Florida State men’s basketball hits the road for the first time this season when they face in-state rival Florida in Gainesville from Exactech Arena at Stephen C. O’Connell Center. The game between the Seminoles and Gators will be shown on SEC Network (stream here), with tip scheduled for 7 p.m. Mike Morgan and Mark Wise will be on the broadcast.
FSU enters the game at 2-0 on the early season. FSU has victories over Kennesaw State and Central Michigan, winning both games by a margin of 94-67. FSU had never won a game by that score before their first game of the season and now they have done it in back-to-back victories.
Projected Starting 5 for Florida State
Florida State enters Friday’s game at Florida with six players – Darin Green Jr, Cam’Ron Fletcher, Josh Nickelberry, Jamir Watkins, Cam Corhen, and Baba Miller – averaging in double figure scoring. Three players – Corhen, Green, and Fletcher – have scored in double figures in both games.
FSU has 46 assists over their first two games this season. The Seminoles have also recorded 24 steals over their first two outings.
UF leads the all-time series 45-29, including wins in each of the last two seasons after FSU reeled off a run of seven straight victories that marked the longest victory streak by either program in a series that dates to 1951.
With 11 wins against Florida as the Seminoles’ Head Coach, Leonard Hamilton is Florida State’s winningest coach against the Gators. The Seminoles’ current head coach is 11-10 against the Gators during his career in Tallahassee and has earned 11 of Florida State’s 29 all-time wins against the Gators.
UF is 2-1 on the early season. They opened their 2023-24 campaign with a 93-73 victory at home over Loyola Maryland. They then lost to Virginia, 73-70, at the Spectrum Center in Charlotte, N.C. They returned home to defeat Florida A&M, 89-68, on Tuesday night. The Gators are averaging 84.0 points per game, while holding opponents to an average of 71.3 points per game.
Projected Starting 5 for Florida
As a team, the Gators are shooting 48.4% from the floor and 31.7% from deep. The Gators are shooting just 61.3 percent at the free-throw line, with their top four rotational frontcourt players only 15 of 32 (46.9%) through the three games. Opponents are shooting 44.3% against them, including 36.8% from deep. One issue for Florida against UVA was turnovers, when they gave it away 16 times.
Noles247 will have updates throughout the game.
Portions from FSU and UF notes/preview