After a 36-4 season that included an SEC and NCAA title, Florida men’s basketball got its first look at who it will face in 2025-26 before heading into conference play.
The reigning national champion Gators will kick off their season Nov. 3 by beginning non-conference play against Arizona at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Arizona holds an all time record of 2-2 against UF and saw their 2024-25 season end with a 24-13 record after losing to Duke in the NCAA Tournament. The Wildcats won their last meeting against the Gators, 65-64, in 2012.
Florida will then head to Gainesville for its home opener on Nov. 6 against North Florida before hosting Florida State in the schools’ annual rivalry game Nov. 11.
The Gators will face Miami in a neutral-site matchup in Jacksonville Nov. 16, before returning home to face Merrimack Nov. 21.
Florida will have a trying non-conference stretch during Thanksgiving break as the Gators kick off a long road stretch with a visit to San Diego, California, to compete in the Rady Children‘s Invitational Nov. 27-28 against Texas Christian, Providence and Wisconsin.
Next, the Gators visit Durham, North Carolina, to play Duke in the ACC-SEC challenge Dec. 2, just a week before visiting New York for a NCAA Tournament second round rematch. The two most recent NCAA Tournament champions — Florida and Connecticut — will face off at Madison Square Garden in the Jimmy V Classic Dec. 9.
Four days later, the Gators will play a neutral site game against George Washington still to be announced, before finally returning to Gainesville to finish non-conference play with three games at home.
UF will face Saint Francis, Colgate and Dartmouth Dec. 17, 21 and 29, respectively to bring both 2025 and non-conference play to a close.
Contact Curan Ahern at cahern@alligator.com. Follow him on X at @CuranAhern.
Curan is the men's tennis beat reporter and a second-year journalism sports & media major. He enjoys spending his free time with pets, at the beach and fishing.
