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Game Preview: Texas has another Quadrant 1 opportunity versus No. 5 Florida

Joe Cookby:Joe Cook•about 12 hours•

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Jordan Pope
Jordan Pope (Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images)

The Texas Longhorns (12-5, 1-3 SEC) notched their first Quadrant 1 win of the season earlier this week against Oklahoma in addition to recording their first win in Southeastern Conference play.

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Problem is, Oklahoma is currently No. 56 in the NET rankings that determine which Quadrant a certain game fits into. The Sooners have to stay in the top 75 for that victory in Norman, Okla. to remain a key part of the Longhorns’ postseason resume, one that currently has Rodney Terry‘s squad as one of the last four in the 2025 NCAA Tournament per ESPN.

The Longhorns’ next game, Saturday’s tilt in Gainesville, Fla. against the No. 5 Florida Gators, is very unlikely to drop out of the Quadrant 1 category. Texas has a formidable challenge in the Gators, who represent the fourth top-10 team Terry’s squad has faced in its first five SEC games.

The Gators (15-2, 2-2 SEC) have surged into the top five after starting the season two spots behind Texas in the AP Poll at No. 21. They dropped a scoring festival at Kentucky to open conference play, shellacked top-ranked Tennessee and conquered Arkansas at Fayetteville before returning home on Tuesday to face Missouri. The Tigers, not expected to be much of a threat to Florida, left the O’Connell Center with an 83-82 win.

Texas is coming off a victory over Oklahoma where the Longhorns saw a 23-point second-half lead dwindle to as small as two points in the closing moments. The Horns just barely staved off disaster thanks to Jordan Pope, who scored 13 straight points for Texas in the final few minutes of the game.

Texas has struggled against ranked teams this season, failing to beat Connecticut, Texas A&M, Auburn, and Tennessee when they matched up against the Longhorns with a number by their name. Florida presents a chance for a nice addition to Texas’ resume, both in terms of SEC play, a win over a ranked opponent, and a second Quadrant 1 victory.

Friday night availability report

Notes courtesy of UT

GameDay Quick Facts

  • TELEVISION: The game will be televised nationally by ESPN2 with Tom Hart (play-by-play) and Jimmy Dykes (analyst) on the call.
  • RADIO: The Longhorn Radio Network broadcasts every UT game on the statewide network. Craig Way (pxp) and Eddie Oran (analyst) will call the action. Check TexasSports.com for a listing of affiliates carrying the game.
  • SERIES: Texas leads, 4-3. Last meeting: Texas 85-82 (Dec. 9, 1997; Austin).

Notables

  • STRENGTH OF SCHEDULE: Texas will face its third Top-5 opponent in its last four games when it travels to Gainesville to play No. 5/4 Florida on Saturday. The Longhorns previously hosted No. 2/2 Auburn and No. 1/1 Tennessee last week.
  • SUCCESS AWAY FROM AUSTIN: The Longhorns have posted a 2-1 record in true road games and a 4-2 mark in games played away from Austin (2-1 in neutral-site contests) this season. Texas has earned road wins at NC State and Oklahoma.
  • POPE ON A ROLL: Junior G Jordan Pope has averaged a team-best 20.7 ppg over the last seven contests while converting 53.8-percent (49-91) from the floor, including a 46.2-percent mark (24-52) from three-point range, and 88.5-percent (23-26) from the free throw line. He posted a team-high 27 points (9-17 FG, 6-6 FT) and four steals in 36 minutes during Wednesday’s win at Oklahoma.

2024-25 Texas Longhorns

Tre Johnson, 6-foot-6, 190 lbs, Fr., Link Academy (Mo.), 18.7 pts, 2.8 reb, 2.1 ast

Arthur Kaluma, 6-foot-7, 225 lbs, Sr., Kansas State, 14.1 pts, 7.8 reb, 2.1 ast

Jordan Pope, 6-foot-2, 175 lbs, Jr., Oregon State: 13.3 pts, 1.5 reb, 1.9 ast

Tramon Mark, 6-foot-5, 200 lbs, Gr., Arkansas: 9.4 pts, 3.5 reb, 1.3 ast

Kadin Shedrick, 6-foot-11, 231 lbs, Gr.: 8.3 pts, 6.0 reb, 0.5 ast

Chendall Weaver, 6-foot-3, 180 lbs, Jr.: 6.7 pts, 5.1 reb, 1.5 ast

Jayson Kent, 6-foot-8, 215 lbs, Gr., Indiana State: 4.6 pts, 2.4 reb, 0.7 ast

Julian Larry, 6-foot-3, 185 lbs, Gr., Indiana State: 5.6 pts, 1.7 reb, 4.0 ast

Ze’Rik Onyema, 6-foot-9, 235 lbs, Sr.: 3.7 pts, 2.3 reb, 0.2 ast

Devon Pryor, 6-foot-7, 185 lbs, So.: 3.4 pts, 1.6 reb, 0.7 ast

Nic Codie, 6-foot-8, 200 lbs, Fr., Dallas (Texas) Newman Smith: 3.1 pts, 1.1 reb, 0.2 ast

Jamie Vinson, 6-foot-11, 225 lbs, Fr., Oak Hill Academy (Va.): 2.5 pts, 1.3 rebs, 0.1 ast

Cole Bott, 6-foot-6, 195 lbs, Gr. (walk-on): 0.7 pts, 0.3 rebs, 0.5 ast

Preston Clark, 6-foot-6, 220 lbs, R-So. (walk-on): 0.3 pts, 1.5 rebs, 0.3 ast

Malik Presley, 6-foot-6, 200 lbs, So., Vanderbilt

Anthon McDermott, 6-foot-5, 185 lbs, Fr., Hallsville (Texas) (walk-on)

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Projected Florida Starting Lineup

G Walter Clayton Jr.: 17.8 pts, 3.4 rebs, 3.8 ast

G Alijah Martin: 15.8 pts, 5.5 rebs, 2.7 ast

G Will Richard: 13.2 pts, 5.1 rebs, 1.9 ast

F Alex Condon: 10.8 pts, 8.0 rebs, 2.3 ast

C Rueben Chinyelu: 5.6 pts, 7.5 rebs, 0.9 ast

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