# 2023–24 Florida Gators men's basketball team

The 2023–24 Florida Gators men's basketball team represented the University of Florida during the 2023–24 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Gators, led by second-year head coach Todd Golden, played their home games at the O'Connell Center in Gainesville, Florida as members of the Southeastern Conference (SEC).

## Previous season

The Gators finished the 2022–23 season 16–17, 9–9 in SEC play, to finish in eighth place. They lost in the first round of the NIT to UCF.

## Offseason
### Departures

Departures :
| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Notes |
| Myreon Jones | 0 | G | 6' 3" | 177 | Graduate student | Birmingham, AL | Graduated |
| CJ Felder | 1 | F | 6' 7" | 240 | Senior | Sumter, SC | Transferred to McNeese |
| Trey Bonham | 2 | G | 6' 0" | 170 | Junior | Mobile, AL | Transferred to Chattanooga |
| Alex Fudge | 3 | F | 6' 9" | 200 | Sophomore | Jacksonville, FL | Undrafted free agent; signed with Los Angeles Lakers |
| Niels Lane | 4 | G | 6' 5" | 215 | Junior | Freehold, NJ | Transferred to Delaware |
| Kyle Lofton | 11 | G | 6' 3" | 188 | Graduate student | Hillside, NJ | Graduated |
| Colin Castleton | 12 | F | 6' 11" | 250 | Senior | DeLand, FL | Undrafted free agent; signed with Los Angeles Lakers |
| Kowacie Reeves | 14 | G | 6' 6" | 192 | Sophomore | Macon, GA | Transferred to Georgia Tech |
| Jason Jitoboh | 33 | C | 6' 11" | 300 | Senior | Abuja, Nigeria | Transferred to Tennessee State |

### Incoming transfers

Incoming transfers :
| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Previous school |
| Zyon Pullin | 0 | G | 6' 4" | 205 | Graduate student | Pleasant Hill, CA | UC Riverside |
| Walter Clayton Jr. | 1 | G | 6' 3" | 195 | Junior | Lake Wales, FL | Iona |
| Micah Handlogten | 3 | C | 7' 1" | 227 | Sophomore | Huntersville, NC | Marshall |
| Tyrese Samuel | 4 | F | 6' 10" | 235 | Graduate Student | Montreal, QC | Seton Hall |
| EJ Jarvis | 15 | F | 6' 8" | 220 | Graduate Student | Washington, D.C. | Yale |
| Julian Rishwain | 23 | G | 6' 5" | 190 | Graduate Student | Los Angeles, CA | San Francisco |

### 2023 recruiting class

College recruiting information :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Alex Condon F | Perth, Australia | NBA Global Academy | 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) | 230 lb (100 kg) | Feb 2, 2023 |
| Star ratings: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: ||||||
| Thomas Haugh F | New Oxford, PA | Perkiomen School | 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) | 200 lb (91 kg) | Jun 29, 2022 |
| Star ratings: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 79 ||||||
| Overall recruiting rankings: ||||||
| Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "Florida 2023 Basketball Commitments". Rivals.com. Retrieved July 14, 2023. "2023 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved July 14, 2023. ||||||

