Todd Golden's first Florida team will open the SEC season Dec. 28 at defending league champ Auburn.
Harry Fodder: Breaking Down '22-23 Hoops Schedule
Wednesday, September 7, 2022 | Men's Basketball, Chris Harry
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By: Chris Harry, Senior Writer
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — The Florida Gators have a new coach, a lot of new players and now a finalized schedule, after the Southeastern Conference (and ESPN) announced dates Wednesday for the 2022-23 league slate.
Non-conference games were set in place in July, with another challenging mix that puts a premium on neutral-site dates (five of 'em). SEC play begins before the '22 calendar flips to '23, with a road date against the reigning league champion, and UF fans won't have to wait long for a visit from Mike White, who bolted on March 27 for the vacant job at rival Georgia.
Note: Information on single-game ticket packages available here.
Last season, the SEC ranked as the third-toughest in the country and there's no reason to think it won't be every bit as competitive this season. One notable difference, though. In '20 and '21, the SEC had zero coaching turnover during the offseason. In '22, a whopping six programs made coaching changes, starting right here with the hiring of Todd Golden, formerly of the University of San Francisco, who convinced both Colin Castleton and Kowacie Reeves to return, then revamped the roster — where else? — using the transfer portal to lure the likes of fifth-year senior point guard Kyle Lofton from St. Bonaventure and talented sophomore wing Will Richard from Belmont.
The process, of course, was the same everywhere else across the college basketball landscape.
The coming months will feature plenty of printed words and pictures about Golden and his Gators, but here's a super-comprehensive look at what (and whom) they'll be up against this season.
[Disclaimer: Every summer, I do this early look-ahead, and every year I get carried away with details. I guess it's pretty obvious I look forward to the start of a new hoops season. Don't you?]
Nov. 7: Stony Brook
Todd Golden will be UF's sixth head coach to walk the O'Dome sidelines, but just the second since the venue officially took the Exatech Arena moniker in December 2016.
The buzz: The first game of the Golden era — has a nice ring to it, right? — will bring the Sea Wolves back to the O'Dome just 11 months after the programs met for the first time, with UF winning 87-62. Stony Brook, in its fourth season under Geno Ford, went 18-13 last season, including 10-8 in the America East. The Wolves, though, were ruled ineligible for conference tournament postseason play in February when the program announced it was moving to the Colonial Athletic Conference, with the league citing an obscure rule prohibiting its current teams from playing for championships the year before exiting. SBU lost its top four scorers, with its best returnee being redshirt wing Frankie Policelli (7.7 points, 4.5 rebounds per game in first season after transferring from Dayton). Cornell grad-transfer guard Dean Noll was second-team All-Ivy League after averaging 12.9 points, 4.1 rebounds and 3.1 assists. The Wolves added a 7-foot transfer in Keenan Fitzmorris, who scored six points in 17 games the last two seasons at Stanford, and a 7-3 true freshman, Rocco Muratori, from Bradenton (Fla.) IMG Academy.
Nov. 11: Kennesaw State The buzz: The Owls return all five starters from a team that 13-18 last season and went 7-9 in the Atlantic Sun Conference, led by 6-4 junior wing Chris Youngblood (13.9 ppg, 5.2 rpg). Under Coach Amir Abdur-Rahim, entering his fourth season, KSU has been unafraid to take on high-major pay days. The Owls had four such games last season, losing fairly close ones at Iowa State and Creighton to open the season, with larger deficit defeats at Wake Forest and Nebraska. Note: Last November, in the fourth game of his college career, Richard (then a Belmont freshman) hit eight of 14 shots for 17 points to go with five rebounds and four assists against KSU.
Nov. 14: Florida Atlantic Dusty MayThe buzz: Mark this one down as something of a danger-zone game, with former UF assistant Dusty May, who is 66-56 in his four years in Boca Raton. May was White's right hand for seven seasons (four at Louisiana Tech, three at Florida) and now gets his first crack at the Gators. FAU has twice had games against UF whacked by COViD. The Owls, who reached the CBI last season, return all five starters and their top six scorers after going 19-15 in '21-22, with an 11-7 mark in Conference USA and finishing the season a respectable 129th in KenPom.com overall analytics. Junior guard Alijah Martin (12.8 ppg, 5.2 rpg) was a third-team All-CUSA selection last season after finishing second in the league in 3-point shooting percentage (.400).
Nov. 18: at Florida State
Guard Caleb Mills (4) led the Seminoles in scoring last season after transferring from Houston's 2021 Final Four team.
The buzz: The faction of Florida fans who loved to hate White were muzzled early last season when one of their biggest annual gripes (rightfully so) — FSU's domination in the series, courtesy of an historic seven straight wins — was taken away. The Gators used a second-half flurry to trounce the Seminoles 71-55 for their first win in the rivalry since 2013. Things got worse for FSU after that game. The Noles lost four of five starters to season-ending injuries on the way to finishing 17-14 and missing the NCAA Tournament for the first time in six years. Don't count Leonard Hamilton out, though. Not even at 74 years old. His 22nd season in Tallahassee figures to be a bounce-back campaign led by fourth-year junior guard Caleb Mills (team-high 12.7 ppg after transferring from Houston), sophomore wing Matthew Cleveland (11.5 ppg, 4.5 rpg) and more production from wing Cam'Ron Fletcher (6.8 ppg, 3.4 rpg) than the Kentucky transfer provided in '21-22. FSU's five-member freshman class ranked in the nation's top 25, but the newcomer impact figures to come from shooting guard Darin Green Jr,. who left UCF ranked 10th in American Athletic Conference history with 208 made 3-pointers, along with forward Jaylan Gainey, a two-time Ivy League Defensive Player of the Year at Brown, where he shot a school-record 69.9 percent for his career.
