Five of of the top six in UF's score rotation from last season -- (from left) Alex Condon, Boogie Fland, Rueben Chinyelu, Urban Klavzar and Thomas Haugh -- are back for 2026-27.
Harry Fodder: 2026-27 Basketball Schedule Breakdown
Tuesday, August 11, 2026 | Men's Basketball, Chris Harry
Share:
By: Chris Harry, Senior Writer
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – In the process last spring of piecing together the next Florida basketball schedule, the Gators coaching staff asked senior forward Alex Condon what kind of slate he'd like to see the team play.
"Something between what we played two years ago and what we played last year," Condon said.
To refresh, the '24-25 Gators played a light non-schedule that included just one team ranked in the KenPom.com top 50 at season's end and checked in as the 237th-most difficult in the nation. UF went unbeaten in its 13 games leading up to Southeastern Conference play, finished second in the league, nabbed a No. 1 NCAA Tournament seed and went on to win the 2025 national title.
In '25-26, the reigning NCAA champs loaded up with a schedule that eventually was ranked the 30th-most difficult, pitting them against five top-50 teams (none at home), with three in the top five, each of which reached the Elite Eight (with one advancing to the Final Four). Against that paddle wheel, the Gators went 9-4, then went on to win the SEC regular-season crown, get a second straight 1-seed and lose in NCAA second-round play.
Fast forward to 2026-27 and the official announcements Tuesday of the final regular-season games. Below is what "something between" looks like. All that's left to finalize is the conference office deciding on its mid-week match-ups being either Tuesday or Wednesday.
For the first time, the Gators will play 14 non-conference games before diving into SEC play.
Once again, the UF staff has eschewed any home-and-home series (with the exception of its built-in annual date against Florida State) and opted for challenging neutral-site opportunities – six of them, with three in the state – that will beef up the strength-of-schedule metrics, with the lone exception the jump-off-the-calendar, ESPN-assigned home game against Duke in the ACC/SEC Challenge.
The Gators will bypass a Thanksgiving week tournament for the first time since the Covid-impacted 2020-21 campaign, but instead will play three games the week before in the eight-team Players Era at Las Vegas.
Here's a closer look at each game. Let the countdown begin.
Nov. 2 vs Miami at Tampa
Orion180 Tip-Off Classic
Florida's 2025-26 season unceremoniously ended at Benchmark International Arena in Tampa with the NCAA Tournament, but the Gators will get an immediate chance to exorcise those demons with the season opener against what figures to be a very good opponent in the cross-state foe MIami Hurricanes.
For the second straight season, the Gators opted for an ambitious opener. For the third straight season, they'll do so on a neutral floor. This one will be a rematch of the meeting last Nov. 16 at Jacksonville, where the Gators won 82-68 against a Hurricanes squad that would turn into one of the best turn-around stories of the college basketball season. In its first season under Jai Lucas, the former UF point guard and Duke assistant, UM flipped from a team that won seven games the year before (and said goodbye to icon coach Jim Larranaga) to one that won 26 games, finished third in the Atlantic Coast Conference and advanced to second-round play of the NCAA Tournament. The Canes figure to be led by forward Shelton Henderson (13.8 ppg, 4.8 rpg), one of the best returning players in the league. They added 6-foot-11, 260-pound Georgia transfer Somto Cyril (9.3 ppg, 5.4 rpg), Villanova point guard Acaden Lewis (12.2 ppg, 5.3 apg) and forward DeSean Goode (15.2 ppg, 8.7 rpg), the 2026 Horizon League Player of the Year at Robert Morris. UM also signed forward Caleb Gaskins, a 6-8, 210-pound forward and McDonald's All American from Miami.
Jordan MincyNov. 5 Jacksonville
Welcome back, Jordan Mincy. The former UF assistant under Mike White is in his sixth season heading the JU program, with two winning campaigns to show for it. The Dolphins went 12-20 last season, but return their best player in sophomore guard Hayden Wood (11.8 ppg), who averaged 21 points a game over the final five, and, thanks to a significant increase of NIL resources, have improved a roster that is projected to contend for an Atlantic Sun Conference title.
Nov. 10 at Florida State
FSU won 11 of its last 14 games in its first season under alum Luke Loucks, but the Seminoles (like so many teams these days) had to an offseason rebuild.
It was only a few years ago when the UF-FSU rivalry was an incredible source of frustration for Gator fans. The Seminoles (from 2014-20) won seven in a row, the longest streak by either team in the series that dates to 1951. The Gators, though, will seek a sixth straight (and third in Tallahassee) this season, the second for FSU under former player/favorite son Luke Loucks, who redirected the Seminoles to an 18-15 record in his first season as a head coach, including wins in 11 of the last 14. FSU threw a 78-76 scare at UF in their meeting at Gainesville, but that team will look nothing like this one. The Seminoles lost its top eight scorers and will replace them with a transfer class led by 6-11 forward Sebastian Rancik (12.3 ppg, 5.6 rpg at Colorado), guard Anthony Robinson (8.9 ppg at Missouri) and forward Kameron Taylor (18.9 ppg, Big South Co-Player of the Year at UNC-Ashville), plus a top-20 incoming freshman class keyed by 6-11, 328-pound center Marcis Ponder.