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | High points | High rebounds | High assists | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Non-conference regular season |||||||||
| November 6, 2023* 8:00 p.m., SECN+/ESPN+ | | Loyola (MD) | W 93–73 | 1–0 | 23 – Kugel | 8 – tied | 5 – Clayton Jr. | O'Connell Center (7,023) Gainesville, FL |
| November 10, 2023* 7:00 p.m., ACCN | | vs. Virginia Hall of Fame Series | L 70–73 | 1–1 | 16 – Richard | 14 – Handlogten | 5 – Clayton Jr. | Spectrum Center (6,783) Charlotte, NC |
| November 14, 2023* 7:00 p.m., SECN+/ESPN+ | | Florida A&M | W 89–68 | 2–1 | 20 – Richard | 8 – Samuel | 5 – Clayton Jr. | O'Connell Center (6,675) Gainesville, FL |
| November 17, 2023* 7:00 p.m., SECN | | Florida State Rivalry | W 89–68 | 3–1 | 19 – Clayton Jr. | 10 – Haugh | 5 – Clayton Jr. | O'Connell Center (10,031) Gainesville, FL |
| November 22, 2023* 9:30 p.m., ESPN2 | | vs. Pittsburgh NIT Season Tip-Off semifinals | W 86–71 | 4–1 | 28 – Clayton Jr. | 10 – Samuel | 8 – Pullin | Barclays Center (1,873) Brooklyn, NY |
| November 24, 2023* 5:30 p.m., ESPN | | vs. No. 13 Baylor NIT Season Tip-Off championship | L 91–95 | 4–2 | 25 – Kugel | 9 – Kugel | 5 – Pullin | Barclays Center (1,620) Brooklyn, NY |
| November 29, 2023* 7:15 p.m., ESPNU | | at Wake Forest ACC–SEC Challenge | L 71–82 | 4–3 | 24 – Kugel | 8 – Samuel | 5 – Pullin | LJVM Coliseum (8,165) Winston-Salem, NC |
| December 5, 2023* 7:00 p.m., SECN+/ESPN+ | | Merrimack | W 77–57 | 5–3 | 26 – Clayton Jr. | 16 – Condon | 3 – tied | O'Connell Center (6,813) Gainesville, FL |
| December 9, 2023* 4:00 p.m., SECN | | vs. Richmond Orange Bowl Classic | W 87–76 | 6–3 | 21 – Richard | 14 – Samuel | 6 – Clayton Jr. | Amerant Bank Arena (8,162) Sunrise, FL |
| December 14, 2023* 7:00 p.m., SECN | | vs. East Carolina Florida Tipoff | W 70–65 | 7–3 | 22 – Clayton Jr. | 12 – Condon | 4 – tied | RP Funding Center (3,073) Lakeland, FL |
| December 19, 2023* 7:00 p.m., ESPN | | vs. Michigan Jumpman Invitational | W 106–101 $^{2OT}$ | 8–3 | 22 – Pullin | 11 – Samuel | 5 – Pullin | Spectrum Center (7,027) Charlotte, NC |
| December 22, 2023* 4:00 p.m., SECN+/ESPN+ | | Grambling State | W 96–57 | 9–3 | 17 – Richard | 10 – Samuel | 6 – Pullin | O'Connell Center (8,023) Gainesville, FL |
| December 30, 2023* 1:00 p.m., ESPNU | | Quinnipiac | W 97–72 | 10–3 | 22 – Richard | 9 – tied | 3 – tied | O'Connell Center (9,869) Gainesville, FL |
| SEC regular season |||||||||
| January 6, 2024 12:30 p.m., ESPN | | No. 6 Kentucky Rivalry | L 85–87 | 10–4 (0–1) | 23 – tied | 12 – Handlogten | 3 – tied | O'Connell Center (10,106) Gainesville, FL |
| January 10, 2024 9:00 p.m., SECN | | at Ole Miss | L 85–103 | 10–5 (0–2) | 23 – Clayton Jr. | 15 – Condon | 3 – tied | SJB Pavilion (7,570) Oxford, MS |
| January 13, 2024 4:00 p.m., ESPN | | Arkansas | W 90–68 | 11–5 (1–2) | 20 – Kugel | 11 – Samuel | 8 – Pullin | O'Connell Center (10,445) Gainesville, FL |
| January 16, 2024 5:00 p.m., ESPN2 | | at No. 6 Tennessee | L 66–85 | 11–6 (1–3) | 16 – Clayton Jr. | 11 – Samuel | 4 – Pullin | Thompson–Boling Arena (17,332) Knoxville, TN |
| January 20, 2024 8:00 p.m., ESPNU | | at Missouri | W 79–67 | 12–6 (2–3) | 17 – Samuel | 12 – Handlogten | 3 – tied | Mizzou Arena (11,489) Columbia, MO |
| January 24, 2024 8:30 p.m., SECN | | Mississippi State | W 79–70 | 13–6 (3–3) | 23 – Richard | 9 – Richard | 3 – Pullin | O'Connell Center (8,484) Gainesville, FL |