Nov. 24-25 and 27: Phil Knight Legacy (Portland, Ore.)
The Moda Center, home to the NBA Portland Trailblazers, will serve as one of three downtown venues for the Phil Knight Legacy. We'll call it the "PK85."
The buzz: It's back to the Great Northwest to celebrate Nike founder Phil Knight's 85th birthday. Five years after a stirring run to the championship game of the PK80, the Gators were invited to the 2022 version of the Thanksgiving Week event and drew Xavier in opening-round play. It'll be a rematch of their NIT meeting last March, but without the two interim coaches (UF's Al Pinkins, XU's Jonas Hayes) on the sideline, when the Musketeers crushed the bad-shooting Gators 72-56 (they hit only 32.8 percent six days after White's exit). With Sean Miller waiting in the wings to jumpstart a career he sullied over NCAA misdeeds at Arizona, Xavier went on to win the NIT under Hayes, who bolted to become head coach at Georgia State. This will be a second turn at Xavier for Miller, who went 120-47 there from 2004-09, with four NCAA berths, including a trip to the Elite Eight. The Musketeers have back four starters from a 23-13 team, including 7-foot, 245-pound Jack Nunge (13.4 ppg, 7.4 rpg) and 6-6 guard Colby Jones (11.6 points, 7.3 rpg). XU also added 6-3 grad-transfer guard Souley Boum from UTEP, where he stuffed box scores at 19.8 points, 4.5 boards and 2.9 assists. Depending on the outcome, Florida will play either Duke or Oregon State in the second round, with Purdue, West Virginia, Gonzaga or Portland State the third-game possibilities (and tremendous strength-of-schedule opportunities). And that's just the Legacy Bracket of the 16-team extravaganza. The other brack is jammed with high-end high majors, as well. What a field.
Nov. 30: Florida A&M The buzz: As late as Tuesday, the Rattlers had just eight players listed on their '22-23 roster, none of them among their starters or top seven scorers from last season. That FAMU team went 13-17, with an 11-7 record in the Southwestern Athletic Conference. Whoever else the Rattlers add, they figure to be significantly outmanned when they come to the O'Dome, but should get a friendly welcome from the home crowd. Their head coach is Robert McCullum, who was Lon Kruger's lead assistant during UF's 1994 Final Four run. One of his assistants is Craig Brown, the former Gators standout guard who was MVP of the NCAA East Region and remains the No. 20 scorer in school history with 1,419 points, plus a career 3-point shooting marksmanship of nearly 41 percent (that rates sixth among all-time Gators).
Dec. 4: Stetson
Former Billy Donovan assistant Donnie Jones will be back in the O'Dome with his Hatters.
The buzz: Speaking of old UF friends, hello Donnie Jones. Another former UF assistant, Jones was at Billy Donovan's side for those back-to-back national championships in 2006-07. After turns at Marshall (3 seasons) and UCF (6), then a couple seasons as an assistant, Jones enters in his fourth with the Hatters, with a 39-51 mark to show for it, including 11-19 and sixth-place finish in the A-Sun East Division. The Hatters lost their top three scorers, with a pair of juniors, guard Stephen Swenson and 6-8 forward Josh Smith, the top returning offense at just over seven points a piece. Without any difference-making newcomers, Stetson could really struggle this year.
Dec. 7: Connecticut
Hassan Diarra (5) stuck a 3-point dagger through Florida's heart last season as a Texas A&M Aggie at the SEC Tournament in March. In December, the Gators will see Diarra in a UConn Huskie uniform.
The buzz: Finally, the Gators get their half of the home-and-home series the two teams agreed to six years ago. UF went to Storrs in 2019 and lost 62-59 in just the fourth game of the season. The Huskies were supposed to return the game in '20 (nope, COViD) and '21 (nope, O'Dome unavailable due to the annual crafts fair), so Golden and his staff inherited this one. This is the fifth UConn season with Dan Hurley at the helm, with the last two ending in first-round NCAA losses. The Huskies lost four starters, but return their No. 2 scorer and top rebounder in 6-9 forward Adam Sanoga (14.8 ppg, 8.8 rpg) and 6-6 guard Andrew Jackson Jr. (6.8 ppg 6.8 rpg), who figures to go from top reserve to the starting lineup. The transfer portal netted a trio of players, one of whom the leftover Gators (and their fans) should recognize. Anyone remember Hassan Diarra? He was the Texas A&M guard that shot 21 percent from the 3-point line during SEC play, only to go 3-for-4 from deep, including game-winner from the top of the key with a half-second to play, to beat Florida 83-80 in second-round play of the league tournament last March. Another new face who should figure in the mix (and the paint) is 7-foot-2, 265-pound freshman center Donovan Clingan, a consensus top-50 recruit and in-state prospect who averaged 30.3 points, 18.4 rebounds and 6.2 blocks in leading his Bristol Central High squad to an unbeaten season and state title. UF has not defeated UConn since the famous (or infamous, if you're a Husky) Donyell Marshall "Sweet 16" game during the Final Four run of '94, with four consecutive losses, including the devastating one in the '14 Final Four at Arlington, Texas (as well as a home rematch nine months later).
