2007-08 University of
Florida Men’s Basketball Schedule
A total of 16 games against
teams that competed in the postseason in 2007, including nine games against
NCAA Tournament teams highlight the 2007-08 University of Florida
men’s basketball schedule, announced on Monday.
The two-time defending national
champions will have a total of 21 home dates – 19 regular season and two
exhibitions, plus in-state trips to Jacksonville,
Tampa and the Orange Bowl Classic in Sunrise.
Florida opens exhibition play on Nov. 1 against Flagler College
and concludes exhibition play on Nov. 5 against Lynn. The Gators open regular season play by
hosting the Blue Ribbon Challenge, a four-game series beginning on Nov. 9 with North Dakota State, continuing on Nov. 11 with
Tennessee Tech, Nov. 14 with UNC-Central, and concluding on Nov. 17 with
Rutgers.
After a Nov. 20 date with
North Florida, the Gators host Florida
State in the annual tilt between the
two schools on Nov. 23, the night before the football game between the two, as
is customary when the game is played in Gainesville.
Florida hosts Stetson on Nov. 27 before hitting the road for
the first time in a neutral site game with NIT participant Vermont
at the St. Pete Times Forum in Tampa.
A year ago, a crowd of better than 15,000 fans cheered the Gators on to victory
over Florida A&M at the St. Pete Times Forum.
After home games with Jacksonville (Dec. 3) and NCAA Tournament participant Florida A&M (Dec.
5), Florida comes out of its break for final exams with a neutral site game
with Georgia Southern at the Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Arena on Dec. 15.
The visit to Jacksonville
will mark the Gators’ first since winning the opening two rounds of the 2006
NCAA Tournament on the same floor en route to the school’s first national
title.
The Gators return home on Dec.
19 to take on Charleston Southern and then hit
the road on Dec. 22 for their first true road game of the year, at Ohio State,
in a rematch of the 2007 national title game. CBS will broadcast the game
nationally with a 3:45 p.m. tip set.
Florida closes out the 2007 portion of its schedule with its
near-annual visit to the Orange Bowl Classic in Sunrise
on Dec. 29 where the Gators will take on Temple.
The Gators open the New Year and close the non-conference portion of their
schedule on Jan. 2 when High Point
comes to the O’Connell Center.
The Southeastern Conference
schedule opens in difficult fashion with a road game at Alabama on Jan. 8 before a
nationally-televised audience on ESPN. Florida’s
SEC home opener will come on Jan. 12 vs. Auburn
before the Gators wrap-up a three-game set against SEC West competition to open
league play with a road game at Ole Miss.
Kentucky comes to Gainesville
on Jan. 19 in a game to be televised by ESPN before the Gators hit the road for
a game at South Carolina
on Jan. 23 and return home for Vanderbilt on Jan. 27.
Florida opens February with road games at Arkansas
(Feb. 2) and Tennessee (Feb. 5) before
returning home for games with Georgia
(Feb. 9) and LSU (Feb. 13). The Gators wrap up February with a home game with South Carolina
sandwiched in between road games at Vanderbilt and Georgia.
The Gators finish the
regular season with a difficult stretch, as Mississippi
State comes to the O’Connell Center on
March 1 for a game televised by CBS, before Tennessee
comes to Gainesville
for the home finale on March 5. As has been the case in recent years, Florida closes the season out with Kentucky, traveling to Rupp Arena on March 9
for a noon tip on CBS.
The SEC Tournament will once
again be held in Atlanta
at the Georgia Dome from March 13-16.
Additional times and
television dates will be announced at a later date.
-30-
