Florida vs Texas A&M
When: 7:00 PM ET, Tuesday, February 15, 2022
Where: Reed Arena • College Station, TX
Tuesday’s game at Texas A&M just may fall into the “must win” category for Florida, even though the Aggies head into the contest riding an eight-game losing streak.
The Gators (16-9, 6-6 Southeastern Conference) are on the fringe of the conversation when it comes to NCAA Tournament bubble talk. With home games against No. 2 Auburn and No. 23 Arkansas to follow their trip to College Station, Texas, Florida can ill afford to trip up against the struggling Aggies (15-10, 4-8).
The Gators saw their four-game winning streak come to a halt with a 78-57 loss at then-No. 5 Kentucky on Saturday. Tyree Appleby aggravated a thigh bruise in a collision with Kentucky’s Sahvir Wheeler in the first half and wasn’t able to continue after a brief return.
“He thought he could give it a go, but obviously, he wasn’t himself,” coach Mike White said, via Gators Online.
Appleby originally was injured in Florida’s 72-63 win over Georgia on Wednesday.
In addition to games against Auburn and Arkansas, the Gators also have a rematch with Kentucky in Gainesville to close out the regular season.
“We’ve got six games left,” senior Colin Castleton said. “We have to control what we can and try to win every game.”
After starting league play with four consecutive wins, the Aggies have come up short in each of their last eight games, including four times at home — although they have been competitive in most of their losses. Their skid started with a six-point home loss to Kentucky and included an overtime defeat at Arkansas, two single-digit setbacks to LSU and a four-point loss to Missouri.
A 74-63 setback to South Carolina, 10-point loss at Tennessee and Saturday’s 75-58 drubbing at Auburn were the only defeats by 10 or more points.
Coach Buzz Williams cited live ball turnovers as an issue for the Aggies.
“We did do some good things,” Williams said after Saturday’s game. “Just not enough to win today.”
–Field Level Media