No. 2 Mississippi State Up Next for Gators (Thursday, 8:32 pm ET)

Florida travels the 537 miles from Gainesville to Starkville, Miss., to play No. 2 Mississippi State on Thursday and tip-off from Humphrey Coliseum is scheduled for 8:32 p.m. ET/7:32 p.m. CT.

This is the first of two regular-season meetings between Florida and Mississippi State. The teams will square off again in 14 days in Gainesville (Feb. 8).

Hi Mom!

Thursdayâ€™s game will be televised by SEC Network.
Pam Ward and Gail Goestenkors are set to call the action.
Florida has at least 12 games set to be televised this season.

Streaking Along

Florida has won its last two games, including Sundayâ€™s 61-60 thriller against Ole Miss.
MSU is one of two undefeated teams remaining in NCAA Division I play, with UConn the other, having ripped off its first 20 games to start the year.

Check this Regular-Season-Ending Stretch!

The Gators begin a nine-game stretch against eight teams currently ranked in the top-25.
The run takes Florida through the end of the regular season:

o Jan. 25 at Mississippi St. – RPI 3

o Jan. 28 Georgia – RPI 22

o Feb. 5 at Missouri – RPI 11

o Feb. 8 Mississippi State – RPI 3

o Feb. 11 at South Carolina – RPI 21

o Feb. 15 at Texas A&M – RPI 15

o Feb. 18 Vanderbilt – RPI 131

o Feb. 22 Tennessee – RPI 9

o Feb. 25 Georgia – RPI 22

Florida vs. Ranked Teams

Florida has lost its a last eight games against nationally ranked teams, including two this season: Florida State (Nov. 17) and Ohio State (Dec. 6).
The Gators are 1-18 all-time against No. 2-ranked teams, with the win a 79-78 overtime victory against LSU on Feb. 16, 2006. That Tiger team was headlined by SEC greats Seimone Augustus, who scored 35 that game, and Sylvia Fowles, who recorded 23 points and 16 rebounds. The Gators were led by Sha Brooksâ€™ 25 points and Dalila Esheâ€™s 22 points, but it was Sarah Lowe who hit two free throws with 3.2 seconds remaining in overtime to seal UFâ€™s first-ever win against a top-4-ranked team.

We Back Pat

All 14 SEC teams will participate in the SEC initiative â€˜We Back Pat,â€ which honors the late Tennessee womenâ€™s basketball coach Pat Summitt and helps bring awareness to the Pat Summitt Foundation and finding a cure for Alzheimerâ€™s, the disease that eventually took her life.
Purple is the color for Alzheimerâ€™s and the teams will be wearing special shooting shirts during the game and incorporating the color purple into their clothing on the bench.

Something in Common

Current Florida Athletics Director Scott Stricklin made Cameron Newbauer his first Gator head coaching hire since assuming his position in November 2016.
Before arriving in Gainesville, Stricklin was the AD at Mississippi State (2010-16), where he hired current Bulldogs Head Coach Vic Schaefer.
Stricklinâ€™s second Gator coaching hire – football coach Dan Mullen, who spent the previous nine seasons (2009-17) as Mississippi Stateâ€™s head coach.

Close Ones

Overall this season, the Gators have played 10 games decided by 10 points or less (4-6 record overall, 1-4 SEC).

Gators vs. Bulldogs: The Series

46-Game Series: UF leads 25-21 (UF Home: 13-7; Away: 8-13; Neutral: 4-2)
Streak: Mississippi State has won the last three games in the series since Florida rattled off a nine-game streak.
Long Streak: The 46-game series against MSU is the eighth-longest in UF history.

Gators for THREEEEEE!

Entering Thursdayâ€™s game, the Gators are averaging 9.1 three-pointers per game and converting at a 32.3 percent clip.
Thru games played Jan. 18, UF ranks tied-No. 17 in the country in threes per game; and No. 11 in total three-pointers made (181).
Florida has converted double-digit threes in NINE games this year, most recently 10 vs. Kentucky (Jan. 11).

You Hit a 3 … and You Hit a 3 …

It took just six games for TEN of the 11 players on the scholarship roster to hit at least one trey this season.

If the season ended today after playing just 20 games …

The Gatorâ€™s 181 three-pointers would be TIED for the fifth-most in a season in program history.
Floridaâ€™s 32.3 percent 3-point shooting effort would rank as the tied-for-seventh best in a season in program history.

What Else do the Gators do well?

Aside from hitting the three at an SEC-leading rate (all games), Florida does not get fouled. The Gators rank No. 3 in the country in staying out of foul trouble, being whistled for just 12.6 fouls per game.

What Just Happened

Florida overcame a 13-point deficit to start the fourth quarter by outscoring Ole Miss, 18-4, in the final period to post a 61-60 victory on Sunday.
The Gators scored the first 14 points of the fourth quarter and took a 59-56 lead with 2:50 remaining. The Rebels came back with the next two buckets for a one-point edge, before Haley Lorenzen grabbed an offensive rebound and put it in with 27 seconds remaining that proved to be the game-winner.
Ole Miss had a chance to win it with 9.1 seconds to play, but Lorenzen blocked Alissa Alstonâ€™s layup and Dyandria Anderson grabbed the rebound with one second remaining. The Gators inbounded the ball and secured their second consecutive SEC victory after dropping their first five.
Lorenzen, who finished with a game-high 18 points and a career-high 13 rebounds, scored seven of her points during the fourth quarter on 3-of-4 shooting, that included a deep three-pointer she launched as the shot clock expired with 5:20 remaining that cut Floridaâ€™s deficit to three points, 56-53, and sent the Gatorsâ€™ fans into a frenzy.

Gator Watch

Through 20 games, Florida is averaging 69.6 points per game, with all five starters averaging double-figure scoring.
Top two Gator scorers: Funda Nakkasoglu (14.2 ppg) and Haley Lorenzen (12.9 ppg)
Top two rebounders: Haley Lorenzen (9.6 pg) and Delicia Washington (9.0 pg)
Assists leaders: Delicia Washington (71 total, 3.6 pg) and Dyandria Anderson (62 total, 3.1 pg)

Whoâ€™s Hot!

During the last FOUR games, itâ€™s been Floridaâ€™s frontcourt that has led the team offensively
Haley Lorenzen is averaging 14.8 points and 10.8 rebounds, while hitting 51.1 percent from the floor, 75 percent (3-4) from the arc and 76.9 percent (10-13) from the line during the last four games.
Fellow forward Paulina Hersler is averaging 13.8 points and 7.0 rebounds over the last four games, while hitting a team-best 9-23 (39.1 percent) from the arc.
Sophomore Delicia Washington continues to show her diversity on the court and is averaging 10.8 points, 10.3 rebounds with a team-best 14 assists and seven steals over the last four games.

VIDEO Preview Interviews

Assistant Coach Laura Harper