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The No. 24 Gators men’s basketball team takes on the No. 18 South Carolina Gamecocks in Columbia, South Carolina, Saturday at noon.
Saturday plans in South Carolina 🫡
@ South Carolina
@ 12 PM pic.twitter.com/5JliN725DU— Florida Gators Men’s Basketball (@GatorsMBK) March 2, 2024
Recent Play
The Gators are coming off of an 83-74 win against the Missouri Tigers Wednesday. The Tigers almost completed a second half comeback, but Florida secured the win. UF recorded its 20th win of the season and 10th SEC win.
20 W!!!!
🔸First time since 2017-18 we have a 20-win regular season. pic.twitter.com/7KUbIKTzVZ
— Florida Gators Men’s Basketball (@GatorsMBK) February 29, 2024
The Gamecocks pulled out a close win Wednesday against Texas A&M 70-68. South Carolina earned its 23rd win of the season against the Aggies and 11th conference win.
SEC Matchup
The Gators lead the overall series with the Gamecocks 48-28. However, Florida is 5-5 in its last 10 matchups with South Carolina. UF’s road record is 3-5, and they’ll have to face a tough environment in Columbia where the Gamecocks are 13-2 at home.
The Gators have won nine out of their last 11 games and are looking for their second top-25 road win this season.
Walter Clayton Jr. leads Florida with 470 total points and averages 16.8 points per game. Zyon Pullin and Tyrese Samuel are close behind averaging 15.3 and 13.5 per game, respectively. Samuel leads the team in rebounds, averaging 7.9 a game. Additionally, Micah Handlogten averages 7.6 per game. The Gators lead the nation in rebounds per game with 43.68.
POSTER 🖼#GoGators | 📺SECN pic.twitter.com/HA89dsfgQu
— Florida Gators Men’s Basketball (@GatorsMBK) February 29, 2024
Meechie Johnson leads South Carolina averaging 13.8 per game. B.J. Mack is right behind him with 13.6 per game. Collin Murray-Boyles leads the team in rebounds per game, averaging 5.1. Similar to the Gators, the Gamecocks have won nine out of their last eleven games.
Derek Scott described how this South Carolina team is not about one individual, but a team effort.
The Gators have a tendency to have a strong start to games, but they’ve struggled to hold second half leads. Florida has pulled off multiple close wins this season, but have blown double-digit leads in the process.
NCAA Tournament
With the SEC Tournament and NCAA Tournament approaching, the next three games are imperative for both teams. Right now, both the Gamecocks and the Gators are slotted to be a No. 6-seed in March Madness.
Tip-off is set for noon at Colonial Life Arena.
