Florida Hoops to Face Penn State in Basketball Hall of Fame Invitational
While it is unclear how the next basketball season will unfold for the Florida Gators or any other collegiate basketball team, there will be some form of basketball happening during the winter.
Announced today, the Florida Gators, along with seven other teams, including West Virginia, Purdue, Penn State, Stanford, Georgia Tech and Princeton, will take part in the second annual Basketball Hall of Fame Invitational, organized by the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.
Taking place at Brooklyn's Barclays Center on December 13th will be the following matchups: Penn State vs. Florida, Purdue vs. West Virginia, Stanford vs. Georgia Tech and Army vs. Princeton for a quadruple-header.
“The Basketball Hall of Fame is excited to return to one of the greatest basketball cities in the world,” said John L. Doleva, President and CEO of the Basketball Hall of Fame via a press release. “Barclays Center is a beautiful world-class arena and we are proud to provide this unique experience to the eight teams participating and their fans.”
The Naismith Memorial Hall of Fame has not yet released any information regarding ticket sales, game times and television deals as of right now. "As the health and safety of the athletes, fans and staff is of the utmost importance, the Basketball Hall of Fame will continue to monitor the COVID-19 situation closely in the coming months and provide updates as needed," the organization stated.
Facing off against Penn State for the third time in history, the teams are tied in the series 1-1, with the Gators winning the most recent matchup in 1982, 82-60 in Jacksonville (Fla.).
Ending the regular season this year, the Gators were seeded as a No. 5 seed in the SEC Tournament, while Penn State earned a No. 6 seed in the Big Ten Tournament. Neither team were able to participate in their respective tournaments due to the on-going pandemic caused by the coronavirus.
Gators head coach Mike White issued a statement via the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame earlier today, stating:
“The Basketball Hall of Fame puts on a first-class event, and we’re excited about coming back to New York to compete on this stage. We always look to build a challenging non-conference schedule for our team and our fans, and this game against a really good Penn State program fits that mold.”
The Gators are tentatively slated to begin their 2020-21 season on November 10th against Samford.
