Florida will look for its third-straight win when it takes on Oklahoma in the first round of the Battle 4 Atlantis on Wednesday.
The Gators have rebounded from their season-opening loss to rival Florida State by scoring double-digit victories over Charleston Southern and La Salle.
Meanwhile, Oklahoma is off to a 3-0 start with wins over UT Rio Grand Valley, UTSA, and Wofford.
Let’s run through what to watch for in this game.
Game Details
- Florida (2-1) vs. Oklahoma (3-0)
- Location: Imperial Arena at Atlantis Resort – Nassau, Bahamas (Battle 4 Atlantis)
- Game Date: Nov. 21
- Game Time: Noon EST
- Watch: ESPN
Players to Watch
Jalen Hudson (Florida)
The 6-6 senior leads the way in scoring once again, as he’s averaging 12.0 points in 22.3 minutes per game thus far.
After shooting 40.4 percent from 3-point range last season, Hudson is struggling a bit through three games in making just 4 of 14 attempts for 28.6 percent.
However, as he showed during the ’17-18 campaign, he should become more consistent in that area and present some tough challenges for opposing defenders.
Christian James (Oklahoma)
It seemed inevitable that James would be the player that the Sooners would lean on after Trae Young’s departure to the NBA, and he’s certainly stepped up early on this season.
The 6-4 senior is averaging 22.7 points while shooting 58.3 percent from the floor and 90.5 percent from the free-throw line.
Oklahoma is also getting double-digit scoring from players like Brady Manek and Aaron Calixte, but there’s no doubt that James is really excelling in his expanded role as the team’s top scorer.
Key Stats
As mentioned with Hudson, it’s been surprising to see some of Florida’s top shooters struggle from beyond the arc.
The Gators are 318th nationally in making just 26.2 percent of their shots from long range, so there’s obviously room for improvement there.
As for the Sooners, they likely won’t take a ton of 3-pointers, but they do rank 29th nationally in shooting 41.7 percent.
One edge that Oklahoma will have right off the bat is experience, with Lon Kruger’s team ranking 25th nationally in that category while Florida ranks 276th.
Game Outlook
- Spread: Florida -2.5
- Over/Under: 150
- KenPom Projection: Florida, 62 percent chance to win
- ESPN BPI Projection: Florida, 61.9 percent chance to win
Florida has shown considerable improvement since that sloppy performance against Florida State, and that’s encouraging entering this type of tournament.
The Gators should start to a find a rhythm from beyond the arc, with Hudson and fellow senior KeVaughn Allen both much better in that area than they’ve shown early on this season.
But this feels like a difficult test for Mike White’s squad.
Oklahoma isn’t as explosive offensively as it was with Young on the court, but there are several versatile offensive options for Kruger to work with.
It feels like Florida is a team that hasn’t fully clicked just yet, and we may see some of the defensive issues on display here against a more experienced team.
I’ll take the Sooners in a close game.
Season Predictions Record (straight up): 44-9
Game Prediction: Oklahoma 73, Florida 70
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