Texas A&M. They received an at-large bid to the National Invitation Tournament where they defeated Iona in the first round before losing to Xavier.

On March 13, 2022, head coach Mike White left the school to take the head coaching position at Georgia.[1] On March 18, the school named San Francisco head coach Todd Golden the team's new head coach.[2]

Previous season

In a season limited by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the Gators finished the 2020–21 season 15–10, 9–7 in SEC play to finish in fifth place. They defeated Vanderbilt in the second round of the SEC tournament before losing to Tennessee in the quarterfinals. They received an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament as the No. 7 seed in the South region. There they defeated Virginia Tech before losing to Oral Roberts in the second round.

Offseason

Departures

Name Number Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Reason for departure
Ques Glover 0 G 5'11" 182 Sophomore Knoxville, TN Transferred to Samford
Tre Mann 1 G 6'5" 190 Sophomore Gainesville, FL Declare for 2021 NBA draft
Samson Ruzhentsev 2 F 6'7" 192 Freshman Moscow, Russia Signed to play professionally in Serbia with Mega Basket
Omar Payne 5 F 6'10" 230 Sophomore Kissimmee, FL Transferred to Illinois
Noah Locke 10 G 6'3" 203 Junior Baltimore, MD Transferred to Louisville
Osayi Osifo 15 F 6'7" 225 Junior Bedworth Park, South Africa Transferred to Jacksonville
Scottie Lewis 23 G 6'5" 189 Sophomore Hazlet, NJ Declare for 2021 NBA draft

Incoming transfers

Name Number Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Previous School
Myreon Jones 0 G 6'3" 175 Senior Birmingham, AL Penn State
CJ Felder 1 F 6'7" 231 Junior Sumter, SC Boston College
Brandon McKissic 23 G 6'3" 185 Graduate Student Ferguson, MO Kansas City
Phlandrous Fleming Jr. 24 G 6'5" 205 Graduate Student Athens, GA Charleston Southern
Tuongthach Gathek 32 F 6'9" 172 Sophomore Portland, ME Trinity Valley CC

2021 recruiting class

College recruiting information
Name Hometown High school / college Height Weight Commit date
Kowacie Reeves
#14 SF 		Macon, GA Westside High School 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Apr 30, 2020 
Star ratings: Scout:5/5 stars   Rivals:5/5 stars   247Sports:4/5 stars    ESPN:4/5 stars   ESPN grade: 84
Elijah Kennedy
SF 		Virginia Beach, VA Green Run High School 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Aug 2, 2021 
Star ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals: N/A   247Sports: N/A    ESPN:4/5 stars   ESPN grade: NR
Overall recruiting rankings:
  • Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight.
  • In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale.

Sources:

  • "2021 Florida Basketball Commits". Scout.com.
  • "Scout.com Team Recruiting Rankings". Scout.com.
  • "2021 Team Ranking". Rivals.com.

2022 recruiting class

College recruiting information (2022)
Name Hometown High school / college Height Weight Commit date
Malik Reneau
#6 C 		Hialeah Gardens, FL Montverde Academy 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 215 lb (98 kg) Sep 1, 2021 
Star ratings: Scout:4/5 stars   Rivals:4/5 stars   247Sports:5/5 stars    ESPN:4/5 stars   ESPN grade: 89
Denzel Aberdeen
#41 SG 		Orlando, FL Dr. Phillips High School 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 175 lb (79 kg) Sep 19, 2021 
Star ratings: Scout:3/5 stars   Rivals:3/5 stars   247Sports:3/5 stars    ESPN:4/5 stars   ESPN grade: 80
Overall recruiting rankings:
  • Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight.
  • In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale.

Sources:

Roster

2021–22 Florida Gators men's basketball team
Players Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown
G 0 Myreon Jones 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 175 lb (79 kg) Sr Penn State Birmingham, Alabama
F 1 C. J. Felder 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 231 lb (105 kg) Jr Boston College Sumter, South Carolina
G 3 Alex Klatsky (W) 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 185 lb (84 kg) So Ranney School Colts Neck, New Jersey
F 4 Anthony Duruji 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 209 lb (95 kg) RS Sr Louisiana Tech Germantown, Maryland
G 10 Elijah Kennedy 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Fr Green Run Virginia Beach, Virginia
F 11 Keyontae Johnson 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 229 lb (104 kg) Sr Oak Hill Academy Norfolk, Virginia
F 12 Colin Castleton 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 240 lb (109 kg) Sr Michigan DeLand, Florida
G 14 Kowacie Reeves 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 182 lb (83 kg) Fr Westside Macon, Georgia
G 20 Jack May (W) 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 175 lb (79 kg) So Saint Andrew's School Boca Raton, Florida
G 22 Tyree Appleby 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 163 lb (74 kg) RS Sr Cleveland State Jacksonville, Arkansas
G 23 Brandon McKissic 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 185 lb (84 kg) GS Kansas City Ferguson, Missouri
G 24 Phlandrous Fleming Jr. 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 205 lb (93 kg) GS Charleston Southern Athens, Georgia
F 32 Tuongthach Gatkek 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 172 lb (78 kg) So Trinity Valley CC Portland, Maine
C 33 Jason Jitoboh 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 305 lb (138 kg) Jr Hamilton Heights (TN) Abuja, Nigeria
G 44 Niels Lane 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 206 lb (93 kg) So Rosselle Catholic Freehold, New Jersey
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • (W) Walk-on

