Florida Gators Men's Basketball: A Look Ahead to the 2024-25 Season
The Florida Gators men's basketball team is preparing for an exciting 2024-25 season, with a challenging non-conference schedule just announced. Head coach Todd Golden, entering his third year, is set to lead the Gators against some of the nation's top programs and conference champions from the previous season.
The Gators' non-conference schedule features 13 games, with seven at home, four at neutral sites, and two away. Florida will face multiple 2023-24 conference champions, starting with their season opener against the USF Bulls, who dominated the American Athletic Conference with a 25-8 overall record and a 16-2 conference mark.
‘24-25 non-conference schedule is set ⤵️
— Florida Gators Men’s Basketball (@GatorsMBK) August 6, 2024
🔗 https://t.co/Aes3uJdf9w pic.twitter.com/K4q5Gn7qli
Other notable matchups include Grambling State, the Southwestern Athletic Conference regular season champions (21-15 overall, 14-4 in conference), and a highly anticipated clash with the North Carolina Tar Heels in mid-December. The Tar Heels, who finished the 2023-24 season with an impressive 29-8 overall record and 17-3 in the ACC, will provide a significant test for the Gators at a neutral site.
The schedule also features in-state rival Florida State, Virginia in the SEC-ACC Challenge, and Arizona State in Atlanta. Florida will participate in the ESPN Events Invitational, where they could face Minnesota, Wake Forest, or Wichita State.
Todd Golden tells me that he plans to use Walter Clayton Jr. as Florida's starting point guard during the 2024-25 season.
— Jon Rothstein (@JonRothstein) August 5, 2024
Clayton averaged 17.6 PPG, 3.6 RPG, and 2.6 APG last year.
Headlining Florida in 2024-25 will be Walter Clayton at point guard. Clayton, who joined the Gators before the 2023-24 season, has shown promise but also faced challenges in ball-handling duties. Last season, when Clayton played point guard during SEC games and the NCAA Tournament game against Colorado, the Gators posted a +5 net rating. Offensively, they were explosive, averaging 1.23 points per possession, but struggled defensively, allowing 1.18 points per possession.
Clayton's pick-and-roll performance last season offers a mixed bag of results. While he excelled in scoring out of pick-and-roll situations (86th percentile nationally), his passing left much to be desired. The team averaged only 0.74 points per possession when Clayton passed out of the pick-and-roll, with a concerning 25% turnover rate.
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