Report: Gators to host UConn in Todd Golden's first year
New Florida Gators head coach Todd Golden will get a great test at home in his first year. The UCONN Huskies will fulfill a home-and-home contract and visit Gainesville this season.
A report from Jon Rothstein has the Huskies heading to Gainesville on December 7, 2022.
The home-and-home contract was initially agreed to in 2019. Florida made a trip to Storrs on November 17, 2019. The Gators dropped that game 62-59, as their comeback attempt ran out of time. The Gators lost it by shooting just 31 percent in the first half, clanging 10 of their 11 attempts from the 3-point line, and trailed, 25-20, at the break. Florida would outscore the Huskies in the second half but wouldn’t make enough shots to secure a win.
The Gators and Huskies were supposed to play again in the 2020-21 season but that game never came to be. That season began three weeks later than it usually would have due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Florida did make another trip to Connecticut, to participate in the “Bubbleville” Tournament. The Gators beat Army (76-69) and Boston College (90-70) that weekend.
The following season the Gators had non-conference scheduling conflicts that prohibited the two teams from playing.
Gators history against UCONN
The Gators and Huskies have played each other five times in their history. Florida won the first matchup between the two schools but are still searching for their second win in the series.
The Gators won the first-ever meeting, which was played in Miami in the Sweet Sixteen. UF would go on to beat Boston College in the Elite Eight but fall to Duke in the Final Four. It was the first time Florida had made it to a Final Four in program history.
The two teams wouldn’t meet again until 2013, when Florida made its first-ever trip to Gampel Pavilion. The next meeting was back in the NCAA Tournament and a heartbreaker for the Gators. That season the Gators had run through the regular season and won the SEC Tournament. Florida won the regular season and SEC Tournament. They entered the NCAA Tournament as the No. 1 overall seed on a 26-game winning streak.
Florida beat Albany, Pittsburgh, UCLA, and Dayton on the way to the Final Four. There they met UConn and Shabazz Napier, who bested the Gators by 10. Florida finished the season 36-3 with two of those losses coming to the Huskies.
| Date | Season | Location | Score |
| 3-25-1994 | 1993-94 | Miami, FL (Sweet 16) | 62-59 UConn |
| 12-2-2013 | 2013-14 | Storrs, CT | 63-59 UConn |
| 4-5-2014 | 2014-15 | Arlington, TX (Final Four) | 63-53 UConn |
| 1-3-2015 | 2015-16 | Gainesville, FL | 65-64 UConn |
| 11-17-2019 | 2019-20 | Storrs, CT | 69-60 (OT) UF |
