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Florida Gators finalize non-conference matchups with Miami, GWU

On3 imageby: Zach Abolverdi07/11/25ZachAbolverdi
Florida-Gators-Todd-Golden
Florida Gators head coach Todd Golden celebrates after defeating the Texas Tech Red Raiders during the West Regional final of the 2025 NCAA tournament at Chase Center. (Eakin Howard-Imagn Images)

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — When the Florida Gators announced their 2025-26 non-conference schedule on July 1, they released the scheduled with a pair of yet-to-be announced neutral-site contests. Those games, which had been previously reportedly, were finalized and formally publicized this week.

UF has officially announced that it will face Miami on Nov. 16 in the Jacksonville Hoops Showdown and George Washington on Dec. 13 at the Orange Bowl Classic in Sunrise, Fla. Game time and television information for both games will be announced at a later date.

The Gators hold a 47-24 all-time series lead against Miami and won the most recent meeting, a 78-58 victory in the semifinals of the Nov. 2019 Charleston Classic. Florida holds a 19-4 record all-time in the Orange Bowl Classic, including 1-0 under UF coach Todd Golden (87-76 win vs. Richmond in Dec. 2023).

The other non-conference opponents that Florida unveiled earlier this month included home games against Merrimack (Nov. 21), Saint Francis (Dec. 17), Colgate (Dec. 21) and Dartmouth (Dec. 29).

The Gators will face Arizona on Nov. 3 in Las Vegas to open the 2025-26 campaign before their home opener Nov. 6 vs. North Florida and the annual rivalry game against Florida State in Gainesville on Nov. 11. Following the Merrimack matchup, UF won’t play in the O’Dome for almost an entire month.
 
The Gators will have five straight away from home, including the Thanksgiving tournament in San Diego, the ACC-SEC Challenge at Duke, the Jimmy V Classic vs. UConn in New York City and the Orange Bowl Classic. UF closes out non-conference action with a trio of home games before SEC play starts Jan. 3.

“A lot of people talked about us not having it strong enough out of conference last year. That won’t be this year,” Florida coach Todd Golden said. “When somebody calls and wants your team to come play on opening night against Arizona in a showcase game in Vegas, that’s a compliment. You gotta really evaluate that, so we want to do that. Same thing with the opportunity to play UConn. We’re not going to turn down an opportunity to play in Madison Square Garden on ESPN against one of the best programs in America. And we took it as a huge compliment that they put us against Duke in the SEC/ACC challenge.

“Obviously, Duke is the marquee program in the ACC right now. It’s not close. And for us to be picked to go play there, we take that as another huge compliment. So it’s a challenge, all three of those games are going to be incredibly difficult. We have other really challenging non-conference games as well. But there’s different ways to do it. Last year, we went 13-0 in non-conference. I’m not sure we’ll be able to do that this year. But we can still have a really, really successful non-conference because of the level of opponents that we have.”

Florida Gators 2025-26 Nonconference Schedule

Nov. 3MondayArizonaLas Vegas, Nev.Hall of Fame Series
Nov. 6ThursdayNORTH FLORIDAGAINESVILLE
Nov. 11TuesdayFLORIDA STATEGAINESVILLE
Nov. 16SundayMiamiJacksonvilleJacksonville Hoops Showdown
Nov. 21FridayMERRIMACKGAINESVILLE
Nov. 27ThursdayTCU/Providence/WisconsinSan Diego, Calif.Rady Children’s Invitational
Nov. 28FridayTCU/Providence/WisconsinSan Diego, Calif.Rady Children’s Invitational
Dec. 2TuesdayDukeDurham, N.C.ACC-SEC Challenge
Dec. 9TuesdayUConnNew YorkJimmy V Classic
Dec. 13SaturdayGeorge Washington UniversitySunrise, Fla.Orange Bowl Classic
Dec. 17WednesdaySAINT FRANCISGAINESVILLE
Dec. 21SundayCOLGATEGAINESVILLE
Dec. 29MondayDARTMOUTHGAINESVILLE

2025-26 SEC opponent breakdown

Home and away: Georgia, Kentucky, South Carolina
Home only: Alabama, Arkansas, Auburn, LSU, Mississippi State, Tennessee
Away only: Ole Miss, Missouri, Oklahoma, Texas, Texas A&M, Vanderbilt

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