Tag: Colin Castleton

Here’s how the Gators can take down Mississippi State on the road

Florida is looking to turn their win over Ole Miss into a winning streak in their Satrday afternoon romp with Mississippi State.

Florida, fresh off a much needed victory over the Ole Miss Rebels, tip off against the Mississippi State Bulldogs on Saturday afternoon. The Gators will be playing on the Bulldogs’ home court, but thus far, playing host has been far less advantageous than in years past without crowds able to fill stadiums with their cheers and boos.

The Mississippi State offense will be a much tougher obstacle to overcome than the mediocre effort mustered by the Rebels. The Bulldogs have a deadly one-two scoring punch in the form of guards Iverson Molinar and DJ Stewart Jr., each of whom are playing over 30 minutes per game and are outscoring every player on the Gators roster on a points-per-game basis. It would also be foolish to overlook forward Tolu Smith, who is a rebounding machine and had big scoring performances against Mizzou and Vanderbilt.

This game figures to be a good one – the ESPN Basketball Power Index gives the two teams a nearly even shot at victory – so what do the Gators need to do to pull off a win? Let’s take a look at three possibilities.

Betting odds for Florida men’s basketball vs. Mississippi State, per BetMGM

Everything you need to know to follow Florida basketball vs. Mississippi State

Castleton’s emergence among our takeaways from Florida’s comeback win over Ole Miss

Florida came back from down nine in the second half to take down the Rebels and avoid a third-straight loss. Here are our takeaways.

The Florida basketball team narrowly avoided suffering its third-straight loss at home against Ole Miss (6-5, 1-3 SEC) on Tuesday night, coming from behind to earn a 72-63 win on its home floor. Despite a strong start, the Gators allowed the Rebels to take the lead in the second half and hold onto it for most of the period. They led by as much as nine with less than seven minutes to play in the game.

But a late push brought the Gators within range, and a three from guard Noah Locke gave Florida its first lead since early in the frame. UF didn’t relinquish control, ending the game on a 14-0 run.

Florida (6-3, 3-2 SEC) desperately needed to win to remain competitive in the race for the SEC title. It was another flawed performance from coach Mike White’s team, and for most of the second half a victory didn’t look likely. But this team lives to fight another day and — more crucially — keeps its NCAA Tournament stock from falling even farther.

The Gators have a long way to go if they’re going to be competitive in March, but here are three things we can take away from this one.

This Florida Gator earned SEC Player of the Week for men’s basketball

Castleton’s emergence as a force in the paint has been a godsend for the Gators who are missing their star forward and point-scorer.

Florida Gators men’s basketball team got a rather pleasant surprise on Monday when the Southeastern Conference announced its weekly awards for men’s college basketball.

Colin Castleton, a junior transfer from the Michigan Wolverines who was permitted to play this season via an NCAA waiver, turned things up several notches over his past two games, leading the Gators to a pair of SEC wins despite the loss of star forward Keyontae Johnson. For his efforts, he earned SEC Player of the Week honors for Week 6 of conference play.

The 6-foot-11-inch center from Deland, Florida, started off the SEC schedule averaging just 6.5 points along with 4.5 rebounds and 1.3 blocks per over the first four games — all starts – in 19 minutes played on average. Since the team returned from Keyontae’s collapse, he has put 23 and 21 points up against the Vanderbilt Commodores and LSU Tigers, respectively — including an 11-for-13 performance against the former, in which he played a season-high 30 minutes.

Castleton’s emergence as a force in the paint has been a godsend for the Gators who are missing their star forward and point-scorer. Along with his defensive presence down low and ability to execute on the pick-and-roll, the former Wolverine could pay massive dividends for Mike White’s team this season.

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2020-2021 Florida Gators Men’s Basketball Profile Card: Colin Castleton

Castleton will be a fixture in the Gators’ lineup – he’s the longest big man the Gators have and he has added 16 pounds of muscle.

Name: Colin Castleton

Number: 12

Position: Center

Class: Junior

Height: 6’11”

Weight: 231 lbs

Hometown: Deland, FL

High School: Father Lopez Catholic

Twitter: @Castleton_

2019-20 Stats:

GP MIN FG% 3P% FT% REB AST BLK STL PF TO PTS
25 7.9 54.0 0.0 82.8 2.4 0.3 0.5 0.1 0.8 0.5 3.1

Overview:

The Gators landed Castleton as a transfer out of the University of Michigan. Coming out of Florida’s backyard as a native of Deland, Florida, the lengthy center was a highly regarded recruit in 2018 who had his pick of 21 schools to begin his college career. The big man played backup minutes for the Wolverines for his first two years in the NCAA, but seeking greener pastures, he came to UF to play as the starting center.

The former 4-star recruit hasn’t been able to do much before the 2020-21 season, but he’s been let loose by Mike White this season, tripling his minutes from last season. He’s proven valuable in the paint, exemplified by his performance against Vanderbilt in the Gators’ first game without Keyontae Johnson. He had the best night of his career thus far, putting up a pair of blocks, grabbing five rebounds and shooting 11-of-13 from the field. All of those shots came from within only a few feet of the rim, including four dunks.

