Florida basketball will soon be embarking on the toughest road stretch in its non-conference schedule.
The Gators’ next set of potential opponents hold a combined record of 29-7. No. 8 UF will start its road stand in the Rady’s Children Invitational in San Diego, CA., where the Gators will face TCU (3-2) on Thanksgiving Day, and then face either Wisconsin (4-1) or Providence (4-2) on Friday.
Following this multi-tournament event, Florida (4-1) will take on No. 4 Duke, No. 7 UConn and George Washington.
“That’s five good ones (in a row),” said Florida coach Todd Golden in a press conference on Monday, Nov. 24. “We’ve, to an extent, broken it down a little bit. We’re kind of through the first part of our schedule. And now with this MTE (multi-team event) and then two really, really challenging non-conference games leading into another one, I think it is going to be a really underrated opportunity for us playing George Washington. It’s just a real stretch.
“It’s kind of an opportunity for us to prepare for conference play, where you’re going to see really good opponents back to back to back. Obviously, right now, our main focus is trying to find a way to win this event, going out to San Diego.”
Scouting Florida basketball’s opponents
TCU (3-2) enters the tournament coming off a win against Kansas City, but before that, fell to No. 6 Michigan by four points. The Horned Frogs are ranked No. 37 in scoring defense, holding opponents to 63.6 points per game. Guard Jayden Pierre leads TCU with 12.2 points per game.
“They’re definitely physical,” Golden said. “That’s the one thing that a TCU team is going to do, and they are really good defensively. I think they are really active. They do a good job in their ball screen coverage, being physical. For us, a big part of it is just holding onto the ball. I think our team has struggled a little bit with turnovers at times.”
Notably, when UF signed on for this tournament, Kansas was an initial participant. Despite missing out on the blue blood, both Wisconsin and Providence, by Golden’s estimation, could be a quadrant two-level games for the Gators’ postseason resume.
Wisconsin most recently was handed a 90-78 loss to No. 11 BYU, while Providence defeated Penn State 77-65.
“Wisconsin is a very good team,” Golden said. “I think they’re elite offensively from what I’ve seen. Providence did a really good job retooling. They have an Estonian kid (Stefan Vaaks) who’s been shooting the lights out.
“It’s a good field. I think Wisconsin has a chance to be a top 25 team all year, and Providence has shown the capacity to have a good club.”
Will Florida basketball center Micah Handlogten be available?
Florida big man Micah Handlogten missed the Gators’ recent game against Merrimack.
The 7-foot-1 center took a hit to the head against Miami and it was initially believed that he would quickly return.
“He’s good,” Golden said. “I think he’s really close. My hope is that he practices tomorrow (Nov. 25), and if he does that, then he should be all engines go for Thursday.”
In four games, he has averaged 7.5 points and 8.8 rebounds per game.
Reach Florida Gators writer Andrew Abadie at AAbadie@usatodayco.com or on X (formerly Twitter) at @AndrewAbadie. You can also find him on Facebook at Andrew Abadie Sports Reporter or on Instagram @andrewabadie_sports.
This article originally appeared on The Gainesville Sun: Previewing Florida basketball’s upcoming road gauntlet vs TCU, others
Reporting by Andrew Abadie, Gainesville Sun / The Gainesville Sun
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