Bring On The Creampuffs

Posted Jul 30, 2007 by Aaron Knox

Updated Jul 31, 2007 at 09:24 AM

GAINESVILLE — With the exception of a rivalry game against Florida State and a national title game rematch at Ohio State, the Florida basketball team will load up on lightweights as the Gators try to break in a team that returns only four scholarship players from last season.

At the O’Connell Center, Florida will face the likes of Stetson, Jacksonville and High Point. Before the SEC schedule begins, the only team headed to the O’Connell Center with a chance of sniffing the NCAA Tournament is FSU. If you thought Florida’s matchup with Vermont in Tampa was a throwaway game, think again. The Catamounts had the third-highest RPI (85) last season among the Gators’ non-conference opponents. The average of those opponents: 183.4. And that’s with Ohio State (1) skewing the number. It also doesn’t count North Carolina Central, which is making the transition this season from Division II to Division I.

Even after losing six of the top seven players from a team that won consecutive national titles, the Gators should enter SEC play 13-2 at worst. In other words, an 8-8 conference season gets Florida to 21 wins. Add a win in the SEC Tournament, and the Gators probably make the NCAA Tournament. This schedule could backfire, though. If the Gators do wind up on the bubble, tournament selection committee members may leave them out of the dance as punishment for playing such a weak non-conference schedule.

Here’s the schedule, with the 2006-07 RPI of non-conference opponents in parentheses.

November
Fri. 9 North Dakota State (160)
Sun. 11 Tennessee Tech (144)
Wed. 14 North Carolina Central (Div. II)
Sat. 17 Rutgers (215)
Tues. 20 North Florida (333)
Fri. 23 Florida State (41)
Tues. 27 Stetson (285)
Fri. 30 vs. Vermont at Tampa (85)


December
Mon. 3 Jacksonville (201)
Wed. 5 Florida A&M (171)
Sat. 15 vs. Georgia Southern at Jacksonville (234)
Wed. 19 Charleston Southern (330)
Sat. 22 at Ohio State (1)
Sat. 29 vs. Temple at Sunrise (182)


January
Wed. 2 High Point (185)
Tues. 8 at Alabama
Sat. 12 Auburn
Wed. 16 at Ole Miss
Sat. 19 Kentucky
Wed. 23 at South Carolina
Sun. 27 Vanderbilt


February
Sat. 2 at Arkansas
Tues. 5 at Tennessee
Sat. 9 Georgia
Wed. 13 LSU
Sat. 16 at Vanderbilt
Wed. 20 South Carolina
Wed. 27 at Georgia


March
Sat. 1 Mississippi State
Wed. 5 Tennessee
Sun. 9 at Kentucky