2021–22 Florida Gators men's basketball team

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.

2021–22 Florida Gators men's basketball
Fort Myers Tip-Off Beach Division champions
NIT, Second Round
Conference	Southeastern Conference
Record	20–14 (9–9 SEC)
Head coach	Mike White (7th season) Al Pinkins (interim)
Associate head coach	Al Pinkins
Assistant coaches	Erik Pastrana Akeem Miskdeen
Home arena	O'Connell Center

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

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

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:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:   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:   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:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:   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:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:   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: "2022 Florida Basketball Commits". Scout.com. "Scout.com Team Recruiting Rankings". Scout.com. "2022 Team Ranking". Rivals.com.

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 Mike White (Mississippi) Assistant coach(es) Al Pinkens (NC State) Erik Pastrana (Florida State) Akeem Miskdeen (Queens (NC)) Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible (W) Walk-on Injured Current redshirt 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

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
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	Final
AP	—	24	23	14	20	—	—	—	—	—	—	RV	—	—	—	—	—	—			Not released
Coaches	—	—*	24	12	16	RV	RV	RV	RV	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—

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

See also

• 2021–22 Florida Gators women's basketball team