After a brutal end to last season, Florida Basketball is back and is the preseason No. 1 in the country as they will tip off tonight in Tampa against the No. 14 ranked Miami Hurricanes.
Vegas has the game closer than one may expect, and so it will be a good opening night test for the Gators.
How to watch Florida vs. Miami
- Date: Monday, November 2, 2026
- Time: 6 PM
- Location: Benchmark International Arena, Tampa
- Event: Orion180 Tip-Off Classic
- TV: ESPN2
- Florida radio: Gator Sports Network.
Announcers for Florida vs. Miami
Tom Hart will handle play-by-play for ESPN2, with Jimmy Dykes providing analysis.
Florida’s radio coverage features Sean Kelley, Lee Humphrey, and Steve Egan.
Odds for Florida vs. Miami
- Spread: Florida -5
- Moneyline: Florida -220; Miami +180
- Over/under: 160.5 points
All-time series
Florida leads the series 47-24 and has won the past three meetings.
The Gators beat Miami 82-68 last season in Jacksonville.
Injury report snapshot
Florida
- Boogie Fland, G: Expected to play. Fland missed the Stetson exhibition with an illness, but is expected to return.
- CJ Ingram, G: Not expected to play as he continues recovering from a back injury.
Miami
- Malik Reneau, F: Expected to play after dealing with a lower-body injury.
- Egor Ryzhov, C: Expected to play after missing the Vanderbilt exhibition.
- Marcus Allen, F: Out for the season with a torn ACL.
- LJ Cason, G: Reportedly expected to sit out the season while recovering from an ACL injury.
Florida vs. Miami: Key storylines
1. Can Florida’s frontcourt set the tone?
Thomas Haugh, Alex Condon, and Rueben Chinyelu all came back and give the Gators one of the best, if not the best, frontcourts in the country. If these three are on, it’s hard for anyone to beat Florida. If they have an off night, it could turn into a long night.
2. How sharp will Florida’s backcourt look?
The bigger question for Florida is if their guards can step up. Boogie Fland, Denzel Aberdeen, and Urban Klavzar are all capable scorers in their own right, but the trio was abysmal in Florida’s exhibition loss to Baylor.
3. Can the Gators avoid opening-night mistakes?
Florida lost their opener last year to Arizona after a night of bad shooting and all-around mistakes. A lot of those traits popped up in the exhibition loss to Baylor. So, is Florida going to be ready to go, or will opening night be sloppy?
Florida players to watch
- Thomas Haugh, F: Florida’s leading scorer last season at 17.1 points per game.
- Alex Condon, F: Condon averaged 15.1 points and 7.5 rebounds last season.
- Rueben Chinyelu, C: Last year’s defensive player of the year had a poor showing in the March Madness loss to Iowa.
Miami players to watch
- Acaden Lewis, G: The Villanova transfer averaged 12.2 points and 5.3 assists last season.
- Shelton Henderson, F: Averaged 13.8 points per game last year. Only played 21 minutes against Florida last year before morphing into a key starter for the Hurricanes.
- Somto Cyril, C: The Georgia transfer gives Miami size to challenge Florida’s frontcourt. He’s the guy who punched Chinyelu last year and got ejected.
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