How to watch: Florida vs. Pitt basketball
After routing arch-rival Florida State last week, can the Florida Gators basketball team continue that great play? We’ll find out Wednesday night when they face Pitt at 9:30 in New York in the Preseason NIT on ESPN2 — and the game will also be streaming on fuboTV, which offers a free trial.
Pitt (4-0) will be no easy foe.
The Panthers’ closest game to date was a 12-point win over Florida Gulf Coast. Granted, the wins haven’t come against a strong schedule.
Senior forward Blake Hinson leads the Pitt offense by averaging 20.5 points and 5.8 boards a game. He’s shooting 46.4 percent from the floor and 39.4 percent from 3-point range.
Hinson has familiarity with the SEC; he spent two seasons at Ole Miss.
“Blake Hinson, a fifth-year guy that has bounced around a lot and kind of found a home at Pitt,” Gators coach Todd Golden said. “He played really well last year and is doing so again this year.”
Overall, Pitt shoots 49.4 percent and makes 37.8 percent of its 3-point attempts. The Panthers are scoring 95.5 points per game and have outrebounded opponents by a wide margin.
“Yeah, they have good size and really good rebounding numbers so far. We’ve been able to (rebound) so far. I think (UF communications) posted something today that for the last three games we’ve had more than 20 offensive rebounds and that’s the first time that’s happened here in a long, long time. Obviously, a great change in the right direction for this program from where we were last year. But Pitt will bring more challenges that way. They have a lot of size and a lot of length in the front court.”
The Florida Gators have a balanced offensive attack
The Gators (3-1) are coming off their best performance to date — that 89-68 win over FSU that wasn’t much of a game for the final 30 minutes. Florida has won two straight since losing to Virginia, 73-70.
Transfer guard Zyon Pullin played for the first time this season against the ‘Noles and his addition was significant. Pullin (15 points) is one of six Gators averaging in double figures, a sign of the team’s strong depth this season. Florida averages 85.3 points and is shooting 49.2 percent from the field — and 33.3 percent from 3-point range.
“It’s a great event as it is, having an opportunity to play Pitt and then either Baylor or Oregon State in Barclays, an NBA arena in a big-time city,” Golden said. “Should be really fun to be there in New York and Brooklyn and have some time to spend with our families.”
