Florida Gators

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Florida will spend the next six days traveling 2,479 round-trip miles. The first stop on this two-game tour is to Jonesboro, Arkansas, where the 16th-ranked Gators play defending Sun Belt champion Arkansas State on Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. ET. The game is the first half of a Red Wolves basketball doubleheader.
 
After the game, the Gators will bus to Memphis, stay overnight and catch a flight to Illinois, where the team will spend Thanksgiving  Day before playing at Northwestern in Evanston on Friday at 8 p.m. ET.
 
The team returns to Gainesville on Saturday.
 
Florida vs. Arkansas State

• 3-game Series: UF leads 3-0 (UF Home: 2-0; Away: 0-0; Neutral: 1-0)

 
Quick Scout on the Red Wolves

• Florida has won all three previous meetings between the two teams, including last year's 76-72 thriller in Gainesville.
• Arkansas State, which is the defending Sun Belt Conference champion, has won a program-record 25 straight games home games dating back to the 2013-14 season; the streak is the fourth longest active streak in the nation.
• ASU won a school-record 26 games last year
• ASU is the second school from the Sun Belt Conference Florida is playing this season, having earned an 85-33 win against South Alabama in the season-opener on Nov. 11.
• A-State head coach Brian Boyer's next win will be the 300th of his 10-year career - all with the Red Wolves.

 
Last Time UF and A-State Played: Florida 76, Arkansas State 72 (Dec. 7, 2015 - O'Connell Center * Gainesville, Fla.)

• Trailing by 11 points with 4:47 left in the third, the Gators rattled off 12 consecutive points, with then-senior Cassie Peoples' layup and three-point play capping the run and retaining the lead (53-52) for the first time since the 1:05 mark of the second quarter.
• Arkansas State eventually tied things up in the final 90 seconds, but two free throws from then-junior Ronni Williams and Peoples' dagger in the paint allowed Florida to close out its seventh consecutive victory.
• The game featured 11 tied scores and six lead changes.
• Peoples provided 13 points on 6-of-9 shooting, with three of those baskets coming at critical junctures of the game for the Gators. Her final basket, a driving teardrop in the lane, gave Florida a four-point lead with 41.8 seconds to play and all but sealed the win.

 
Returning from Last Year's Thriller

• This year's game will have an entirely new look!
• Of the 72 points Arkansas State scored in last year's meeting against Florida, only three points were scored by members on the current roster - a three-pointer by Brittany Fowler.
• 58 of Florida's 76 points were scored by a member on the Gator's current roster.

 
Terrific Gator Trio

• Eleanna Christinaki, Haley Lorenzen and Ronni Williams have been UF's top three scorers in each of the Gators three games this season - and all score in very different ways.
• Christinaki, a sophomore, is a guard who can shoot from anywhere on the court, is a fantastic passer (led UF in assists last year) and can create her own shot. She is contributing 22.0 points, 7.0 rebounds and 3.3 assists.
• Lorenzen, a junior, has a great rapport with fellow frontcourt member Williams and knows how to get her the ball. Coach Butler stated that Lorenzen had extended her shooting range and Lorenzen backed that up by hitting the first three-pointer of her career during the win against Temple (Nov. 19). Entering the season, Lorenzen had not even attempted a three-pointer. She is averaging 17.0 points and 5.7 rebounds.
• Williams, the lone four-year senior, runs the floor like a guard and has been seen on numerous occasions snaring a defensive rebound, dribbling the length of the court and sinking the layup. Williams, who has been UF's leading scorer each of the last two years, is averaging 14.7 points and a team-best 8.0 rebounds.

 
Quotes from the Court – UF Head Coach Amanda Butler
On preparing for Arkansas State:

• "It was similar preparing for them like it was for South Alabama in that they are a team that played us very tough at home last year and is very well coached. Arkansas State's arena is very much like UTC's in that many teams don't go in there and win. They are a drastically different team than they were last year. They had a lot of graduation losses, but in terms of their style, how aggressive they are, how strong they are defensively – it's a team that really plays hard and those teams, to me – especially playing them early in the season – are especially dangerous because you don't know exactly what to expect from them from of personnel level. They've had three games that we've watched. Their energy is really scary. Their defensive intensity is something we have to pay a lot of attention to and make sure we're handling the details in our offense. We know they'll be ready for us, there's no question."

 
 
Gator Pronunciations from this release:

• ELEANNA CHRISTINAKI: L-ee-on-uh chris-tin-OCK-ee

 
 
Game Day Information

• Who: #16/23 Florida (3-0, 0-0 SEC) at Arkansas State (0-3)
• When: Tue., Nov. 22 * 6:30 pm ET/5:30 pm CT
• Where: Convocation Center (10,563) * Jonesboro, Arkansas

 
Pre-Game Notes

• Florida [direct link]
• Arkansas State [direct link]

 
Game Coverage & More!

• Radio: LIVE on ESPN Gainesville 95.3 with Adam Schick & Brittany Davis
• Internet Audio: LIVE thru FloridaGators.com (FREE) [direct link]
• Television: none
• Streaming Video: astateredwolves.com [direct link]
• Internet Scoring: LIVE link through FloridaGators.com [direct link]

 
Opening Tip

• Florida has won all three previous meetings between the two teams, including last year's 76-72 thriller in Gainesville.
• Tuesday's game is the home opener for Arkansas State; it's also a doubleheader with the Red Wolves men's team.
• Tuesday is 'day 2' of Florida's six-day road trip, with the Gators continuing on after tonight's game to play at Northwestern Friday.

 
 
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