It’s unclear how long Johnson will be out of action. However, if he misses considerable time, Castleton could see a boost in possessions as head coach Mike White looks for reliable mismatch options.

In all likelihood, Castleton will be a fixture in the Gators’ lineup through his junior and senior years. He’s the longest big man the Gators have to offer and he has added 16 pounds of muscle since his days as a prep player. As an old-school center, he probably won’t be prioritized at the next level, but he has the building blocks for an excellent player in the SEC.

Video:

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Colin Castleton and Scottie Lewis shine in the defeat of Vanderbilt

Florida defeated the Commodores in a 91-72 midweek matchup in their first game after losing Keyontae Johnson.

The Florida mens’ basketball team made their triumphant return to the court on Wednesday night, defeating the Vanderbilt Commodores with a final score of 91-72. The midweek matchup marks the beginning of the Gators’ conference schedule; the team cancelled the remainder of their non-conference games after losing Keyontae Johnson to a cardiac incident.

Vandy came out of the gate strong, playing competent offense and slowing down the Gators with good on-ball defense. A major factor in their early success was successfully shutting down starting Florida point guard Tre Mann, dogging him with double-teams and preventing him from making plays.

Gators head coach Mike White prepared his team well for this game, though. The offensive identity that served them so well in early games doesn’t work against better teams without Johnson at their disposal. Instead, they found their identity by playing old-school, physical basketball and limiting Vanderbilt’s opportunities.

Incredibly, center Colin Castleton was the leading scorer on either team. He scored 23 points by pounding the hoop on 11-of-13 shooting, all of those attempts coming in the paint. “Whenever they need me to do the dirty work, I’m all here for it,” said Castleton after the game. Scottie Lewis was another major factor in this game, scoring 16 points and accumulating 3 blocks.

There’s a whole lot of meat on this bone, as this team faced a whole slew of problems and won by implementing interesting solutions. Here are three things we observed during Florida’s victory over Vanderbilt.

Here are three keys to a Florida win vs Stetson on Sunday

The Gators are favored heavily to win their weekend matchup with the Hatters, and here’s what they can do to make it happen.

The Gators go into their third game of the season as victors in their first two contests. Their most recent game — a blowout against Boston College — was a huge confidence boost in this team’s ability to play at a high level on both ends of the court. With momentum on their side and another beatable team on the docket, it’s shaping up to be a fun afternoon for Florida fans.

The Stetson Hatters, who have lost both of their games on the young season, come to Gainesville licking their wounds after a loss to Miami that saw them walk off the court with a 22-point deficit. Their roster features two Preseason All-ASUN selections in center Mahamadou Diawara and guard Rob Perry. One under the radar player to keep an eye on is redshirt freshman Chase Johnston. He put up good numbers against Miami while the rest of his team stumbled.

There’s every reason to believe that Florida can win this game. ESPN’s basketball power index gives the Hatters only a 3 percent chance of victory. The odds are so in their favor of UF, this matchup is off the books at most betting sites. In the places you can gamble on the outcome, the Gators are favored by 21.5 points. However, there’s still no excuse to phone in their performance; upsets are an integral part of college basketball.

In that spirit, here are three things that Florida needs to accomplish to pull out a win on Sunday afternoon.

Three keys to a Florida Gators victory against Boston College

The Gators can’t afford to phone in their performance on Thursday evening – here are three things that need to happen for a Florida win.

The Gators are squaring off against the Boston College Eagles in their second and final game at the Bubbleville event at Mohegan Sun Area. With their first win under their belt, the Florida squad will be on the hunt for another. Boston College won’t go down without a fight, though, and the Gators could find themselves in a shootout with their offensively gifted opponents.

Like the Army game on Wednesday, Florida is favored by oddsmakers in this matchup, although BetMGM has them ahead by only a slim 5.5 point margin. If the team is going to pull out another victory, they’ll need to be firing on all cylinders.

In light of the competitive nature that this game is likely to take, here are three keys to a successful game for the Florida Gators.

Gators men’s basketball transfer Colin Castleton immediately eligible to play

Forward Colin Castleton, who transferred to Florida this offseason, received a waiver from the NCAA making him eligible for this season.

Former Michigan forward Colin Castleton, who transferred to Florida via the transfer portal this offseason, received a waiver from the NCAA making him eligible for the 2020-2021 season.

The 6-foot-11-inch forward has earned a reputation for his versatility while in Ann Arbor, providing size and rim protection on the inside while also showing a nice touch on his shots from outside of the paint extending out to the midrange, with an occasional bomb from out deep to boot.

His arrival in Gainesville also represents a return back to his home state, as he played high school at Father Lopez Catholic High School in Daytona Beach where he was a four-star recruit and the No. 128 player in the country in 2018. He has two more seasons of eligibility to play out in Gainesville.

While the 20-year-old still has some room to fill out physically, he will provide some much-needed presence on the inside for a team dealing with a dearth of big men heading into the coming season. With Jason Jitoboh and Omar Payne likely playing large roles at the forward and center positions, Castleton’s presence will bring a great deal of relief to a team that lost Kerry Blackshear Jr. and Gorjok Gak from its forecourt to graduation and the transfer portal, respectively.

