Gators basketball (4-1) will face unfamiliar opponents in a meeting of the Big Ten, Big 12, SEC and Big East in San Diego, California, for the Rady Children’s Invitational. Florida will be joined by TCU, Providence and Wisconsin.
“TCU, Wisconsin, Providence is a good field,” head coach Todd Golden said. “Both of these games will be Quad 2 or better.”
TCU Horned Frogs
The Gators enter the tournament on a four-game win streak and first take on TCU (3-2) at 3 p.m. Thursday at the Jenny Craig Pavilion in San Diego.
The contest will be the Horned Frogs’ first time on the road so far this season. They fell in close games to the New Orleans Privateers and No. 6 Michigan, but secured convincing wins over the rest of their opponents, including a 104-63 victory against Saint Francis.
While TCU has featured a different leading scorer in almost every contest this season, its key piece is senior guard Jayden Pierre. He averages 12.2 points, 2.8 rebounds and 2.2 assists a game, and is followed by forward Micah Robinson who averages 10.8 points and six rebounds.
The Horned Frogs also returned their leading rebounder from last season with sophomore forward David Punch averaging 10.6 points and 6.2 rebounds a game.
This season, TCU has found the most success forcing turnovers, with 16.8 turnovers forced a game. The Gators have struggled this season in limiting turnovers and are averaging 15 a game.
“This is going to be a big time ball control scout for us,” Golden said. “I think they're really active. They do a good job, and their ball screen coverage is physical. And for us, a big part of it is just just holding on to the ball.”
After TCU, Florida will then face Providence (4-2) or Wisconsin (4-1) at 3 p.m. or 5:30 p.m. Friday in the championship or consolation game.
Providence Friars
Florida last met the Friars in 2019 and secured an 83-51 win. The Gators have won each of the pair’s five contests and will look to remain undefeated against the program. The smallest margin of victory for the Gators was a 10-point win in 2005.
Providence is an efficient scoring team, shooting over 48% from the field and averaging 93.2 points per game. It has a completely revamped roster from its struggles last season and only returned five players from its 6-14 2024-25 campaign.
Its most touted addition is guard Jason Edwards who averages 19.3 points, 3.8 rebounds and four assists a game. The transfer from Vanderbilt scored 20 points against Florida’s national championship squad last season and currently ranks third in the Big East in scoring. He is effective at getting to the free throw line and leads a squad that is the most efficient free throw shooting team in its conference.
The Friars have depth at the guard position as well with five backcourt players averaging double-digit points. Freshman Stefan Vaaks is averaging 14.8 points a game.
They are also bolstered in the frontcourt by 6’10” forward Oswin Erhunmwunse, who leads with 8.5 rebounds a game and averages 7.3 points. He leads the Big East in blocks, averaging four a game.
Wisconsin Badgers
The Gators have found less success against Wisconsin than against the Friars in the past with a 3-2 all-time record.
“Wisconsin has a chance to be a top 25 team all year,” Golden said. “TThey're elite offensively from what I've seen.”
The two last met in 2017 during the NCAA Tournament where Florida eked out a 84-83 win in the Sweet Sixteen. The Badgers went into this season ranked No. 24 but recently dropped after a blowout loss to No. 9 BYU on on Friday. They still received votes in this week’s poll.
Guards Nick Boyd and John Blackwell are the backcourt duo to watch out for. They average XYZ points and XYZ points, respectively.19.2 and 18.4 points, respectively. Blackwell is a versatile force for Wisconsin, also averaging 5.6 rebounds a game and boasting a 45.2 3-point percentage.
Wisconsin rivals Florida’s size with its starting forwards Nolan Winter and Austin Rapp at 7’0” and 6’10”. The matchup between them and Florida’s forwards Rueben Chinyelu and Alex Condon will be a crucial component.
Across each team's five game slate, Chinyelu has out-rebounded Winter with 11.4 rebounds a game. However, despite Chinyelu’s stellar offensive efforts in the past few games recording back-to-back double-doubles against Miami and Florida State, Winter has been a larger contributor offensively, averaging 14.2 points per game.
As a unit, the Badgers will be its deepest and most experienced opponent with the team having NCAA Tournament experience last season up until the second round.
Contact Ava DiCecca at adicecca@alligator.org. Follow her on X @avadicecca24.
Ava is a sophomore sports journalism student and the volleyball beat reporter for fall 2025. She enjoys playing basketball and volleyball in her free time and going on beach trips with friends. She has been a Boston sports fan all her life (Brad Marchand we miss you).
