Florida vs. Charlotte, Game Thread: Gators’ grand tour ends in Sunrise

For the final six weeks of this fall, Florida’s men’s basketball team has been a roving band of roadies.

The Gators have played their first 10 games in Jacksonville, Lakeland, Tampa, Orlando — Kissimmee, but really Orlando — Jacksonville, New York City, and Tallahassee. Now, they visit Sunrise, for their annual participation in the Orange Bowl Classic, for Saturday’s game against Charlotte (4 p.m., Fox Sports 2/Fox Sports Sun or Fox Sports GO).

This is the last road game before Florida’s new old home hosts the Gators once again, for Wednesday’s game against Arkansas-Little Rock, though it’s more neutral-site contest than anything. Florida has played in the Classic 18 times, and defeated Wake Forest in the game last year.

This year, the Gators play a team that just lost to Wake Forest, in Charlotte, and an old friend in Braxton Ogbueze. The Florida transfer is second on the 49ers in minutes and scoring behind backcourt mate Jon Davis, but it’s Davis who makes Mark Price’s team go. He’s averaging just over 20 points per game, and shooting just under 50 percent from three, while also leading the team in assists.

Florida won’t have big man John Egbunu on Saturday, thanks to a hamstring injury, but it should have most of the rest of its roster, and does have Kasey Hill coming off a career high in points in a loss to Florida State. The 49ers like to run, averaging just more than 74 possessions per game, but they give up more points per possession than they have scored, and have yielded 88 or more points three times, including to non-Division I Newberry.

There will be ample opportunity for Florida to carve up one more team on the road before returning to Gainesville for some home cooking for the first time in the 2016-17 season on this Saturday.