Florida Men’s Basketball Hosts Mississippi State

The Florida Gators are facing their sixth SEC team in a row tonight in the Stephen C. O’Connell Center, the Mississippi State Bulldogs.

We’re back in the O’Dome 🤝

🆚 Mississippi State
@ 8:30 PM#GoGators pic.twitter.com/jYRimP9Nal

— Florida Gators Men’s Basketball (@GatorsMBK) January 24, 2024

The Bulldogs currently stand at No. 10 in the SEC, while Florida trails close behind at No. 11. The Gators are coming off a solid win against the Missouri Tigers on Saturday.

https://twitter.com/GatorsMBK/status/1749461486492074197

“They are tough man. They are really tough,” Gators head coach Todd Golden said when asked about what he thinks of the Bulldogs.

Golden said the team always talks about “keys and personnel” for every game. He said his team does a good job at not turning the ball over, but that the communication needs some improvement.

He wants to limit three-pointers and hopes that Mississippi St. will “regress to the mean” for Wednesday’s game.

Players to Watch

Golden talked up sophomore guard Riley Kugel, saying that he brings a lot of value to the court.

“I’m waiting on a game for him where he kind of breaks out a little bit,” he said, “hits a couple threes, makes some big time plays, because we see that every day at practice.”

Golden said he sees Kugel getting more comfortable on the court.

Forward graduate student Tyrese Samuel had a great game against Missouri; he led the team with 17 points.

and-1 for #4 ⛓️ pic.twitter.com/77sLJvCOfk

— Florida Gators Men’s Basketball (@GatorsMBK) January 21, 2024

Beware of the Bulldogs

Neil Price, the play-by-play voice of Mississippi State, said that the Bulldogs have a much better offense than they did last year, but not so much on defense.

“Little bit of give and take,” Price called it. He said that when the defensive edge is shown, the team looks really good.

“I still think they play with great effort,” he said. “Effort, energy, all that has been there.”

Tipoff is set for 8:30 tonight.

Following this game, the Gators host the Georgia Bulldogs at home on Saturday.