Florida Gators Basketball Faces Jacksonville Dolphins: Key Areas for Improvement

The Florida Gators men’s basketball team is set to face the Jacksonville Dolphins on November 7, 2024, in their latest matchup of the 2024-25 college basketball season. Coming off a 98-83 victory over the University of South Florida (USF), the Gators are favored by 21.5 points against the Dolphins, who recently defeated Trinity Baptist College 78-65.

Despite their recent win, there are several areas where the Gators need to improve. One critical aspect is their three-point shooting. In the game against USF, Florida shot a disappointing 5/25 from three-point range. While they managed to score 98 points by exploiting USF’s interior defense, they will need to improve their three-point shooting as they face better interior defenses in future games.

Another area of concern is the team’s ball movement and assist ratio. Against USF, Florida had only 10 assists on 33 made baskets, which translates to an assist on just 30.3% of their made shots. This ratio is significantly lower than last year’s worst team in the country, highlighting the need for better ball distribution and teamwork.

Defensive rebounding is also a key area for improvement. While Florida excels in offensive rebounds, they were mid-pack last season in defensive rebounding, ranking 146th with a rate of 73%. In the USF game, they managed to secure 72.2% of USF’s misses, but this needs to be consistently improved, especially as they approach SEC play.

The game against Jacksonville will be broadcast on the SEC Network+ and is scheduled to start at 8:00 PM ET. Fans can also stream the game through various platforms, including ESPN+.