Army @ Florida preview
Mohegan Sun Arena
The Florida Gators will open their season against surging Army (3-0) on Wednesday at the Mohegan Sun in Uncasville, Conn.
The Gators initially were slated to open the season at Oklahoma that day, but the game was cancelled due to COVID-19 issues in the Sooners' program.
The Gators will face Army before facing Boston College (1-2) at the Mohegan Sun on Thursday before traveling back to campus to host Stetson (0-1) on Sunday.
Florida, which went 19-12 last season, also had games against UMass Lowell and Virginia, which were scheduled to be played at the Mohegan Sun, canceled due to COVID-19 issues.
The Gators return three returning starters from last year's team that finished 19-12, led by Keyontae Johnson (14 ppg, 7.1 rpg), who is one of the league's best and could play his way into the NBA with a stellar junior season.
He's complemented by Noah Locke (10.6 ppg, 79 made 3-pointers last year) and Scottie Lewis (8.5 ppg) on a team that doesn't have a senior or a returning player who averaged more than Tre Mann's 5.3 points per game.
Army is coming off a 78-74 win over Buffalo on Saturday to give the Black Knights their best start in five seasons.
The Black Knights, who finished 15-15 last year, received 19 points and 10 rebounds from Josh Caldwell, with Alex King adding 16 points, eight rebounds and four assists. The victory against Buffalo is significant, considering the Bulls won 20 games last year and have advanced to the NCAA Tournament four times since 2015.
The Black Knights opened the season with convincing wins over Division III U.S. Merchant Marine Academy, 93-32, and Central Connecticut, 79-57.
Army is averaging more than 10 3-pointers and 22 assists per game. Lonnie Grayson has been outstanding from beyond the arc, making 12 of 23 attempts.
Army has four players averaging in double figures --Grayson (14 ppg), Caldwell (12.7 ppg), King (11.7 ppg) and Kwabena Davis (11 ppg), while Jalen Rucker averages 5.3 assists per game.
--Field Level Media