Florida Basketball: Breaking down 2023-24 non-conference schedule
Regular Season Games
In-season tournaments, challenges, and other special contests on Gators’ schedule are not included in this section.
November 6 vs. Loyola (MD)
Florida starts their season with a cupcake game against a program they’ve never faced before, Loyola (Maryland). The Greyhounds have to go back more than a decade to find the last time they had a winning record. One concern for the Gators is the need to clamp down on Deon Perry, who led Loyola last season with 11.5 points per game as a freshman.
November 14 vs. Florida A&M
Unlike Loyola, Florida has faced the Rattlers a dozen times, each with the same result: a Gators victory. That should again be the case this time around. The Rattlers made the same trip to Gainesville a year ago, losing by a whopping 40 points. Florida A&M should be a fringe contender in the SWAC this year, but not in this game.
November 17 vs. Florida State
The Gators renew their rivalry against the Seminoles in the only home non-conference game against a major opponent this season. Florida holds the overall edge, 45-29, and prevailed 76-67 in Tallahassee last year. Leonard Hamilton’s squad had a down season, winning fewer than ten games for the first time since 2000-01. It could be another tough year for Florida State, which recently suspended guard Chandler Jackson indefinitely.
December 5 vs. Merrimack
After trekking up the East Coast for a few games, the Gators will return home to face Merrimack. Joe Gallo’s Warriors actually won both the Northeast Conference’s regular season and tournament titles, but was denied postseason play because it was in the final year of its transition to the Division I level. The team that went to the NCAA Tournament in their place? Purdue killer Fairleigh Dickinson. No team in the NEC lost more than the Warriors in the offseason, but discounting Merrimack after a landmark season missing the icing on the cake would be a mistake.
December 14 vs. East Carolina (in Lakeland, FL)
This is not in Gainesville, but it’s essentially a home game for the Gators nonetheless. The East Carolina Pirates have never really gotten their act together on the court, operating without a winning season since 2012-13 and an NCAA Tournament trip since 1993, despite having players like Tristen Newton and Jayden Gardner in recent years. They’ll probably hover around .500 again, though they have some intriguing players like former Kansas Jayhawk Bobby Pettiford Jr., former LSU Tiger Cam Hayes, Brandon Johnson, and RJ Felton. East Carolina also just hired Mark Adams – who left Texas Tech under controversy – as an assistant.
December 22 vs. Grambling State
Grambling State and Florida are in different classes, but the Tigers are coming off their best season under Donte Jackson, going 22-8 and finishing in a tie for first in the SWAC, only to be bested in the conference tournament semis. The Tigers will be hard-pressed to repeat that performance after losing two-thirds of its minutes from a year ago.
December 30 vs. Quinnipiac
Florida closes out its non-conference slate with another very winnable game, this time against another foe from the northeast, the Quinnipiac Bobcats. They had a decent year in the MAAC, but saw coach Baker Dunleavy depart for a role on the Villanova staff. In steps Tom Pecora, who has coached at both Hofstra and Fordham. Some upheaval may give Quinnipiac a chance to compete for a MAAC crown, with Matt Balanc (12 points per game) and Paul Otieno (7.2 ppg, 6.8 rpg) leading the charge.