| January 27, 2024 12:00 p.m., ESPN2 | | Georgia | W 102–98 $^{OT}$ | 14–6 (4–3) | 23 – Handlogten | 17 – Handlogten | 8 – Pullin | O'Connell Center (10,045) Gainesville, FL |
| January 31, 2024 8:00 p.m., ESPN | | at No. 10 Kentucky Rivalry | W 94–91 $^{OT}$ | 15–6 (5–3) | 23 – Clayton Jr. | 13 – Samuel | 7 – Pullin | Rupp Arena (20,068) Lexington, KY |
| February 3, 2024 4:00 p.m., ESPN2 | | at Texas A&M | L 66–67 | 15–7 (5–4) | 18 – Pullin | 11 – Condon | 8 – Pullin | Reed Arena (11,793) College Station, TX |
| February 10, 2024 3:30 p.m., SECN | | No. 12 Auburn | W 81–65 | 16–7 (6–4) | 22 – Kugel | 9 – Handlogten | 3 – Pullin | O'Connell Center (10,808) Gainesville, FL |
| February 13, 2024 8:00 p.m., SECN | | LSU | W 82–80 | 17–7 (7–4) | 21 – Clayton Jr. | 7 – tied | 3 – tied | O'Connell Center (9,007) Gainesville, FL |
| February 17, 2024 1:00 p.m., SECN | | at Georgia | W 88–82 | 18–7 (8–4) | 21 – Clayton Jr. | 7 – tied | 5 – Pullin | Stegeman Coliseum (10,523) Athens, GA |
| February 21, 2024 7:00 p.m., ESPN2 | No. 24 | at No. 13 Alabama | L 93–98 $^{OT}$ | 18–8 (8–5) | 27 – Clayton Jr. | 13 – Handlogten | 6 – Pullin | Coleman Coliseum (11,077) Tuscaloosa, AL |
| February 24, 2024 1:00 p.m., SECN | No. 24 | Vanderbilt | W 77–64 | 19–8 (9–5) | 21 – Richard | 9 – Condon | 6 – Pullin | O'Connell Center (10,358) Gainesville, FL |
| February 28, 2024 6:30 p.m., SECN | No. 24 | Missouri | W 83–74 | 20–8 (10–5) | 28 – Samuel | 12 – Handlogten | 5 – Clayton Jr. | O'Connell Center (9,072) Gainesville, FL |
| March 2, 2024 12:00 p.m., ESPN | No. 24 | at No. 18 South Carolina | L 76–81 | 20–9 (10–6) | 20 – Clayton Jr. | 6 – Haugh | 7 – Pullin | Colonial Life Arena (16,978) Columbia, SC |
| March 5, 2024 7:00 p.m., ESPN | | No. 16 Alabama | W 105–87 | 21–9 (11–6) | 23 – Richard | 7 – Haugh | 3 – tied | O'Connell Center (11,009) Gainesville, FL |
| March 9, 2024 4:30 p.m., SECN | | at Vanderbilt | L 78–79 | 21–10 (11–7) | 20 – Pullin | 8 – Condon | 8 – Pullin | Memorial Gymnasium (6,442) Nashville, TN |
| SEC tournament |||||||||
| March 14, 2024 9:30 p.m., SECN | (6) | vs. (11) Georgia Second round | W 85–80 | 22–10 | 22 – Clayton Jr. | 15 – Samuel | 8 – Pullin | Bridgestone Arena (13,771) Nashville, TN |
| March 15, 2024 9:30 p.m., SECN | (6) | vs. (3) No. 19 Alabama Quarterfinals | W 102–88 | 23–10 | 23 – Clayton Jr. | 9 – Haugh | 4 – Clayton Jr. | Bridgestone Arena (18,244) Nashville, TN |
| March 16, 2024 3:30 p.m., ESPN | (6) | vs. (7) Texas A&M Semifinals | W 95–90 | 24–10 | 20 – Aberdeen | 9 – Condon | 5 – tied | Bridgestone Arena (16,499) Nashville, TN |
| March 17, 2024 1:00 p.m., ESPN | (6) | vs. (4) No. 12 Auburn Championship | L 67–86 | 24–11 | 15 – Pullin | 7 – tied | 13 – Clayton Jr. | Bridgestone Arena (18,532) Nashville, TN |
| NCAA tournament |||||||||
| March 22, 2024 4:30 p.m., TBS | (7 S) | vs. (10 S) Colorado First round | L 100–102 | 24–12 | 33 – Clayton Jr. | 9 – Aberdeen | 6 – Condon | Gainbridge Fieldhouse (16,702) Indianapolis, IN |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. S=South region. All times are in Eastern. |||||||||
Source:

## Rankings

Ranking movements Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking — = Not ranked RV = Received votes :
| | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week |
| Poll | Pre | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | Final |
| AP | RV | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | RV | RV | 24 | 24 | RV | RV | RV | RV |
| Coaches | RV | — | RV | RV | — | — | — | — | — | RV | — | — | — | RV | RV | RV | 24 | 25 | RV | 23 | RV |