How to watch: Florida Gators vs. Michigan basketball
Florida’s early season basketball schedule already has included several games against teams from other power conferences. Now, here comes one more.
The Gators (7-3) on Tuesday will face Michigan 6-5) in the Jumpman Invitational in Charlotte, N.C.
The game, which begins at 7 p.m., will air on ESPN, and it will also be streaming on fuboTV, which offers a free trial.
“It’s a great event,” Florida coach Todd Golden said. “For us, another great opportunity, and the first time for us, really, since Baylor to be on the national stage and to show where we’ve grown and gotten better. But any time you can play in an NBA arena, be on ESPN against a very highly respect program is a great opportunity.
The Florida Gators have won three straight games, albeit against teams that don’t have Michigan’s historical pedigree. Meanwhile, the Wolverines are on a two-game winning streak.
Michigan leads the all-time series vs. the Florida Gators
Michigan is 3-1 all-time against Florida. All four previous games have been played at neutral sites — three at the NCAA Tournament. In those games, the Wolverines are 3-0.
Florida’s one victory against Michigan came in the 1998 Orange Bowl Classic in Miami.
For this Gators team, there have been some growing pains early. But on the flip side, Florida dropped close games to Virginia and No. 13 Baylor that could have been won. In other words, the Gators could realistically be sitting at 9-1 right now.
“We’ve had moments, stretches where we’ve played that way, but most of the time we haven’t been at our absolute best,” Golden said. “We’re still in the stages of getting everyone on the same page and having everyone available at the same time.”
Guard Walter Clayton Jr. leads the Gators in scoring at 16.5 points per game. Three other Gators have double-figure scoring averages, including power-forward Tyrese Samuels, who’s at 13.9 points and 8.4 boards per game.
Florida’s balance is one of its great assets. Seven players average 6.8 or more points a game. Meanwhile, nine Gators average 10 or more minutes a game– and only two are over 30 a game.
Guard Dug McDaniel leads Michigan in scoring (17.9) and forward Olivier Nkamhoua is next (16.5). Nkamhoua also leads the team in rebounding (7.3).
Michigan averages 82 points per game and shoots nearly 50 percent from the field, including a respectable 37.8 from 3-point range.
