Matchups set for Noon and 2:30 p.m. tipoffs
Miami Lakes, Fla. (www.orangebowl.org) – Game times for the 26th annual Metro by T-Mobile Orange Bowl Basketball Classic will be Noon and 2:30 p.m. on Saturday, December 21 at the BB&T Center in Sunrise, Fla. All four teams in this year’s Classic played in post-season tournaments a year ago; three in the NCAA Tournament.
The Noon game will feature the South Florida Bulls versus the Florida State Seminoles, followed by the Utah State Aggies against the Florida Gators. Both games will be televised nationally (the Noon game on FS2; the 2:30 game on FS1) as well as statewide on Fox Sports Florida.
For ticket information please contact the Orange Bowl ticket sales office at (305) 341-4701 or visit www.orangebowl.org. For group ticket information, fans are encouraged to contact the Orange Bowl Ticket Office.
The Florida State Seminoles return to the Classic for the 11th time (8-2 record) after a thrilling run to the Sweet 16 in the NCAA Tournament and a No. 10 finish in the final Associated Press poll of the 2018-19 season. The Seminoles are coached by Leonard Hamilton who is the winningest in Florida State history with 334 victories in 17 seasons. They will take on the South Florida Bulls, guided by head coach Brian Gregory, who led his team to a school record 24-win season in 2018-19. Out of the American Athletic Conference, the Bulls had the top turnaround in the NCAA last season by winning 14 more games than in 2017-18 with 24 wins and a College Basketball Invitational championship, the program’s first postseason tournament championship since 1990.
The Florida Gators, whose head coach Mike White has 89 wins through his first four years at the helm will be making their 21st appearance in the Classic with a 17-3 all-time record, are fresh off a third-straight NCAA Tournament bid and fourth consecutive 20-win season. The Gators led the SEC in scoring defense in 2018-19 by allowing 63.6 points per game. They will host the Utah State Aggies and second-year head coach Craig Smith, who won more games than any other head coach in their first year in school history (28). The Aggies are returning four starters from last year’s historic season in which they won their first-ever Mountain West regular season title and tournament championship and made an appearance in the NCAA Tournament as the No. 8 seed, the highest for the Aggies in school history.
With assistance from title sponsor Metro by T-Mobile, the Orange Bowl Basketball Classic will be the only Division I basketball played in Broward County again this season.
About the Orange Bowl:
The Orange Bowl is a 360-member, primarily volunteer non-profit sports organization that promotes and serves the South Florida community. With its primary mission since being created in 1935 to bring tourism to South Florida through an annual football game and events, it has also maintained a legacy of charitable contributions and community outreach. Orange Bowl community outreach efforts are comprised of four pillars: youth sports, fundraising and community events, academic programs and scholarships, and legacy gifts. The Orange Bowl features a year-round schedule of events culminating with the Capital One Orange Bowl on Monday, December 30, 2019. For more information on the 2019-2020 Orange Bowl events, including promotional and volunteer opportunities through the Ambassador Program presented by Panera Bread, log on to www.orangebowl.org or follow the @OrangeBowl on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube and Snapchat.
About the BB&T Center:
Home to the Florida Panthers Hockey Club and leading international concerts and events, the Broward County-owned BB&T Center is one of the top ranked venues of its kind in the world, servicing Broward, Collier, Miami-Dade, Monroe and Palm Beach Counties. For the latest info about upcoming events, visit www.thebbtcenter.com and follow BB&T Center on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
About Fox Sports Florida / Fox Sports Sun:
FOX Sports Florida & FOX Sports Sun are the regional television homes of the Orlando Magic, Tampa Bay Rays, Miami Heat, Miami Marlins, Tampa Bay Lightning and the Florida Panthers. The regional sports networks have been fixtures in the homes of sports fans throughout the Sunshine State for the past 30 years. Today, the networks combine to produce more than 700 live sporting events and over 300 studio based and original programs year round. FOX Sports Florida and FOX Sports Sun are committed to making a positive impact in the communities we serve by engaging our audiences and providing award winning TV and web coverage of Florida’s hometown sports teams. For more information, channel listings and how you can get involved with FOX Sports Florida / FOX Sports Sun, visit www.foxsportsflorida.com.
