Florida releases nonconference basketball schedule for 2023-24 season
Florida will be in search of a bounce-back season in Year 2 under head coach Todd Golden. The nonconference schedule the Gators will face as they look to get off to a strong start has now been released.
Florida will open the upcoming season on Nov. 6 against Loyola Maryland. They will then play their first of six nonconference games against Power 5 opponents when they face off against Virginia in Charlotte.
Other Power 5 matchups on the schedule include Florida State, Wake Forest, Michigan and two of Baylor, Pitt or Oregon State.
Here is the full 2023-24 nonconference schedule for the Florida Gators basketball program:
Nov. 6 vs. Loyola Maryland
Nov. 10 vs. Virginia (Hall of Fame Series; Charlotte)
Nov. 14 vs. Florida A&M
Nov. 17 vs. Florida State
Nov. 22 vs. either Baylor, Pitt or Oregon State (NIT Tip-Off; Brooklyn)
Nov. 24 vs. either Baylor, Pitt or Oregon State (NIT Tip-Off; Brooklyn)
Nov. 29 at Wake Forest
Dec. 5 vs. Merrimack
Dec. 9 vs. Richmond (Orange Bowl Classic; Sunrise, Fla.)
Dec. 14 vs. East Carolina (Lakeland)
Dec. 19 vs. Michigan (Jumpman Invitational; Charlotte)
Dec. 22 vs. Grambling State
Dec. 30 vs. Quinnipiac
Florida is coming off of a 16-17 season in Year 1 under Golden. The Gators reached the NIT last season, falling to UCF in the first round.
Florida big man Colin Castleton gets two-way contract with Los Angeles Lakers
Florida will be without one of its top players from last season in 2023-24 as big man Colin Castleton has started his pro basketball career.
Castleton signed a two-way contract with the Los Angeles Lakers last month after going undrafted.
Castleton, who began his career at Michigan, is a five-year college journeyman. He played his first two seasons in Ann Arbor before becoming a regular piece of Florida’s unit for three years. Castleton finished his career logging 14.9 points, 7.8 rebounds and 2.5 blocks across 78 contests.
He concluded his career with 194 total blocks to his credit — third most in Florida basketball history. He averaged 2.5 blocks per game throughout his career, which is a program record. In 2023, he improved his rim protection skills slightly, averaging 3.0 blocks through 26 starts. Castleton’s strong senior season earned him All-SEC First Team honors after being tabbed to the conference’s second-team in 2021 and 2022.
Before college, Castleton was unranked in the 2018 On3 Industry Rankings, a a proprietary algorithm that compiles ratings and rankings from all four primary recruiting media services.