So-called “secret scrimmages” that take place before the college basketball season tips off aren’t as secret as they once were and what used to be closed-door exhibitions are now often even televised. These games are opportunities for teams to gel and players to get comfortable in their new surroundings and can be a huge part of a program’s developmental process.
Scrimmages can be even more important for teams with a lot of new pieces or, in Florida’s case, teams with new head coaches.
This year, a source says that Florida will play two secret scrimmages this year against Miami in Gainesville and Jacksonville on the road.
Miami will give the Gators an opportunity to play a high-level program, the likes of which they’ll be trying to contend with all season long. The Hurricanes bring back two electric scoring guards in Isaiah Wong and Nijel Pack and will be expected to be one of the top scoring teams in the country. They’ll be picked top five in most ACC preseason polls so it will be an excellent measuring stick for the Gators to see where their talent is at entering the 2022-23 season. Given that Todd Golden is a defensive minded coach, playing a stellar offense with veteran guards will stress test both the philosophies as well as a few of the players and he should come away from this scrimmage with an idea of who can guard at the highest level.
Florida and Miami last saw each other in 2019 at the Charleston Classic where the Gators grabbed a 78-58 win on the back of 20 points, 11 rebounds, and 5 assists from Kerry Blackshear.
All-time Florida leads the series over Miami 46-23, though obviously this upcoming scrimmage wouldn’t add to that number at all.
Florida’s other scrimmage is a fascinating one as the Gators will take on Jacksonville. If you would have just heard that these teams were playing each other you probably would have assumed that the game would be played in Gainesville but that’s not the case–Florida will head on the road. This will give the Gators the opportunity to get used to playing an away game with a bus ride, hotel, and an unfamiliar locker room and arena.
Jacksonville is coached by former Florida assistant Jordan Mincy who turned the program around in a hurry and has a lot of positive momentum. They’re considered to be the clear second-best team in the league behind Liberty–a school with a gigantic budget that’s exponentially larger than anyone else’s in the league. Liberty is also slated to leave the Atlantic Sun conference as early as next year, meaning Mincy could have Jacksonville as a dominant force in that league.
Mincy won’t be the only familiar face when the Gators play Jacksonville as two former Gators in Osayi Osifo and Omar Payne both transferred there to play for Mincy. While things didn’t work out for either of them at Florida (and in Payne’s case Illinois as well) they are slated to be productive mid-major players and from Florida’s standpoint they’ll get to scrimmage against players with high-major experience which will be helpful from an experience standpoint.
Florida and Jacksonville last played in 2015 with Florida winning 79-34. Dorian Finney-Smith was the leading scorer in that game with 25 points.
In the all-time series, Florida leads 32-5.
While this is just a scrimmage, it’s entirely likely that Florida could look to schedule Jacksonville in the future as a quality mid-major opponent to see in non-conference play.
Reportedly, Florida will play Miami on October 22nd and Jacksonville on October 29th. It’s unknown if these games will be open to the public or if they’ll be televised.