While the first two games of the season have resulted in wins for the Gators, they are still just the first two games. Florida defeated Navy on the road by 18 and blew out North Carolina A&T at home by 50, but the competition will only increase in difficulty from here, starting Saturday in Connecticut.
The Gators travel to Uncasville, Connecticut, this weekend to take part in the Mohegan Sun Tip-Off Tournament, where they will face Saint Joseph’s (3-0) on Saturday at 2:30 p.m. and either Purdue or Old Dominion on Sunday, with a time yet to be determined.
Coach Mike White said this weekend’s slate of games will show him a lot about his team and how they stack up against stronger competition.
"Really competitive. Good teams, really good programs. I’m sure we’ll learn a lot," White said. "By Monday we’ll have a better idea what we’re working with and have a better idea of our strengths and weaknesses."
White added that the next game is the most important, so he won’t pay any attention to Florida’s potential Sunday opponent until after Saturday afternoon’s contest.
For the Hawks, senior forward Isaiah Miles is averaging 17 points per game to lead Saint Joseph’s four players that are averaging double-digits in scoring. White knows it won’t be an easy game, especially if the Gators can’t slow down the Hawks’ offense.
"Saint Joe’s is a tall task. Those guys are 3-0. It’s a program that has had a lot of success in the past. They are really playing well, they are really scoring the ball well," White said. "They have five guys that can step up behind the arc and shoot the three, so they’re difficult to defend."
The Gators hope, however, that it’s their offense that will cause the most trouble on Saturday. In Monday’s 104-54 win over North Carolina A&T, Florida showed just how well it can shoot the three and how efficient it can be scoring the ball.
Eight Gators scored from beyond the arc in the win and the team as a whole shot 51.7 percent from three and 53.6 percent from the field.
Sophomore guard Chris Chiozza thinks that performance better represents what Florida is capable of, rather than the Gators’ 15.8 percent from three in their win at Navy.
"Hopefully we’re going to be the team that you saw (Monday)," Chiozza said. "Realistically, we’re a good shooting team from the three-point line, so I expect us to be somewhere around the (North Carolina A&T) game almost every game."
Between their first and second games, Florida had two days off. Now it will have had four days off before facing Saint Joseph’s. The back-to-back games on Saturday and Sunday could present some challenges to the Gators, as Chiozza believes.
"It’s going to be tough on your body. You’re not going to have time to recover, so we’re going to have to listen to Preston (Greene), our trainer, and do what they tell us to do so that we can be ready to play the next day," Chiozza said.
He and White both agreed, though, that the Gators’ depth and rotation will help to ease that fatigue factor.
"If you looked at it on paper we actually probably have an advantage in what we’ve talked about, our depth and our ability to play two or three or four different ways in the half court, in the full court, we can play a little bit small, we can play a little bit big," White said of his team’s versatility.
The Gators will welcome any advantage they can get this weekend, in what will be a test of tough opposition, and the team knows it will need to step up to the challenge if it happens to emerge unscathed.
"It’s tough every game, but this weekend’s going to be a really difficult one," Chiozza said. "We play Saint Joseph’s Saturday, a good team, physical, and then (Sunday) we’re not sure who we’re playing, but both of those teams are really good.
"We just have to come prepared for both games and come out hard and aggressive."
Follow Alex Maminakis on Twitter @alexmaminakis
Chris Chiozza drives the ball into the paint during Florida's 68-61 loss to No. 1 Kentucky on Feb. 7, 2014 in the O'Connell Center.
