Florida will try to pick up its fourth win of the season when it hosts North Florida on Tuesday night.
The Gators are 3-3 on the season after going 1-2 at the Battle 4 Atlantis, with Mike White’s team suffering narrow defeats to Oklahoma and Butler.
Meanwhile, the Ospreys are coming off an 83-78 loss to Jacksonville State at the Cancun Challenge.
Let’s run through what to watch for in this matchup.
Game Details
- Florida (3-3) vs. North Florida (2-4)
- Location: O’Connell Center – Gainesville, FL
- Game Date: Nov. 27
- Game Time: 7 p.m. EST
- Watch: SEC Network
Players to Watch
Jalen Hudson (Florida)
After starting the season with three-straight double-digit outings, the 6-6 senior has scored a total of six points in the past three games.
Hudson, who led the Gators in scoring last season with 15.5 points per game, was benched in the loss to Stanford after playing just seven minutes and followed that up by playing only 12 minutes against Butler.
If Florida is going to be an NCAA Tournament team this season, Hudson has to become a more consistent contributor on both sides of the court.
Noah Horchler (North Florida)
Horchler is averaging 14.4 points and 11.2 rebounds while playing 31.0 minutes per game, which leads the Ospreys in all three categories.
The 6-8 junior is shooting 57.4 percent from the floor while also earning 2.2 blocks per contest, so he’s providing a massive amount of contributions right now.
Key Stats
North Florida continues to play at a high tempo as it ranks 25th nationally in adjusted tempo, which is no surprise when you consider that the team finished 11th in that category last season.
But that type of style has led to some issues on the defensive side of the court, with the Ospreys sitting at 289th nationally in defensive efficiency.
Florida has certainly been fine on the defensive side of the court in ranking ninth in defensive efficiency, but the offensive inconsistencies have led to some problems thus far.
The Gators are 227th in the nation in 3-point shooting (31.9 percent) and 269th in free-throw percentage (65.1 percent).
Game Outlook
- Spread: Florida -17.5
- Over/Under: 149
- KenPom Projection: Florida, 95 percent chance to win
- ESPN BPI Projection: Florida, 94.4 percent chance to win
Florida is a hard team to figure out at this point of the season, but I’m not sure that’s completely unexpected.
It was always going to take a while for this team to build chemistry on offense and find ways to replace the production of players like Chris Chiozza and Egor Koulechov.
However, that doesn’t mean that the early offensive trends aren’t concerning, especially given that Hudson and KeVaughn Allen have essentially been non-factors at times.
The Gators will need to score some points in this one, as North Florida has some solid offensive talents on the roster.
But Florida’s defense should be difference in the game, even if the offense is still clearly a work in progress.
Season Predictions Record (straight up): 61-14
Game Prediction: Florida 77, North Florida 62
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