UF's non-conference schedule is officially complete again after it was announced on Wednesday that the Stetson Hatters will now play the Gators at the O'Connell Center on Dec. 6, CBS Sports reporter Jon Rothstein reported.
This news comes after Florida's original opponent for that date, the UConn Huskies, canceled their plans to travel to Gainesville late last month because of a scheduled game on Dec. 5 at the Mohegan Sun against North Carolina State.
UF and Stetson have faced off 62 times on the hardwood, with the Gators leading the series 50-12. This will be the first meeting between the two teams since 2011, and UF has won the last 17 contests dating back to 1984.
The Hatters were only 16-17 last season under former Florida assistant coach Donnie Jones. Still, his team did defeat SEC opponent South Carolina during their non-conference schedule early in the season.
While Florida's strength of schedule will certainly take a dip (UConn is No. 43 and Stetson is No. 222 in KenPom's preseason rankings), the Hatters have the capability of battling power-five opponents.
With this matchup sandwiched between road games with Oklahoma and Florida State, it'll be imperative that the Gators don't play down to their competition from the Atlantic Sun Conference.
Contact Evan Lepak at elepak@alligator.org and follow him on Twitter @EvanMPLepak.
Coach Mike White at Florida's game versus UNF last year. This season, the Gators will welcome Stetson to the O'Connell Center for their 63rd meeting on the court.
