Throughout the offseason Florida’s non-conference opponent news has been trickling in and we are now at the point where their marquee games are likely set, with all that remains being the buy games against low and mid-major competition to round out the slate.
Here are some early notes on some of the announced opponents.
Arizona (In Las Vegas)
Projected NET: 14
This game will kick off the college basketball season, so it’s fitting it will be between two excellent teams. Last year the Wildcats earned a 4-seed before going down to Duke in the Sweet Sixteen, and they bring back a few key pieces from that team including guard Jaden Bradley who will be a player to watch for. Head coach Tommy Lloyd also did well with high school recruiting, welcoming in some highly-touted freshmen like Koa Peat and Brayden Burries.
Florida State
Projected NET: 80
Things have not been going well for the Seminoles in recent years which led to a coaching change, but in year one of the Luke Loucks era things don’t yet seem to be looking up. Without much in NIL Loucks wasn’t able to bolster the roster all that much and it once again looks like the Gators have the heavy edge in the rivalry.
Miami (In Jacksonville)
Projected NET: 59
Miami is another team that sees itself in a new era with Jai Lucas taking over for the retired Jim Larranaga. Lucas wants to bring a tough, defensive culture which could take some time–but he’s got some interesting pieces that might be familiar to you. Leading the way at guard will be Tre Donaldson who started his career at Auburn before moving to Michigan, and filling a frontcourt need is former Florida commit Malik Reneau who is coming back to his hometown of Miami. If you want to know about one of the more interesting players in the country to watch, keep an eye out for Tru Washington–a transfer from New Mexico who can pressure the ball better than just about anyone.
TCU (In San Diego)
Projected NET: 56
TCU has been a relatively consistent winner in college basketball but a team that had struggled to jump to the level where they could win a few games in the NCAA Tournament, and they finally took a bit of a hit last year finishing 86th in KenPom. This year they have taken an interesting approach with roster building, including banking heavily on a player named Xavier Edmonds who was one of the best JUCO players in the country. TCU seems to always play tight, competitive games, and this could be one that finishes closer than people might think.
Wisconsin Or Providence (In San Diego)
Projected NETS: 27 and 58
If the best possible resume opportunity is the goal then the Gators will hope to see Wisconsin who looks to be the clearly better team of the possible matchups after finishing 12th in KenPom last season. A program known historically as a slow, prodding, physical one, this year the Badgers completely rebranded to an offensive powerhouse. Their roster was bolstered with Nick Boyd who had a strong season for San Diego State, Andrew Rohde who had 9.3 points and 4.3 assists per game for Virginia, and Austin Rapp, a pick and pop big who came from Portland State.
At Duke
Projected NET: 3
This is going to be one of the most hyped non-conference matchups in all of college basketball with the defending champs going against Duke, a team who has one of the most exciting incoming freshmen in Cam Boozer. While the Blue Devils lost most of their core from last season to the NBA Draft they were able to retain a lot of their role pieces who are all intelligent players with good positional size, and it will be great experience to have next to Cam Boozer and his brother Cayden. This will be no easy task for the Gators, particularly with the game being played on the road.
UConn (In New York)
Projected NET: 11
Just one year removed from their second of back-to-back National Championships, UConn has refocused and is looking to once again position themselves for a deep NCAA Tournament run. Active in the portal, Dan Hurley’s big pickups were Silas Demary from Georgia, a player who scored 21 against the Gators in the team’s second meeting, and Malachi Smith, a talented ball handler and passer from Dayton. This supplements the return of most of their pieces from last year, a team that gave the Gators a competitive game in the Round Of 32, and this could end up being one of the toughest games Florida plays in the season. While there are plenty of Gator fans in the New York area–UConn will pack the place out and make this a challenging environment.
George Washington
Projected NET: 61
If you’re surprised to see a projected NET of 61 for George Washington–I understand. They have spent most of the last decade in the 200’s of any metric ranking college basketball teams, leading most to completely forget about the program. However, things have completely changed as revenue sharing has entered college basketball with the Atlantic 10 conference benefiting greatly. With no football to command money, these schools have seen a huge infusion of cash and that has meant big pickups in the transfer portal. George Washington has put together a talented roster, and with that league taking a massive step up this year due to the revenue sharing the metrics should stay strong. This was a smart game to schedule by Florida’s staff.