Florida Coach Cameron Newbauer unveiled the Gators’ 2018-19 non-conference schedule and seven of the 13 games are against teams that earned a postseason berth last year.
Florida opens its second season under Newbauer with a home game against Gardner Webb on Nov. 6, before playing at a pair of 2018 NCAA Tournament teams in Florida State (Nov. 11) and Mercer (Nov. 15).
Sandwiched between home games versus Northwestern (Nov. 18) and Northeastern (Nov. 28) is a road game at 2018 Postseason WNIT champion Indiana (Nov. 21).
That game against Northeastern begins a four-game home stand for the Gators, who welcome Texas Tech (Dec. 2), Bethune Cookman (Dec. 5) and Florida A&M (Dec. 9) to Exactech Arena at the Stephen C. O’Connell Center.
Florida then embarks on a three-game road trip against 2018 postseason teams, first against Ohio State (Dec. 16), before a two-game run at the Duel in the Desert hosted by UNLV (Dec. 20-21).
The Gators play host to Charleston Southern (Dec. 30) in their final non-conference game.
Dates for the Southeastern Conference portion of the schedule will be announced later. The league opener is slated for Thurs., Jan. 3.
Each school will play a 16-game league schedule, facing each of the other 13 teams once and three of those teams twice. Those teams and locations already have been reviled.
Florida Coach Cameron Newbauer on the non-conference schedule:
“I really like the different challenges our non-conference schedule presents. We play a number of talented teams on the road, as well as some great opponents here at home. We’ll see vastly different styles of basketball and I like that our players will need to adapt quickly from game to game. Our non-conference schedule is designed to prepare us for SEC play. We’ll learn a lot about our team before the league slate begins on January 3rd.â€
Non-Conference Schedule Notes
- 13 total games
- 7 home games
- 6 road games
- 7 Non-conference opponents earned a postseason berth last season: 3 NCAA, 4 WNIT
- UF will play 6 of the 7 2018 postseason opponents on the road
- UF will play teams from 9 different conferences: ACC, Big Ten, Big 12, Big South, Colonial, Mid-Eastern, Mountain West, Pac-12 and Southern
- Indiana won the 2018 WNIT Postseason Championship
Regular-Season Tournaments and Events
- UF will play host to Texas Tech (Dec. 2) in the SEC-Big 12 Challenge
- UF will compete in the Duel in the Desert in Las Vegas, Dec. 20-21
- Farewell to the Gator Holiday Classic – last year was its finale
6 Non-Conference Road Games at 2018 Postseason Teams
- NCAA (3): Florida State (Nov. 11), Mercer (Nov. 15), Ohio State (Dec. 16)
- WNIT (3): Indiana (Nov. 21), vs. Utah (in Las Vegas, Dec. 20), UNLV (possible, Dec. 21)
1 Non-Conference Home Game vs. 2018 Postseason Teams
- WNIT: Bethune-Cookman (Dec. 5)
2 First-Time Foes – both games in Gainesville
- Gardner Webb (Nov. 6)
- Texas Tech (Dec. 2)
Including SEC Opponents, Florida will play:
- 10 teams that competed in the 2018 NCAA Championship
- 5 teams (6 games) that competed in the 2018 Postseason WNIT
- 8 SEC opponents earned a postseason berth in 2018
SEC Home and Home Series
- The Gators will play Alabama, South Carolina and Georgia twice in 2018-19
8 SEC Home Games
- Alabama, Arkansas, Auburn, Georgia, Mississippi State, Missouri, South Carolina, Texas A&M
8 SEC Away Games
- Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky, LSU, Ole Miss, South Carolina, Tennessee, Vanderbilt
Florida’s 2018-19 Non-Conference Schedule – HERE
Nov. 6 GARDNER WEBB
Nov. 11 at Florida State
Nov. 15 at Mercer
Nov. 18 NORTHWESTERN
Nov. 21 at Indiana
Nov. 28 NORTHEASTERN
Dec. 2 TEXAS TECH
Dec. 5 BETHUNE COOKMAN
Dec. 9 FLORIDA A&M
Dec. 16 at Ohio State
Dec. 20 vs. Utah (in Las Vegas)
Dec. 21 vs. UNLV or Hawaii (in Las Vegas)
Dec. 30 CHARLESTON SOUTHERN
Jan. 3 – SEC Opener
FOLLOW THE GATORS
SOCIAL: Twitter | Facebook | YouTube | Instagram
JOIN THE CONVERSATION: #WeChomp