Dec. 14: Ohio (Tampa) The buzz: With Florida having cut ties to its annual trip to the Orange Bowl Classic at Sunrise, Fla. — the team played there every year since 2006 — don't be surprised to see neutral-site games like these in other Sunshine State cities (likely Jacksonville and Orlando) become part of future non-conference schedules. The Bobcats, out of the Mid-American Conference, went 25-10 last season and played in the CBI, but guard MIles Brown (6.9 ppg) is the lone starter back. OU's freshman class is a trio of three-star signees, including 6-4 guard A.J. Brown from Orlando. The Bobcats also added a transfer in guard Jaylin Hunter (9.7 ppg, 3.8 rpg) from Old Dominion. The Gators have played a handful of games in Tampa over the years, including two SEC and two NCAA tournaments, but their last regular-season stop there was in 2016 (during O'Dome renovations), with a win over Belmont at what is now known as Amalie Arena, home to the NHL Tampa Bay Lightning.
Dec. 20-21: Oklahoma (Charlotte)
Don't be surprised if "His Airness" is in the house for the Jumpman Classic. It's Michael Jordan's brand, afterall, he's part-owner of the Charlotte Hornets, and his Tar Heels are on the docket. [Photo from Life Magazine's 1984 look at the Summer Olympics]
The buzz: It won't be long (heck, maybe even next season) when a Florida-Oklahoma matchup will be a SEC game. What it will be this time, though, is a neutral site showdown at Spectrum Center (home to NBA Charlotte Hornets) that will serve as half of a doubleheader pitting four of the nation's premier Jordan-brand teams — Michigan will play North Carolina in the other half — in the first Jumpman Classic. The two teams met last season at Norman, Okla., in the front end of a home-and-home contract. How the programs will square up the Gainesville return game (if it all), what with the Sooners headed into the SEC, will be a discussion for later. OU, in its first year under Porter Moser, formerly of Loyola-Chicago, won that meeting 74-67 — handing the Gators their first loss after opening the season with six wins — and went on to a 19-16 season that ended with a first-round loss in the NIT. Oklahoma returns burly 6-10 Tanner Groves, who shredded UF for 20 points, including a pair of 3s, but are rebuilding around four transfers, led by ex-Nevada guard Grant Sherfield (19.1 ppg, 6.4 apg and 4.2 rpg), a former first-team All-Mountain West selection, and former George Washington wing Joe Bamisile (16.3 ppg, 5.0 rpg), plus a top-25 freshman class, led by shooting guard Otega Oweh.
Dec. 28: at Auburn, 7 p.m. (ESPN2)
Guards KD Johnson (middle) and Wendell Green Jr. (1) will be back to help the Tigers in the quest to defend their 2022 conference crown.
The buzz: Give the SEC schedule-makers credit for having a sense of humor (and sense of storylines). In sending UF to Auburn to open the SEC schedule, Golden's first confrence game as the Gators' head coach will be against the guy, Bruce Pearl, who tutored him as a player in the Israel version of the Olympics and five years later lured him to Auburn and eventually gave him his first power-conference job. Oh, plus Golden and his staff get to play the reigning SEC champions, with their starting backcourt from last season intact and some marquee newcomers, right out of the box. The Tigers, who in '22 rose to the first No. 1 ranking in program history, lost their top two players to the NBA, with forward Jabari Smith going No. 3 overall and 7-2 center and SEC Defensive Player of the Year Walker Kessler plucked later in the first round. The mercurial backguard of guards K.D. Johnson (12.3 ppg) and Wendell Green Jr. (12.0 ppg, 5.0 apg), the team's second- and third-leading scorers, is back after combining for more than 700 field-goal attempts, despite making a collective 37.4 from the floor and just 30.5 from deep. Still, look for the same style of play, as Pearl does not deviate from his blueprint of wide-open, 3-point shooting teams. Why would he? It works. Defensive specialist Zep Jasper (5.1 ppg) started all 32 games, with Jaylin Williams (5.6 ppg, 2.7 rpg) and 6-11 Dylan Cardwell as top reserves. The Tigers won 6-10, 235-pound forward Johni Broome (Morehead State), a Tampa product, a transfer portal battle with the Gators, and the nation's 15th-ranked freshman class is led by 6-10, 225-pound five-star forward Yohan Traore, the top-ranked player from the state of Arizona and the second-highest rated player to sign with Auburn behind only Smith.
Jan. 4: Texas A&M , 7 p.m. (ESPN2 or ESPNU) The buzz: Were it not for about 20 disastrous late-game seconds against the Aggies, the Gators very well may have reached a fifth straight NCAA Tournament last season. Instead, UF fouled a 3-point shooter with 19.5 seconds (when up by two) to lose at A&M, then watched the aforementioned Diarra
Buzz Williams
throw in a rainbow 3 with a half-second left to send the Gators home from the SEC Tournament after one game. The Aggies stayed hot and went on to reach the tournament final, but still had to settle for a NIT berth. They made the best of that, with a run to the title game before losing to Xavier and finishing 27-13. Coach Buzz Williams, entering his fourth season, lost eight straight midseason games, then won 11 of his final 13 and rocketed from No. 80 to No. 33 in the final KenPom metrics. This year's team returns forward Henry Coleman III (11.0 ppg, 6.2 rpg), plus guards Tyrece Radford (10.9 ppg, 6.2 rpg, 40.2 percent from 3) and Wade Taylor IV (8.2 ppg). The top transfer looks to be forward Julius Marble, who played 90 games the last three seasons at Michigan State, where he posted 4.3 points and 2.3 rebounds per. Among the other transfers is former Mississippi State forward Andersson Garcia and K.K. Robinson, a seldom-used freshman point guard at Arkansas last year.
