UF MBK: Gators to Face Xavier in Phil Knight Legacy Opener

Florida will play at 5:30 p.m. ET on Thanksgiving Day

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Florida men’s basketball will face Xavier on Thanksgiving Day in the opening round of the Phil Knight Legacy event in Portland, Oregon. Tip is set for 5:30 p.m. Eastern on Nov. 24, airing on ESPN2 from Veterans Memorial Coliseum.

Florida makes its first holiday tournament appearance under head coach Todd Golden, while Sean Miller takes over at Xavier for a second stint as the team’s head coach.

The Gators and Musketeers notably met in the 2019 Charleston Classic championship game, a 70-65 Gators victory. The teams most recently squared off in this past season’s National Invitation Tournament second round, a Musketeers win in Cincinnati with both teams being coached by interim head coaches. Florida is 2-3 all-time vs. Xavier and 1-1 in neutral-site games.

The Florida-Xavier matchup is paired with a Duke-Oregon State showdown in the bracket, with the respective winning and losing teams meeting up the following day, Friday, Nov. 25, at the Moda Center. The Gators will then meet a team from the opposite side of the bracket – Gonzaga, Portland State, Purdue or West Virginia – to wrap the event on Sunday, Nov. 27.

Moda Championships Packages are now on sale. Single session tickets will be on sale Friday, July 29 at 1 p.m. ET / 10 a.m. PT with ticket information available here<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__www.rosequarter.com_hoops_hoops-2Dheadquarters&d=DwIFAg&c=sJ6xIWYx-zLMB3EPkvcnVg&r=o5LKAX7slotfFMyE71jI7L22NYBIi1-KbRGNSXudTPo&m=dHIdeFJU4rk7z3lZRxT-KBjwqKNcUk2_RE-ykYu_mFPb7t9-tp50bTYknifsRDDX&s=roNW8bzTzGIW9fOTdmTRS-Wanp_-xtV9kvIQQ7RfMAI&e= >.

Date

Time (ET)

Matchup/Event

Network

Arena

Thu, Nov. 24

3 p.m.

Duke vs. Oregon State

ESPN

Veterans Memorial Coliseum

5:30 p.m.