According to scheduling expert Rocco Miller (bracketeer.org) the Florida Gators have completed their non-conference schedule.
Not all of these games will be new information given that we now see announcements throughout the year, but Miller’s reporting shows some games that previously have not been announced. Here is Florida’s reported 2024-25 schedule:
November 4th: South Florida (Neutral, in Jacksonville, Florida)
November 7: Jacksonville (Home)
November 11: Grambling (Home)
November 15: Florida State (Road)
November 19: Florida A&M (Home)
November 22: Southern Illinois (Home)
November 28-29: ESPN Events Invitational (Orlando, Florida)
December 4th: Virginia (Home)
December 14th: Arizona State (Neutral, in Atlanta, Georgia)
December 17th: North Carolina (Neutral, in Charlotte, North Carolina)
December 22nd: North Florida (Home)
December 29th: Stetson (Home)
Florida will start the season against South Florida, a team that was extremely successful last year under new head coach Amir Abdur-Rahim, but one that should take a step back after being gutted through the transfer portal.
Next, the Gators will see a familiar face when they host Jacksonville at home. Former Florida assistant Jordan Mincy is the head coach at Jacksonville and this will be a homecoming after his multiple years in Gainesville under Mike White.
November 15 will see the Gators take on Florida State which they will look at as an opportunity to grab a win on the road. The rivalry that was heavily favored towards Florida State for seven seasons has now swung to the other side of the pendulum with the Gators riding a three-game win streak, and with the Seminoles thought to be down again this year Florida will be expected to take the W.
An interesting opponent will be South Illinois, a rare Missouri Valley opponent for the Gators. The Salukis recently made a coaching change and brought in Scott Nagy from Wright State, a team who had a lot of success in the Horizon League. Nagy’s teams have always been known for their potency offensively, so look for this game to turn into a shootout.
At the end of November the Gators will play their “Multi-team Event” or MTE, heading to Orlando where they will compete alongside Wake Forest, Minnesota, and Wichita State. The matchups are yet to be decided but with Florida and Wake Forest the two more successful teams from a year ago, it’s likely the Gators will first match up with Minnesota or Wichita State, two programs that have struggled to find their footing recently. This is an MTE the Gators booked with the idea they could come away with two wins, so the expectation is that they’ll take of business here in-state.
Following the ESPN Events Invitational the Gators will host Virginia as part of the SEC-ACC Challenge. Florida suffered a frustrating loss to Virginia last year in their second game of the season and would love to get some revenge, and with this game happening in the later stages of non-conference play the Gators should be much more cohesive on the offensive end than they were last season when they played the Cavaliers.
Next the Gators will play an interesting game that wasn’t heavily reported–a neutral site contest with Arizona State in Atlanta, Georgia. It will be a neutral site game, but obviously with the location being much closer to Florida the crowd should be tilted in favor of the orange and blue. Arizona State had a rough season last year finishing 127th in KenPom and while they were able to land some decent pieces through the high school ranks and the transfer portal, Florida should still be favored.
If you’re looking for the biggest game on Florida’s schedule, it’s likely the Jumpman Invitational where they will take on North Carolina. The Jumpman Invitational has become a huge part of Florida’s non-conference schedule every year and this season will be no different with a marquee game with the Tar Heels. North Carolina is considered to be a top-10 team in most predictive metrics entering 2024-25, so this should be a huge opportunity for the Gators to get a marquee win.
With Florida’s final two games around the holiday season they’ll see too familiar foes, North Florida and Stetson who are regular opponents the Gators have seen a ton of over the last decade-plus.
This is a schedule with some opportunities for big wins but not one loaded with challenging games, so the Gators will be looking to rack up wins, build confidence, and win in such a way where the metrics like the NET will be boosted in order to bolster their resume before what will once again be a monster SEC slate.