Jan. 7: Georgia, 1 p.m. (SEC Network)
Mike White (left), living the Bulldog life, greets fans (along with new women's hoops coach Katie Abrahamson-Henderson) at Georgia's annual Red & Black Spring Game last April. White, who bolted UF for the border-war rival to the north last March, won't have to wait long for a return trip to the O'Dome.
The buzz: Yeah, this ought to be fun … in a really uncomfortable way. If the SEC office truly wanted to mess around, they would have scheduled the former Florida coach's first visit back to Gainesville for the first league game. Instead, White and his Bulldogs will roll in for the second conference O'Dome date. Given what White accomplished (third-winningest coach in UF history, four NCAA tournaments, including an Elite Eight), it would be both appropriate and classy if the fans gave him a respectful welcome-back applause ... but don't hold your breath. A big reason White left was because of the treatment by the fans and unrealistic expectation of maintaining the highest bar of achievement set by one of the greatest coaches in college basketball history. Whatever. White's first UGA team figures to be better than the one that went 1-17 in league play last season (it has to be, right), marking the end to an abysmal four seasons under Tom Crean (47-75 overall, 15-57 in SEC play).White inherited a roster of just two players, after a bunch of Bulldogs went into the portal. It was a big win for White to convince junior guard and scoring leader Kario Oquendo (15.2 ppg, 4.3 rpg) to return, along with 6-11 center Braelen Bridges (12.9 ppg, 5.6 rpg) and 6-7 forward Jailyn Ingram (10.7 ppg, 6.0 rpg, who suffered a season-ending knee injury in the ninth game). Their return gave White and his staff, which includes former UF assistants Erik Pastrana and Akeem Miskdeen,the three top scorers from '21-22. Also back are a pair of key reserves in guards Jabri Abdur-Rahim and Jaxon Etter. The best of the six transfers is guard Terry Roberts (14.5 ppg, 4.1 rpg at Bradley) and first-team All-Missouri Valley selection — UF recruited him hard, as well — after transferring from the Florida juco ranks, along with guard Justin Hill (12.7 ppg, 4.5 rpg, 3.7 apg), an All-Big South performer at Longwood last season.
Jan. 10: at LSU, 7 p.m. (SEC Network)
In April, LSU hired Matt McMahon, who went 154-67 in seven seasons at Murray State, including a sterling 31-3 record and second Ohio Valley Conference championship last season.
The buzz: The Tigers went 22-10 and reached their third straight NCAA Tournament — and finally fired their rules-ain't-for-us coach. Will Wade's trail of "strong-ass" recruiting violations caught up with him in April, with the school turning to Matt McMahon, who won 154 games, two Ohio Valley Conference titles and went to three NCAA tournaments during four seasons at Murray State. One of those wins came last March against Golden's USF squad. In fact, published reports had McMahon on the short list of candidates for the vacant UF opening, so add that to the pregame intrigue. When McMahon got to Baton Rouge he had to deal with a roster that, at one point of the offseason, had all 13 scholarship players in the transfer portal (including now-UF forward Alex Fudge, as well as 7-foot sophomore Efton Reid Jr., who headed to Gonzaga). McMahon managed to keep three, but forward Mwani Wilkinson (4.0 ppg, 3.0 rpg) was the lone regular rotation player. So, of course, McMahon hit the portal and brought in a half-dozen guys, including three of his best Murray State players: 6-10, 245-pound forward KJ Williams (18.0 ppg, 8.4 rpg), point guard Justice Hill (13.4 ppg, 5.2 apg) and off-guard Trae Hannibal (9.2 ppg, 5.1 rpg). Guard Cam Hays (7.8 ppg, 3.1 apg) was lured from North Carolina State and 6-8 forward Kendal Coleman came from up the road at Northwestern (La.) State where he averaged a double-double (15.4 points, 10.1 rebounds) and was first-team All-Southland Conference. The LSU freshman class was rated a top-20 crew after landing 6-10, 220-pound Jalen Reed — yes, that Jalen Reed, the one who signed with White and the Gators — along with forward Tyrell Ward, out of the prep factor at Hyattsville (Md.) DeMatha High.
