Florida and Ohio State to play at least twice more

The Florida Gators will renew their growing rivalry with the Ohio State Buckeyes with a home-and-home basketball series that will take place over the course of the 2010-11 and 2011-12 seasons, according to Buckeyes head coach Thad Matta.

Florida, which last had such a series with Ohio State during the 2006-07 and 2007-08 seasons, split those contests with a dominating 86-60 home win and devastating 62-49 away loss, respectively. Three months after the first meeting, the Gators defeated the Buckeyes 84-75 in the Georgia Dome while celebrating their second of back-to-back National Championships.

The decision to add a home-and-home series with Ohio State is evidence that Florida hopes to continue scheduling tough non-conference opponents before they begin each season’s Southeastern Conference slate. After putting together easy schedules and (perhaps consequently) missing the NCAA Tournament in consecutive seasons, the Gators faced Michigan State, Syracuse, Xavier, Florida State and North Carolina State over the course of the 2009-10 season.

The 2010-11 game will be a part of ESPN’s 24-hour college basketball marathon, taking place sometime on Nov. 16 from the Stephen C. O’Connell Center in Gainesville, FL.

Florida also has home-and-home series’ obligations with Florida State and Xavier to fulfill next season. They will face both teams on the road.

Photo Credit: University of Florida