Florida Gators open 2025-26 season in Las Vegas vs. Arizona
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — The Florida Gators open their 2025-26 season Monday, Nov. 3, vs. Arizona in the 2025 Hall of Fame Series Las Vegas, the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame and Position Sports announced on Monday. It will be the fifth matchup between the two programs.
The 2025 national champions return to action with a neutral-site showdown and will be part of a doubleheader that also includes BYU vs. Villanova. The games will be hosted at T-Mobile Arena and nationally televised across TNT Sports’ networks and platforms.
Florida and Arizona have split four all-time meetings with the most recent in Dec. 2012, a 65-64 UF loss between top-10 teams in Tucson one year after Florida won an overtime battle in Gainesville. The Gators previously competed in the Hall of Fame Series Charlotte, where a shorthanded UF lost 73-70 vs. Virginia in Nov. 2023.
Tickets go on sale for Florida’s season opener on Friday, May 30 at 1 p.m. Eastern and will be available at hofseries.com and axs.com. Additional details regarding broadcast information and game times will be shared at a later date.
The Hall of Fame Las Vegas is Florida’s second early-season event announced to date. The Gators will also compete in the Rady Children’s Invitational Nov. 27-28 in San Diego, where UF will play two games against a field consisting of Providence, TCU and Wisconsin.
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Florida will also meet UConn in the Jimmy V Classic at Madison Square Garden on Dec. 9 and play its home opener on Nov. 6th against North Florida, according to Jon Rothstein.
“This will be our toughest non-conference schedule that we’ve had since we’ve been in Gainesville,” UF coach Todd Golden said on The Sideline with Andy Katz. “We will open up with Arizona in Las Vegas on opening night, which I think is a great game. You know, I have a ton of respect for Tommy Lloyd. They used to kick our butt when he was at Gonzaga and we were at San Francisco. … That’s going to be a fun one.
“(UConn) that’s a scary game already; going to play them in Madison Square and I’ve been able to spend a lot of time with Danny Hurley the last week at the Dicky V Gala and I know they’re going to be ready for us. Let’s just put it that way.
“(The Rady Children’s Invitational) in San Diego has TCU, Wisconsin, and Providence. So we hope to get some good games out there. And you know, I think we’ll get a good game in the ACC/SEC Challenge this year as well. So, we’re going to have our hands full.”