Jan. 14: Missouri, 3:30 p.m. (SEC Network) The buzz: A season after going to the tournament, the Tigers floundered to 12-21 and 12th in the SEC standings with just five wins. The plummet was costly for Coach Cuonzo Martin, who took Missouri to two NCAAs during his five seasons. Enter Dennis Gates, another coach in the Florida
Dennis Gates
conversations after executing one of the most astounding reclamation projects of the past decade by flipping an abominable Cleveland State program — which averaged 10 wins over a five-year period — into back-to-back 19-win seasons (and a NIT berth in '22). Gates spent eight years as Hamilton's right hand at FSU and had a big say in signing seven top-100 players and helping the Seminoles to national prominence. Gates didn't inherit much, but he went to work in the portal, starting with three of his CSU players, the best being guards D'Moi Hodge (15.5 ppg) and Tre Gomillion (10.5 ppg, 4.7 rpg, 2.9 apg). Of the five other transfers, four averaged at least 14 points per game, led by Missouri State guard Isiaih Mosley (20.4 ppg, 6.2 rpg), who last season became just the third Division I player this century to shoot at least 50 percent from the floor, 40 from 3 and 90 from the free-throw line on his way to All-MVC honors. Forward Noah Carter (15.0 ppg, 48.1 percent), an early target of the Gators last spring, was Northern Iowa's second-leading scorer in helping lead that team to the MVC championship. Guard DeAndrew Gholston, who Florida faced last season in a home blowout of Milwaukee, averaged 14.3 points.
Jan. 18: at Texas A&M, 7 p.m. (ESPN2 or ESPNU) The buzz: The Aggies and Gators were assigned as rotating home-and-home opponents this season, so UF will be in College Station for consecutive years for just the second time ('15 and '16 being the last) since A&M joined the SEC for the 2012-13 season.
Jan. 21: at Mississippi State, 8:30 p.m. (SEC Network)
Six-foot-11, 245-pound center Tolu Smith averaged 14.2 points on nearly 58-percent shooting with five double-doubles, despite mising 13 games due to injury.
The buzz: When Ben Howland came to Starkville in 2015 it was amid plenty of fanfare, given the resume he built guiding three programs (Northern Arizona, Pittsburgh and UCLA) to NCAA tournaments, including three Final Fours (twice losing to the Gators, by the way). He got the Bulldogs to just one tournament, however, which was back in 2019, and was fired after a second straight NIT appearance. MSU turned to Chris Jans, who averaged 24 wins the last five seasons at New Mexico State. He'll step into a rebuild situation, with the Bulldogs losing their two best players in guard Iverson Molinar and forward Garrison Brooks off a team that went 18-16, but 6-11, 245-pound center Tolu Smith (14.2 ppg, 6.5 rpg) opted to return for a fifth year. Smith will pair with another two returning starters in forward DJ Jeffries (8.9 ppg, 4.2 rpg) and guard Shakeel Moore (8.7 ppg). The portal brought first-team All-Ohio Valley guard Eric Reed Jr. (16.1 ppg) from Southeast Missouri State, 6-8 forward Tyler Stevenson (14.1 ppg, 7.5 rpg) from Southern Miss, with Jans also bringing 6-10 forward Will McNair (6.6 ppg, 5.5 rpg) from NMSU. They signed two freshmen, the best of them 6-8 wing Kimani Hamilton, who was the No. 2-rated prospect from Alabama.
Jan. 25: South Carolina, 7 p.m. (ESPN2 or ESPNU)
Forward GG Jackson averaged 22.1 points and 10.9 rebounds at Columbia (S.C.) Ridge View High on his way to being named the state's Gatorade Player of the Year.
The buzz: They gave Frank Martin 10 seasons in Columbia. In return, Martin gave the Gamecocks the greatest season in school history — that magical 2017 run as a No. 7-seed to the program's first Final Four (at Florida's expense in the Elite Eight, in case anyone forgot) — and that was it. The only NCAA berth of Martin's decade (to go with just one NIT) also represents USC's lone NCAA berth since 1998. It's a tough job and now it belongs to Lamont Paris, who hails from the Bo Ryan coaching tree at Wisconsin. Paris spent the last four seasons at Chattanooga (in his first head coaching post), with a 45-16 record the last two seasons and one NCAA tournament. His first roster will be void of any of the Gamecocks' top six scorers from '21-22, so it was portaling aplenty in the offseason. Grad-forward Hayden Brown scored 1,402 points and was a two-time first-team All-Southern Conference performer at The Citadel, where he averaged 12.6 points and 6.7 rebounds over four seasons. The point guard spot figures to fall to grad Ebrima Dibba (8.2 ppg, 4.3 rpg, 5.2 apg), who was a stat-stuffer and very good on-ball defender at Coastal Carolina, with former Ohio State combo guard Meechie Johnson (43 games the last two seasons) at the ready. But the biggest roster news out South Carolina came in April when 6-9 forward and hometown high school junior GG Jackson, the nation's No. 1 overall prospect in the 2023 recruiting class, not only decommitted from North Carolina, but reclassified to the '22 class and pledged for the Gamecocks. Jackson will be the highest-ranked recruit ever to play for the Gamecocks. Nice work, Coach Paris.
Jan. 28: at Kansas State (SEC/Big 12 Challenge)
Former Florida standout Keyontae Johnson (11), sidelined since his horrific collapse at Tallahassee on Dec. 12, 2020, waves to the crowd during his "Senior Day" recognition at the O'Dome last March.