Roster

Schedule and results

Date
time, TV 		Rank# Opponent# Result Record High points High rebounds High assists Site (attendance)
city, state
Exhibition
November 1, 2021*
7:00 p.m., SECN+ 		Embry–Riddle W 80–57 
 20 – McKissic   9 – Castleton   7 – Appleby  O'Connell Center 
Gainesville, FL
Regular season
November 9, 2021*
8:00 p.m., SECN+ 		Elon W 74–61  1–0
  20 – Jones   7 – Duruji   4 – Castleton  O'Connell Center (9,275)
Gainesville, FL
November 14, 2021*
1:00 p.m., ESPN 		No. 20 Florida State
Rivalry 		W 71–55  2–0
  15 – Tied   16 – Castleton   5 – Appleby  O'Connell Center (10,011)
Gainesville, FL
November 18, 2021*
6:00 p.m., SECN+ 		No. 24 Milwaukee
Fort Myers Tip-Off campus site-game 		W 81–45  3–0
  19 – Castleton   10 – Castleton   5 – Tied  O'Connell Center (8,223)
Gainesville, FL
November 22, 2021*
8:30 p.m., FS1 		No. 23 vs. California
Fort Myers Tip-Off Beach Division semifinals 		W 80–60  4–0
  16 – Castleton   8 – Castleton   3 – Tied  Suncoast Credit Union Arena (3,500)
Fort Myers, FL
November 24, 2021*
8:30 p.m., FS1 		No. 23 vs. Ohio State
Fort Myers Tip-Off Beach Division championship game 		W 71–68  5–0
  19 – Fleming Jr.   13 – Castleton   3 – Castleton  Suncoast Credit Union Arena (3,500)
Fort Myers, FL
November 28, 2021*
12:00 p.m., SECN 		No. 23 Troy W 84–45  6–0
  12 – Tied   8 – Castleton   4 – Jones  O'Connell Center (8,875)
Gainesville, FL
December 1, 2021*
8:00 p.m., BSSUN/BSFL 		No. 14 at Oklahoma L 67–74  6–1
  17 – Fleming Jr.   11 – Castleton   2 – Tied  Lloyd Noble Center (9,539)
Norman, OK
December 6, 2021*
6:00 p.m., SECN+ 		No. 20 Texas Southern L 54–69  6–2
  15 – McKissic   5 – Castleton   3 – Tied  O'Connell Center (7,623)
Gainesville, FL
December 8, 2021*
7:00 p.m., SECN 		No. 20 North Florida W 85–55  7–2
  26 – Castleton   8 – Castleton   3 – Tied  O'Connell Center (7,705)
Gainesville, FL
December 12, 2021*
4:30 p.m., BTN 		No. 20 vs. Maryland
Basketball Hall of Fame Invitational 		L 68–70  7–3
  15 – Tied   11 – Fleming Jr.   4 – Tied  Barclays Center (7,124)
Brooklyn, NY
December 18, 2021*
1:00 p.m., BSSUN 		vs. South Florida
Orange Bowl Classic 		W 66–55  8–3
  12 – Castleton   11 – Castleton   5 – McKissic  FLA Live Arena 
Sunrise, FL
December 22, 2021*
2:00 p.m., SECN+ 		Stony Brook W 87–62  9–3
  20 – Fleming Jr.   7 – Tied   7 – Appleby  O'Connell Center (8,063)
Gainesville, FL
January 5, 2022
7:00 p.m., ESPN2 		No. 15 Alabama L 70–83  9–4
(0–1) 		 19 – Castleton   7 – Tied   5 – Appleby  O'Connell Center (10,210)
Gainesville, FL
January 8, 2022
8:00 p.m., ESPN2 		at No. 9 Auburn L 73–85  9–5
(0–2) 		 22 – Castleton   10 – Castleton   9 – Appleby  Auburn Arena (9,121)
Auburn, AL
January 12, 2022
7:00 p.m., ESPN2 		No. 12 LSU L 58–64  9–6
(0–3) 		 19 – Castleton   9 – Castleton   3 – Jones  O'Connell Center (10,110)
Gainesville, FL
January 15, 2022
1:00 p.m., SECN 		at South Carolina W 71–63  10–6
(1–3) 		 14 – Tied   7 – Castleton   6 – Appleby  Colonial Life Arena (10,813)
Columbia, SC
January 19, 2022
6:30 p.m., SECN 		Mississippi State W 80–72  11–6
(2–3) 		 22 – Duruji   5 – McKissic   5 – Tied  O'Connell Center (10,008)
Gainesville, FL
January 22, 2022
1:00 p.m., SECN 		Vanderbilt W 61–42  12–6
(3–3) 		 11 – Appleby   10 – Jitoboh   4 – McKissic  O'Connell Center (10,345)
Gainesville, FL
January 24, 2022
7:00 p.m., SECN+ 		at Ole Miss L 54–70  12–7
