Knowing the Florida Gators Opponent: Texas Longhorns

The Gators are up against a team that is arguably better than their record and possess some potential NBA talent
The Gators look to bounce back against the Texas Longhorns
The Gators look to bounce back against the Texas Longhorns / BRYAN TERRY/THE OKLAHOMAN / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Gainesville, Fla. – The No. 5 Florida Gators men’s basketball team needs a bounceback win after being stunned by the Missouri Tigers Tuesday night and their next opponent on the schedule is the Texas Longhorns. The two will share the court on Saturday in Gainesville. 

As mentioned, the Gators hope to rebound quickly from their loss to the Tigers. A sloppy first half – potentially their worst half of the year – led to a 16-point halftime deficit that they couldn’t overcome in the second, losing 83-82

Gators head coach Todd Golden will have seen tons of areas his team needs to clean up if they want to wash out the taste of Tuesday’s loss with a win over Texas. 

And, while Florida will have done their homework on the Longhorns, it’s time to do ours. So, let's get to know the Florida Gators opponent, the Texas Longhorns. 

Looks Can be Deceiving

Records shouldn’t always be taken at face value, especially for the teams in the SEC. Texas currently sits at 12-5 overall and 1-3 in the conference. But of these five losses, four came to ranked opponents. They did host two of them, although they were against previous No. 1 Tennessee and new No. 1 Auburn. Furthermore, they lost these two games by a combined nine points. 

The Longhorns also just secured one of their biggest wins of the season. They traveled to Oklahoma on Wednesday and left the Sooners arena with a 77-73 win. This was their first win in conference play as well, which could provide some momentum heading into Gainesville. 

Lastly, as much as their record says one thing, Golden knows that any team in the SEC isn’t to be taken lightly. 

“Every night is gonna be a quad-one or quad-two opportunity,” Golden said following the loss to Missouri. “Every team has guys that are potential pros, every team for the most part is fighting for an NCAA tournament seed right now. And there's just no easy games.”

Texas Plays Home to Potential Lottery Pick

Like Golden said, every team has potential pros. 

When the Longhorns roll into town, they will be bringing potential lottery pick Tre Johnson. Johnson was the No. 5 ranked player in the 2024 class according to the 247 Sports Composite Rankings and has lived to the hype he garnered throughout high school. 

Having played in 15 of the Longhorn’s 17 games this season, the 6-foot-6, 190-pound freshman from Garland, Tx., is averaging a team-high 18.7 points, 2.8 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game. He’s also connecting on 41.1 percent of his threes this year. He’s a dynamic scorer who the Gators will need to key in on in Saturday’s matchup. 

But Johnson isn’t playing these games one-on-five, he does have some backup. 

In addition to Johnson, the other players that make the Longhorns so dangerous are transfers Arthur Kaluma and Jordan Pope. Kaluma is second on the team in points per game, averaging 14.1, and Pope sits in third with 13.3. Moreover, with Johnson included, these are Texas’ three best shooters. 

This matters because the Gators are one of the best at defending the three. They allowed one player to dismantle them from behind the arc in each of their defeats this season. For the Kentucky loss, it was Koby Brea. In Missouri’s case, it was Caleb Grill. 

Texas Takes Care of the Ball

Florida loves to play with quick pacing and to get out in transition off of missed shots and forced turnovers. However, half of that recipe might be hard to come by. 

Texas is a top-10 team when it comes to limiting their turnovers per game. They sit at No. 9 in the nation in this category, averaging just 9.4 turnovers per game. Conversely, Florida is No. 88 in the nation in this same area, turning the ball over 11.1 times a game. 

With how they care for the ball, it has led to an efficient offense as well. They are No. 23 in the nation in effective field goal percentage. It also has resulted in the Longhorns being No. 37 in assists-to-turnover ratio. 

Lastly, this will be the fourth top-50 scoring offense that the Gators have faced. The other three are North Carolina, Kentucky and Missouri. And, in these three games, they are giving up an average of 91.0 points per game. Now compare that to the 65.9 they are giving up to all opponents this year and it’s a pretty drastic difference. Florida is also 1-2 in these games. 

So, the defense will need to show up on Saturday or else they will be looking at a conference record of 2-3 by the end of it. 

This game between Texas and Florida will tip off at 4 p.m. EST on Saturday and will be televised on ESPN 2. 


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