The buzz: It won't be as awkward as it will be emotional, especially with the coaching change on the UF sidelines. But eight players on the Florida bench (half of whom suited up for games with him) will watch as Keyontae Johnsontakes the floor in a Kansas State uniform. Let that sink in. Eventually, the scene will give way to a basketball game and UF fans will wonder "what if?" As for Johnson's new team, during his first seven seasons in Manhattan, Bruce Weber guided the Wildcats to five NCAA tournaments, including a run to the Elite Eight in 2018. The last three years, though, K-State won just 34 games (only 13 in the Big 12) and finished either last or next to last in the league standings. Now comes Jerome Tang, who for the last 19 seasons was an assistant and associate head coach for Scott Drew at Baylor, helping grow that program into a national power (and champion in 2021). He stepped into something of a mess (point guard Nijel Pack, now at Miami, was considered the No. 1 transfer portal prospect in the nation), with just 11 players on the '21-22 roster and only three back from last season's 14-17 squad. The best will be 6-5 guard Marquis Nowell (12.7 ppg, 8.4 rpg), who was named to the league all-defensive team in his first season after transferring from Arkansas-Little Rock. The portal yielded six newcomers, led by 6-4 guard Tykei Green, who tallied 1,112 points over three seasons at Manhattan and Stony Brook (he was a second-team All-America East there in '22). Former Stetson/Arkansas/Hofstra center Abayomi Iyiola has 1,112 points for his career, despite playing just one game as a Razorback due to a season-ending knee injury. Grad guard Desi Sills played at both Arkansas and Arkansas State, and has 126 career games and 74 starts. This will be UF and K-State's first meeting in the SEC/Big 12 matchup, with the Gators boasting a 6-3 record in the made-for-TV event, including 2-2 on the road. Florida has never played K-State on the road, but a sold-out "neutral site" matchup in Kansas City (and 67-61 loss) on Dec. 22, 2012 sure felt like a road date.
Feb. 1: Tennessee, 7 p.m. (ESPN2 or ESPNU)
Senior point guard Santiago Vescovi (25), who has started all but four games during his UT career, is back to lead another really good Vols squad that will get mention as a conference favorite.
The buzz: After capping another fantastic regular season with a run to the SEC Tournament title, the Volunteers enjoyed another banner offseason on the recruiting and transfer front (yes, once again) will head into new season as one of the league's preseason favorites, and probably among the nation's top 10. Rick Barnes and company also will be (yes, once again) under scrutiny from the Rocky Top faithful growing weary of their postseason flameouts. UT went 27-8 last season, finished tied for second in the SEC, rolled through the tournament in Tampa, then failed to get out of the first week of NCAA play for the third time in their four berths under Barnes. That was the knock on Barnes during his remarkable run at Texas, where he went to 16 tournaments in 17 years, but only five times reached the second weekend; none in his final seven seasons. The '22-23 Vols look loaded, even with the loss of guard Kennedy Chandler to the NBA. Four of the five leading scorers, including senior point guard Santiago Vescovi (13.3 ppg, 4.4 rpg, 40.4 percent from 3) and senior wing Josiah-Jordan James (10.3 ppg, 6.0 rpg), are back. Forward Olivier Nkamhoua (8.6 ppg, 5.6 rpg) returns after going down with a season-ending ankle injury in early February, as does 7-foot, 250-pound Uros Plavsic (he with the hand that whacked Jason Jitobohand ended the surging UF center's promising season). On the portal front, the Vols added former Indiana State guard Tyreke Key, the No. 6 all-time scorer (1,650 points) at Larry Bird U, who is a sixth-year senior already with a master's degree, having sat out last season with a knee injury. Key was a two-time first-team All-MVC player who averaged 17.2 points and 5.3 rebounds two years ago. Tennessee's freshman class was ranked 19th overall, led by 6-8 forward Julian Phillips, a top-15 prospect, who became the fourth McDonald's All-American to sign with the program in as many years. Stocky guard B.J. Edwards starred at Knoxville (Tenn.) Catholic and scored 2,240 points there. Last year, UT finished No. 9 overall in KenPom rankings, including third in defensive efficiency. This one will look (and play) a lot like that one. The Vols are 8-2 against the Gators under Barnes.
Feb. 4: at Kentucky, 8:30 p.m. (ESPN)
2022 NCAA and SEC Player of the Year Oscar Tshiebwe averaged 27.0 points and 16.5 rebounds in his two matchups against the Gators last season.
The buzz: To say Kentucky has been in something of a funk the last few seasons would be akin to saying Big Blue Nation is somewhat passionate about basketball. Consider the Wildcats have not won an NCAA Tournament game since 2019. COVID, of course, whacked the '20 tournament, but the Cats went 9-16 in '21 and then got one-and-outed by tiny, 15th-seeded St. Peter's last March in one of the biggest upsets in tournament history. Then came the offseason brouhaha earlier last month when Coach John Calipari complained in a podcast about the need for a new facility, crowing that UK has always been a basketball school and forever will be a basketball. True, of course, but that statement was met by Kentucky football coach Mark Stoops on Twitter, who thought it a good time to remind Big Blue that he's coming off a 10-win season and — get this — a fourth straight postseason with a win. Awkward. Anyway, look for the Cats to be back in a big way in '22-23, with the return of 2022 national and SEC Player of the Year Oscar Tshiebwe, who got a fat NIL deal to stay in Lexington after averaging 17.4 points on nearly 61-percent shooting (no 3s attempted) to go with an NCAA-best 15.2 rebounds per game and school-record 28 double-doubles. Point guard Sahvir Wheeler (10.1 ppg, 6.9 rpg) is the other returning starter, but some veteran backups (Jacob Toppin,Daimon Collins, Lance Ware) are back as well. UK's lone transfer was former Illinois State wing Antonio Reeves, who poured in 20.1 points last season on the way to second-team All-MVC honors. Oh, and then there's Kentucky's four-man freshman class. How 'bout two McDonald's All Americans and consensus top-dozen national prospects in guard Cason Wallace and wing Chris Livingston, plus 7-foot, 233-pound center Ugonna Kingsley Onyenso. Don't worry about the Cats, Gator fans (not that you would). They'll be fine. It's a basketball school, after all.
