College basketball’s nonconference schedule is loading up nicely for the 2025-26 season, with the latest addition coming to form in recent days. Reigning national champion Florida has agreed to play UConn on Dec. 9 at Madison Square Garden in the Jimmy V Classic, sources told CBS Sports.
That’s two schools with a combined nine national titles in men’s basketball — including the three most recent.
UConn-Florida is also a high-profile game thanks to its high-profile coaches. Coincidentally enough, Huskies coach Dan Hurley and Gators coach Todd Golden both attended Dick Vitale’s annual gala to fund cancer research in Sarasota, Florida, last Friday. The event is heavily connected with ESPN; the path to get this game done was laid in recent weeks, per sources, shortly after Florida won the national title. The schools claim the three most recent NCAA crowns in men’s college basketball — and are also the two most recent programs to win back-to-back national titles (UConn: 2023, 2024; Florida: 2006, 2007).
Adding to the plot lines, the game will serve as a rematch to one of Florida’s tougher games on its championship run. The Gators needed to maneuver past UConn in last season’s NCAA Tournament, with Golden’s top-seeded squad beating No. 8 UConn 77-75 in the second round. It was one of four NCAA games that featured a second-half Florida comeback.
The Jimmy V Classic has existed for three decades and typically draws in at least one compelling matchup each December, but rare is the case when two active coaches with national championships match wits in this event. The game will broadcast on ESPN and is expected to be the nightcap of a doubleheader that will also feature Clemson vs. BYU on the undercard. BYU should also be a draw with AJ Dybantsa, a five-star recruit who could be the No. 1 pick in the 2025 NBA Draft.
In Gary Parrish’s offseason Top 25 And 1, UConn is ranked fourth, BYU fifth and Florida 15th.
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