Florida to face ‘Cuse in BIG EAST/SEC Challenge

By Adam Silverstein
May 19, 2011

ESPN officially announced the field for the 2011 BIG EAST/SEC Challenge on Thursday, and the Florida Gators are set to play the Syracuse Orange at the Carrier Dome in Syracuse, NY on Dec. 2 as part of the three-day event.

Undergoing a format change this year, the BIG EAST/SEC Challenge will feature 12 games in on-campus arenas rather than four games at neutral sites. It will last from Dec. 1-3 with six games played at the home arenas of each conference.

All 12 of the SEC’s teams will compete in the event while four Big East teams (the conference has 16 total) will not be in action.

Though the invitational has been around since 2007, Florida has only competed in it once. The Gators lost to the the Orange 85-73 in Tampa, FL on Dec. 10, 2009.

Syracuse leads the all-time series against Florida 3-1.

The Gators’ game against the Orange will be their fifth all-time in the Carrier Dome (4-0); however, Florida have never played Syracuse in the building. All of the Gators’ previous contests there have been in NCAA Tournament action.

2011 BIG EAST/SEC Challenge
Dec. 1
Georgetown at Alabama
Providence at South Carolina
St. John’s at Kentucky
DePaul vs. Ole Miss

Dec. 2
Seton Hall vs. Auburn
Syracuse vs. Florida
Cincinnati at Georgia
Louisville vs. Vanderbilt

Dec. 3
Connecticut vs. Arkansas
West Virginia at Mississippi State
Rutgers vs. LSU
Pittsburgh at Tennessee

All games will be televised on ESPN, ESPN2 or ESPNU.

As OGGOA first reported on April 28, UF will also compete in the Global Sports Shootout tournament to begin the 2011-12 season. The event, which is a collection of games played at different arenas, will see Florida play on the road against Ohio State, in a neutral site game against Wright State (Tampa) and at home against North Florida and Jackson State. UF and WSU will square-off on Nov. 21 at the St. Pete Times Forum; the dates and times for the remainder of the games are still being determined.

2 Comments

  1. Tractorr says:

    Just talked to a friend of mine who is Cuse alum and he told me their message boards are filled with comments about how the fans are pissed that they are not getting Kentucky.

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