Florida basketball’s matchup against the UConn Huskies at Madison Square Garden in New York City on Tuesday, Dec. 9, was officially announced by ESPN on Wednesday, setting up a rematch of the 2025 NCAA Tournament Second Round. The Gators narrowly won that game, 77-75, en route to their third-ever national championship.
This fall, the two teams will once again battle on a neutral court in the second half of the Jimmy V Classic, which is named for NC State head coach Jimmy Valvano, who won a national title at age 37. Florida skipper Todd Golden is just two years older, and his recent success made him the youngest head coach to win a ring since Jimmy V.
The game is scheduled as the second half of a double-header that opens with the BYU Cougars facing off with the Clemson Tigers, which tips off at 6:30 p.m. ET. Florida-UConn follows with a 9 p.m. ET start time.
The Huskies hold the all-time edge over the Gators with a 5-2 record dating back to their first meeting in the Sweet 16 of the 1994 NCAA Tournament. Third-seeded Florida prevailed in overtime, 69-60, over second-seeded UConn to advance to the Elite Eight.
Connecticut won the next five meetings spanning from 2013 to 2022, with a pair of victories coming inside the O’Connell Center and the other two on their home court; the third came in the 2014 NCAA Tournament Semifinals — a 63-53 triumph. Then, of course, Florida bookended the series win a win in the Big Dance this spring.
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