One of the areas of coaching where Todd Golden is most meticulous is when it comes to crafting a schedule. At the time he was hired to Florida a year ago the schedule was nearly entirely already in place for the 2022-23 season, so this year was the first opportunity he and his staff really had to put together a schedule that will both bolster a resume as well as prepare the roster for SEC play.
Here are some quick notes on each of Florida’s non-conference opponents.
Loyola Maryland (November 6th)
This will be the first ever meeting between Florida and Loyola Maryland. Last year the Greyhounds finished 325th in KenPom, though they normally live in the low 200s so this was somewhat of a step back. Florida believes that Loyola Maryland will once again be in the 300s and will be looking for a huge win to start off the season.
Virginia (November 10)
Things get sharply more difficult from Loyola Maryland when the Gators take on Virginia on a neutral floor. Virginia hasn’t quite been the same dominant force since their championship in 2019 but they are always a tough out due to their stout defense. This year’s Cavaliers roster isn’t loaded with talent but they have a couple of interesting transfers, most notably Jordan Minor, a 6’8” forward from Merrimack who can handle the ball and score. This will be an excellent early test to see where the Gators are at, as Virginia is the kind of team they need to be able to handle if they’re going to reach their ceiling.
Florida A&M (November 14)
The Rattlers finished 359th in the country in KenPom last season and saw nearly every rotation player with eligibility transfer out last season so don’t look for the Gators to be on upset alert for this one. FAMU has become a regular non-conference opponent for the Gators with Florida winning 102-62 last season.
Florida State (November 17)
Is the curse officially broken? After the Seminoles rattled off seven straight wins over Florida from 2015 to 2021 the Gators have come away with the victory the last two seasons and they’ll be the favorites this upcoming season. Going 9-23 last season the Seminoles had to hit the reset button and they didn’t load up with their regular amount of high school talent, and much of their offensive load will be on the shoulders of Primo Spears who also hasn’t seen a lot of winning basketball scoring 16 points per game on a 7-25 Georgetown team a year ago. Florida State could end up being much better than they appear on paper, but they will not be expected to be an NCAA Tournament team and the Gators will likely be disappointed if they don’t get this win.
Baylor/Pittsburgh/Oregon State (November 22-24)
The NIT Tip-Off in Brooklyn features an interesting array of teams–and it’s going to be important for the Gators to win their opening game. It’s likely that they’ll draw Pittsburgh (the matchups haven’t yet been set) who had a surprisingly solid season a year ago but does not return a lot of talent. If they were to lose that game they’d face an Oregon State team almost certainly destined for a finish near 200 in the NET, and it would be awfully disappointing if the Gators weren’t able to get much resume material at this event.
Wake Forest (November 29)
With the SEC-Big 12 Challenge no more the ACC-SEC Challenge has been born. Unlike the previous challenge that took place in the middle of conference play, this is going to be a traditional challenge in the non-conference portion of the season. A lack of NIL money and the difficult academics has made things difficult for Wake Forest in recent years but head coach Steve Forbes has proven that he is always going to have a competitive roster on the floor. This will be no easy game for the Gators.
Merrimack (December 5)
Merrimack and Florida will be meeting for the first time in history which won’t be a surprise given that Merrimack just made the leap from Division 2 in 2020. The Warriors have been dominant in the Northeastern Conference immediately and would have been to multiple NCAA Tournaments in their four years at the D1 level if not for the transition rule that keeps them from being eligible for their first five years following the jump. Joe Gallo is an excellent coach and Merrimack has been competitive in buy games, largely due to their unique style of play. Merrimack plays almost exclusively 2-3 zone and will mix in a variety of presses and it makes them a difficult team to prepare for, though the Gators will know exactly what they’re in for.
Richmond (December 9)
Head coach Chris Mooney makes sure that his Richmond teams are always elite on the offensive end with an extremely structured attack that has given high-major teams issues in recent years. This year’s Richmond team doesn’t have the level of talent we’re used to seeing as the Atlantic 10 on the whole has seen their teams gutted through the portal, but you can bet that they’re going to play beautiful offense and challenge Florida’s defense, likely a test that Golden wants for his team before SEC play.
East Carolina (December 14)
New head coach Mike Schwartz had a solid first season with East Carolina and used it to land some quality names in the transfer portal, namely Cam Hayes from LSU and Bobby Pettiford from Kansas, both who played legitimate minutes at the high-major level last season. At the tail end of a few mid-major buy games for the Gators, this could be a sneakily challenging game if they don’t bring their focus.
Michigan (December 19)
For the second time this season the Gators will play a neutral site game in Charlotte, this time against Michigan who holds a 3-1 advantage in the all-time series. The Wolverines had a notoriously difficult time this season landing some of their portal targets due to academic requirements at Michigan, and they’ll instead be relying on returning guards Dug McDaniel and Jaelin Llewellyn, a player who the Gators had some interest in when he transferred from Princeton before getting injured early last season. Michigan will not be a projected NCAA Tournament team–meaning once again we have an opportunity for the Gators to show whether or not they are capable of making it to the Big Dance as this is the type of team they will have to beat if they want an at-large resume.
Grambling State (December 22)
It’s tradition for high-major teams to try to schedule as easy a game as humanly possible before Christmas but that wasn’t the case for Florida who scheduled a scrappy Grambling State team who was only minutes away from winning the SWAC Tournament and making the NCAA Tournament a year ago. Are they bringing everyone back from that team? No, but head coach Donte Jackson has proven his ability to knock off high-major opponents as Grambling State beat Colorado and Vanderbilt in non-conference play. Of course–you’ll remember that the Gators went 0-2 against Vanderbilt last season, so Grambling State was able to do something the Gators couldn’t do even with two chances.
Quinnipiac (December 30th)
Quinnipiac sneakily finished 189th in KenPom last year and has established themselves as a team that will perennially finish near the top of the MAAC. Last season while with Iona, Walter Clayton scored 17 points while adding 2 assists against Quinnipiac and he’ll be familiar with the matchup.