Feb. 8: at Alabama, 9 p.m. (ESPN2 or ESPNU) The buzz: The star dimmed a tad on Coach Nate Oats last season, as the Crimson Tide followed their SEC championship and 26-win campaign of COVID-impacted '20-21 with just a so-so season, given expectations. Bama went 19-14 overall (just 9-9 in the league), with a crash-and-burn finish of four
Nate Oats
straight losses, including first-round exits in both the SEC (against Vanderbilt) and NCAA (Notre Dame) tournaments. It was quite the come-down after all the coach-of-the-year accolades showered on Oats the year before, but the Tide appear to have built back better, despite losing three of their top four scorers to the NBA. Senior point guard Jahvon Quinerly (13.8 ppg, 3.0 rpg, 4.1 apg), who ran the league's fastest offense (11th nationally in pace), blew out his knee in the NCAA Tournament last March but is on track to return for SEC play, while 7-footer Charles Bediako (6.7 ppg, 4.3 rpg, 69.2 percent from floor) will take a jump. Bama added a couple impact mid-major transfers in junior point guard Mark Sears, who averaged 19.7 points, 6.0 rebounds, 4.1 assists and 1.7 steals during a first-team All-MAC season at Ohio U, plus former St. Bonaventure guard Dom Welch, who scored 1,198 points and started 105 of 110 games (alongside UF's Lofton) the last four seasons. And then there's the Alabama freshman class — and Oats definitely knows how to recruit, what with another top-five class that includes four of the country's top 75 players — headlined by two McDonald's All Americans in 6-8 forward Brandon Miller and 6-3 guard Jaden Bradley, both consensus top-25ers. The five-man class also features the nation's No. 1-ranked junior college power forward in 6-9 Nick Pringle.
Feb. 11: Vanderbilt, 3:30 p.m. (SEC Network) The buzz: The Commodores have yet to reach the NCAA Tournament on Coach Jerry Stackhouse's watch, but they nudged a little closer to postseason relevance in '22 with a couple wins in the SEC Tournament, then two more in the NIT. Vandy won five of its last seven games to finish 19-17
Liam Robbins
after going a combined 20-36 (with just six league wins) during Stackhouse's first two seasons. Further progress, though, is hardly guaranteed, even with the return of six of the top nine scorers, including wing Jordan Wright (12.3 ppg, 6.4 rpg, 35 percent from 3) and forward Myles Stute (8.5 ppg, 3.7 rpg, 43.2 percent), who finished second and third, respectively. Unfortunately, leading scorer and first-team All-SEC point guard Scotty Pippin Jr. (20.7 ppg, 4.4 apg), a gifted offensive player who lived at the free-throw line, turned pro. Vandy will have some decent and experienced size in 7-foot, 250-pound Liam Robbins and 6-10, 245-pound Quentin Millora-Brown (5.3 ppg, 5.6 rpg), but Stackhouse likely will lean on some new guys among the five incoming freshmen from a top-30 class, with 6-9, 240-pound Leon Dort looming as the best of three four-star prospects and further bolstering the front court. Senior transfer and combo guard Ezra Manjon was a 1,000-point scorer and three-time All-Big West honoree at UC-Davis.
Feb. 15: Ole Miss, 6:30 p.m. (SEC Network)
Mississippi point guard Daeshun Ruffin, who destroyed the Gators last season before suffering a season-ending knee injury, will return for his sophomore season probably in time for conference play.
The buzz: Consider this a hot-seat season for Kermit Davis, who got the Rebels to the NCAA Tournament in his inaugural 2018-19 campaign, but has not been back since, and last season went 13-19 overall, 4-14 in SEC play and finished next-to-last in the standings. Leading scorer Jarkel Joiner transferred to NC State, but Ole Miss will have back four of its top six scorers, one of them 5-10 waterbug point guard Daeshun Ruffin (12.6 ppg, 3.4 apg), the first McDonald's All American ever to sign with the Rebels. Ruffin's promising freshman season was cut short after just 14 games due to a knee injury, but not before he blew past and around the Gators for a career-high 21 points, six assists and four steals in a big home win. After losing Ruffin, the Rebels lost nine of their final 10 games. The Rebels are hopeful he'll be back in time for conference play. The portal found 6-8 forward Josh Mballa (13.8 ppg, 8.6 rpg), the MAC 2021 Defensive Player of the Year at Buffalo, along with 6-7 forward Jayveous McGinnis, was three-time DoP in the SWAC at Jacksonville State, where he score nearly 1,100 points and left as the program's No. 2 all-time rebounder and No. 3 in blocks. The Mississippi freshman class finished just outside the top 25, with 6-10, 220-pound center Malique Ewin, who was a top-100 prospect and the Georgia Class 7A Player of the Year.
Feb. 18: at Arkansas, 2 p.m. (ESPN)
Arkansas coach Eric Musselman will have 11 new guys on his roster, but they're all really good new guys, with the Hogs expected to make a push for a conference and/or national title.