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Report: Michigan F in NCAA Transfer Portal

Per a report, the Wolverines forward will seek another college destination.

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That makes two this week.

Entering the offseason, there were a lot of questions about how Michigan basketball would get under the scholarships allotted. That question is much closer to being answered.

The Wolverines were only set to lose two players to graduation — seniors Zavier Simpson and Jon Teske — while bringing in anywhere between 5-6 prospects in 2020. Currently, there is one 2020 signee in Ohio guard Zeb Jackson and four verbal commitments with Isaiah Todd, Hunter Dickinson, Terrance Williams and Jace Howard — coach Juwan Howard’s son, who is reportedly going to walk-on, instead of being on scholarship — in the fold. Michigan is awaiting word from five-star guard Joshua Christopher, who is apparently making his announcement in less than a week on April 13, if cryptic tweets hold serve.

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But on Monday, junior point guard David DeJulius unexpectedly entered the NCAA transfer portal and early Thursday morning, another joined him, in junior forward Colin Castleton.

Castleton as a recruit was a four-star center, and in Ann Arbor in 2019-20, he played in 25 games for an average of 8 minutes and three points-per-game. But he wasn’t utilized as much down the stretch, with Brandon Johns and Austin Davis getting more favor off the bench.

Five takeaways: Michigan overcomes ‘The RAC’ in big road win

Five takeaways from Michigan basketball’s impressive 60-52 road win at “The RAC”, home of the Rutgers Scarlet Knights.

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Michigan took a three-game winning streak into “The RAC”, home of the Rutgers Scarlet Knights and an arena had yielded no victories to road teams during the 2019-20 season.

But on Wednesday, the Wolverines kept their win-streak alive with a gritty 60-52 victory to ruin Rutgers’ unbeaten record at home.

Michigan got off to a strong start, jumping to a 16-8 lead early. However, the Scarlet Knights responded to the early surge by the Wolverines to take a 31-28 lead into halftime.

Rutgers came out of halftime looking to deliver a knock out punch, stretching their advantage to 37-28 in the opening two minutes of the second half. Michigan took the punch and clamped down defensively the rest of the way, limiting Rutgers to just 15 points in the final 17 and a half minutes of the game.

1. Who’s afraid of the big, Bad RAC?

The Scarlet Knights were 17-0 at home this season, but Michigan was unfazed by “The RAC” on Wednesday night. The Wolverines started hot, and survived two strong runs by Rutgers to close the first half and start the second half, to pull out a massive road victory. The opposing crowd was raucous throughout the game, but Michigan was not intimidated. After opening the season 0-5 in true road games, the Wolverines have now won three straight away from Crisler, a tell-tale sign of a maturing basketball team.

2. Simpson joins 1,000 Points club

Zavier Simpson added to what has already been an outstanding career by eclipsing 1,000 points at Michigan, scoring 16 against the Scarlet Knights. He’s the 55th Wolverine to reach the 1,000-point plateau. Simpson is already the all-time assists leader in school history, and together with fellow senior Jon Teske has the most career wins in school history. In addition to the scoring boost he gave the Wolverines, Simpson added 6 rebounds, 5 assists and 2 steals.

3. DeJulius/Castleton good off the bench

The Wolverines got a boost off the bench in this one from a pair of players that have been quiet of late. David DeJulius provided some scoring punch with 10 points, and kept Michigan’s offense poised during stretches when Simpson left the game due to foul trouble. This was just the second time in the past nine games that DeJulius reached double figures in scoring. Meanwhile, Colin Castleton also provided strong minutes as a reserve with Brandon Johns Jr. suffering through foul trouble. Castleton contributed 5 points and 3 rebounds and a block. It was good to see the sophomore make an impact on Wednesday after his minutes have been cut back of late.

4. Big-shot Making

Michigan didn’t shoot well from three-point range, knocking down just 6-of-23 attempts from deep. However, the Wolverines knocked down some big ones at some crucial times. DeJulius hit a three with just over nine minutes to play to close out a 17-4 run to give the Wolverines the lead. With just over six minutes to play, Franz Wagner hit a corner three off a nice pass from Simpson to increase Michigan’s lead to six. But the biggest shot was provided by Eli Brooks, who shook off a tough shooting night to hit a dagger triple as the shot clock was winding down to give the Wolverines a 9-point lead with three and a half minutes to play. Michigan didn’t hit many deep shots on Wednesday, but the confidence never wavered and the team was rewarded in the biggest moments.

5. Surging up the standings

The Wolverines have now won four in a row, and six of their last seven in Big Ten Conference play. As a result, Michigan has leaped from 12th place in the league standings into sole possession of 8th place. The Wolverines are just one game back of a four-way tie for 3rd place in the conference. A stretch like this was unthinkable during the four-game losing streak at the end of January, but Michigan suddenly finds itself within striking distance of a double-bye in the Big Ten tournament.