(3–4) 		 12 – Jitoboh   5 – Jitoboh   4 – Appleby  SJB Pavilion (6,273)
Oxford, MS
January 26, 2022
6:00 p.m., ESPN2 		at No. 18 Tennessee L 71–78  12–8
(3–5) 		 16 – Tied   6 – Duruji   7 – Appleby  Thompson–Boling Arena (20,789)
Knoxville, TN
January 29, 2022*
4:00 p.m., ESPN2 		Oklahoma State
Big 12/SEC Challenge 		W 81–72  13–8
  21 – Appleby   6 – Fleming Jr.   4 – Appleby  O'Connell Center (10,056)
Gainesville, FL
February 2, 2022
3:00 p.m., SECN 		at Missouri W 66–65  14–8
(4–5) 		 17 – Appleby   6 – Fleming Jr.   3 – Fleming Jr.  Mizzou Arena 
Columbia, MO
February 5, 2022
3:30 p.m., SECN 		Ole Miss W 62–57 OT 15–8
(5–5) 		 17 – Castleton   7 – Tied   10 – Appleby  O'Connell Center (10,007)
Gainesville, FL
February 9, 2022
6:30 p.m., SECN 		Georgia W 72–63  16–8
(6–5) 		 23 – Jones   9 – Castleton   3 – Appleby  O'Connell Center (9,929)
Gainesville, FL
February 12, 2022
4:00 p.m., ESPN 		at No. 5 Kentucky
Rivalry 		L 57–78  16–9
(6–6) 		 18 – Castleton   7 – Castleton   4 – Castleton  Rupp Arena (20,383)
Lexington, KY
February 15, 2022
7:00 p.m., SECN 		at Texas A&M L 55–56  16–10
(6–7) 		 15 – Castleton   15 – Castleton   3 – Lane  Reed Arena (6,349)
College Station, TX
February 19, 2022
2:00 p.m., ESPN 		No. 2 Auburn W 63–62  17–10
(7–7) 		 26 – Appleby   8 – Castleton   5 – Fleming Jr.  O'Connell Center (11,255)
Gainesville, FL
February 22, 2022
7:00 p.m., ESPN2 		No. 18 Arkansas L 74–82  17–11
(7–8) 		 29 – Castleton   8 – Fleming Jr.   5 – Jones  O'Connell Center (9,023)
Gainesville, FL
February 26, 2022
12:00 p.m., ESPN2 		at Georgia W 84–72  18–11
(8–8) 		 27 – Fleming Jr.   12 – Castleton   7 – Appleby  Stegeman Coliseum (9,070)
Athens, GA
March 1, 2022
8:30 p.m., SECN 		at Vanderbilt W 82–78  19–11
(9–8) 		 18 – Castleton   8 – Castleton   6 – Fleming Jr.  Memorial Gymnasium (6,568)
Nashville, TN
March 5, 2022
2:00 p.m., CBS 		No. 7 Kentucky
Rivalry 		L 63–71  19–12
(9–9) 		 23 – Castleton   11 – Castleton   8 – McKissic  O'Connell Center (9,788)
Gainesville, FL
SEC tournament
March 10, 2022
12:00 p.m., SECN 		(9) vs. (8) Texas A&M
Second Round 		L 80–83 OT 19–13
  21 – Reeves   9 – Lane   4 – Fleming Jr.  Amalie Arena (10,295)
Tampa, FL
NIT tournament
March 16, 2022*
9:00 p.m., ESPN2 		(3) Iona
First Round – Dayton Bracket 		W 79–74  20–13
  18 – Tied   13 – Castleton   5 – Appleby  O'Connell Center (3,023)
Gainesville, FL
March 20, 2022*
1:00 p.m., ESPN 		(3) at (2) Xavier
Second Round – Dayton Bracket 		L 56–72  20–14
  14 – Reeves   8 – Fleming Jr.   3 – Tied  Cintas Center (3,437)
Cincinnati, OH
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
All times are in Eastern Time.

Source[3]

Rankings

See also: 2021–22 NCAA Division I men's basketball rankings
Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
— = Not ranked RV = Received votes
Week
PollPre12345678910111213141516171819Final
AP—24231420——————RV——————Not released
Coaches——*241216RVRVRVRV—————————

*AP does not release post-NCAA tournament rankings. No Coaches Poll for Week 1.

See also

References

  1. ^ "Georgia hires Mike White: Bulldogs poach next men's basketball coach from SEC rival Gators". CBSSports.com. Retrieved April 1, 2022.
  2. ^ Hall, Graham. "Florida hires Todd Golden as men's basketball coach". USA TODAY. Retrieved April 1, 2022.
  3. ^ "2021–22 Men's Basketball Schedule". Florida Gators. Retrieved October 8, 2021.