The buzz: Over the last five seasons that ended with a NCAA Tournament, Eric Musselman's teams (three at Nevada, the last two at Arkansas) averaged 27.8 victories, with those two seasons in Fayetteville ending in the Elite Eight. Ah, but there's more. After carving his niche as one of the original transfer portal gangsters at Nevada, Musselman appears to have added a wizardry on the prep recruiting trail to his portal touch. That brings us to Arkansas '22-23, which figures to be a preseason pick to win the SEC and even garner a few first-place votes in the Associated Press poll. The Razorbacks return just 12.9 percent of their scoring and 14.8 percent of their rebounding, most of it from part-time starter Davonte Davis (8.3 ppg, 3.7 rpg), but no biggie. No, the latest Hog hype comes from a whopping 11 newcomers to the roster, including a six-man freshman class ranked second only to Duke, thanks to a three McDonald's All Americans and five consensus top-100 players. Homegrown Nick Smith, from Little Rock, was a top-fiver and considered the best combo guard in the country after averaging 26.5 points, 8.0 rebounds and 7.3 assists (at the same high school that produced KeVaughn Allen). Anthony Black is a 6-7 point guard from Texas and was joined in the national top-20 by 6-7 small forward Jordan Walsh, out of Missouri. That trio of five-stars was joined by another trio a four-stars, plus another four transfers, the best being former Wichita State shooting guard Rick Council IV (9.9 ppg, 4.6 rpg), the Sixth Man of the Year in the AAC, and 6-9 forward Trevon Brazile (6.3 ppg, 5.0 rpg), who stayed in the SEC by transferring from Mizzou. Woo! Pig! Sooie!
Feb. 22: Kentucky, 7 p.m. (ESPN2 or ESPNU) The buzz: For only the fifth time this century, Florida will not end the regular season against Kentucky. The other times: '11, '16, '17 and '20. The one time it happened to Billy Donovan, after he grew the UF-UK rivalry into something worth ending the season on, the former Gators' coach used to as motivation and tore into his team about how they'd been disrespected by the league; how they no longer warranted playing the storied Cats in a season finale. Well, Florida won the SEC that next season. Good times, right? As for this (midweek) meeting, the Golden Gators will hope a late-February trip to Rupp Arena means something.
Feb. 25: at Vanderbilt, 6 p.m. (ESPN2 or ESPNU) The buzz: Remember where this series stood in the early days of White's turn with the Gators? UF lost its first five meetings against Vandy, including three times during the '16-17 season when Florida finished second in the SEC and advanced to the Elite Eight. The Gators, though, righted their listing Commodores ship and have won nine straight, including the last four road games.
Feb. 28: at Georgia, 7 p.m. (SEC Network) The buzz: White and friends get their home turn in the next-to-last regular season road date of the season. UF has won three straight (and four of the previous five) at Athens, but this one figures to have a different vibe than recent visits.
March 4: LSU, 6 p.m. (SEC Network) The buzz: The Tigers joined the Aggies as UF's rotating home-and-home partner for the season, and will double as its regular-season finale foe. It'll be Florida's "Senior Night" for Castleton, Myreon Jones, possibly CJ Felderand definitely Lofton, who looms as the program's first true point guard since Andrew Nembhard and a huge key to the season. In a perfect world, the Gators will be playing this one for postseason seeding.
March 8-12: SEC Tournament (Nashville, Tenn.)
Downtown Nashville is usually hopping, but the SEC Tournament ups the ante and brings a different vibe to Broadway.
The buzz: The last time the conference tournament was staged in Nashville was under COVID restrictions in 2021, which was a year after the event was cancelled on that infamous Thursday morning after playing a pair of bottom-seed games the night before. Anyone recall what happened after that? OK, enough. In '22, the SEC Tournament went to Tampa, where Tennessee defeated Texas A&M for the crown, but now it's headed back to the Music City, where it will be for a very, very long time. Nashville — and Bridgestone Arena, right there on Broadway — is a destination postseason venue, to be sure, which is why the SEC signed a contract to keep the tournament there through at least 2035. As for the Gators, they've reached the weekend (and tournament semifinals) only once over the last eight seasons.
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comes Jerome Tang, who for the last 19 seasons was an assistant and associate head coach for Scott Drew at Baylor, helping grow that program into a national power (and champion in 2021). He stepped into something of a mess (point guard Nijel Pack, now at Miami, was considered the No. 1 transfer portal prospect in the nation), with just 11 players on the '21-22 roster and only three back from last season's 14-17 squad. The best will be 6-5 guard Marquis Nowell (12.7 ppg, 8.4 rpg), who was named to the league all-defensive team in his first season after transferring from Arkansas-Little Rock. The portal yielded six newcomers, led by 6-4 guard Tykei Green, who tallied 1,112 points over three seasons at Manhattan and Stony Brook (he was a second-team All-America East there in '22). Former Stetson/Arkansas/Hofstra center Abayomi Iyiola has 1,112 points for his career, despite playing just one game as a Razorback due to a season-ending knee injury. Grad guard Desi Sills played at both Arkansas and Arkansas State, and has 126 career games and 74 starts. This will be UF and K-State's first meeting in the SEC/Big 12 matchup, with the Gators boasting a 6-3 record in the made-for-TV event, including 2-2 on the road. Florida has never played K-State on the road, but a sold-out "neutral site" matchup in Kansas City (and 67-61 loss) on Dec. 22, 2012 sure felt like a road date.
