Facing their toughest test on the court since the 2006-2007 season, the Florida Gators basketball team (4-0) will take on the No. 2/2 Michigan State Spartans (4-0) in the opening game of the 2009 Legends Classic on Friday at 8 p.m. in Atlantic City, NJ. Florida will then face either the UMass Minutemen or Rutgers Scarlet Knights on Saturday at either 5:30 p.m. or 8 p.m.

This is the sixth meeting between the Gators and Spartans, with Michigan State holding a 3-2 lead in the series. The Spartans won the last meeting 68-56 in Tampa in the second round of the 2003 NCAA Tournament and also defeated the Gators 89-76 in the 2000 National Championship. Florida head coach Billy Donovan and Michigan State head coach Tom Izzo are contemporaries, having known each other since the early 1990s.

Much more on the Florida vs. Michigan State game as well as some notes on women’s basketball and volleyball after the jump…
Continue Reading » Gators take on No. 2 Spartans in Legends Classic

Tags: Big Ten, Billy Donovan, Chandler Parsons, FIU Thanksgiving Classic, Jonathan Mitchell, Legends Classic, March Madness, Mary Wise, Michigan State Spartans, National Championship, Notre Dame Fighting Irish, O'Connell Center, Rutgers Scarlet Knights, SEC, South Carolina Gamecocks, St. John's Red Storm, Tom Izzo, UMass Minutemen, volleyball, women's basketball