Nov. 13 Merrimack
The Warriors, out of the Metro Athletic Conference, are turning into a reliable go-to buy game opponent for the Gators, with this marking a third straight year they'll be making the trek down from North Andover, Massachusetts. They went 23-11 last season, with a loss in the league tournament title game keeping the program from its first NCAA Tournament berth since entering Division I in 2020. Merrimack added nine newcomers to a mix of two starters that includes guard and third-leading scorer Tye Dorset (11.7 ppg).
Nov. 17-19 Players Era at Las Vegas
A second venue to avenge, T-Mobile Arena on the Vegas strip, where the Gators opened last season with a loss to Arizona.
Back to the desert, they go. UF opened its '25-26 season against Arizona in a one-off game between two marquee programs. This time, the Gators will play in the eight-team Players Era tournament, a three-games-in-three days event that doubles as an NIL windfall with its guarantee of $1 million to each tam. UF will open against Notre Dame, making for a third game against an ACC foe in the first five, and will face (pending the result), either powerhouse Houston or Rutgers in the second round, with a potential third-round (and perhaps tournament championship date) against either Auburn, Kansas, UNLV or West Virginia. For the Fighting Irish, this will be a fourth season under Micah Shrewsberry, who has yet to post a winning record – and is 19-39 in ACC play – since coming from Penn State and taking over for popular long-timer Mike Brey. ND's top three scorers transferred to power conference programs, but incoming graduate center Logan Duncomb averaged 21.6 points and was Big South Player of the Year at Winthrop last season.
Nov. 24 Milwaukee
Coach Brad Lundy posted winning records in his first three seasons, but the Panthers went 12-20 in '25-26 and said goodbye to their top three scorers through either graduation or the portal. UM's impact newcomer figures to be guard Tre Norman, who is coming from across town at Marquette, where he was a deep-bench backup on some decent teams under Shaka Smart.
Dec . 1 Duke SEC-ACC Challenge
Coach Jon Scheyer will bring Duke to UF's campus for the first time in nearly 90 years.
A fourth date against an ACC foe, but also – call it like it is – arguably the biggest regular-season home game in program history. The year was 1937. That was the last time Duke played on Florida's campus. The Gators and the Blue Devils, with a combined eight NCAA titles over the last 35 years, have played seven times over that span; five times at neutral sites, including twice in the NCAA Tournament, plus twice at Cameron Indoor Stadium at Durham, including last year's 67-66 thriller (and last-second loss) in the ACC/SEC. Finally, the Blue Devils are coming to the O'Dome and, obviously, figure to be quite formidable, with a mix of returnees from last year's 35-3 and league champion squad, plus (of course) the No. 2 signing class in the nation. In the fifth season under Jon Scheyer, the Blue Devils return a trio of starters in 6-11, 250-pound forward Patrick Ngongba II (10.1 ppg, 5.8 rpg), plus guards Caleb Foster (8.3 ppg, 3.5 rpg) and Dame Sarr (6.4 ppg), as well as backup guard Cayden Boozer. Senior guard John Blackwell, who averaged 19.1 points, 5.1 rebounds and 2.3 assists in his first-team All-Big Ten season at Wisconsin, was one of the top transfers on the market, while the gems of the recruiting class will be a pair of McDonald's All Americans in forward Cameron Williams and point guard Deron Rippey Jr. Note to Rowdy Reptiles: Get in line now.
Dec. 6 Vermont
The Catamounts came as close as they could to reaching the NCAA Tournament last season, going 22-12 and finishing second in the America East, two games behind UMBC, then losing to the regular-season champ in the league's postseason tournament. First-team all-conference center Gus Yalden (16.1 ppg, 5.8 rpg) is back for his senior season.
Dec. 12 vs Georgia Tech at Orlando
Hall of Fame Series
Kia Center, home to the NBA Orlando Magic, will host the Gators for the first time since the 2017 NCAA Tournament.
At this rate, the Gators may have a chance to win the ACC, what with a fifth game against the league in their first 11. The Yellow Jackets fired Damon Stoudamire after three seasons and turned to Scott Cross, who posted five straight 20-win seasons and back-to-back Sun Belt Conference titles at Troy. Cross had to do a near-complete makeover, with only two players back, led by 6-6 wing Kam Craft (7.3 ppg, 2.1 rpg), the team's No. 7 scorer last season. The new staff did a nice job on the recruiting trail, signing a top-30 class, highlighted by combo guard Kayden Allen, while the seven-member transfer class was led by point guard Colby Garland (21.2 ppg, 4.6 apg at San Jose State) and guard Victor Valdes (13.8 ppg, 3.9 rpg, 4.7 apg), who trailed Cross from Troy. This will mark UF's first date at Kia Center, home of the NBA Orlando Magic, since the first two rounds of the 2017 NCAA Tournament.
Dec. 18 vs Grand Canyon at Jacksonville
Jacksonville Hoops Showdown
UF will play at the VyStar Veterans Memorial Center in Jacksonville for the third straight season.
The mini-barnstorm of neutral-site games across the state wraps up in Jacksonville at the VyStar Veterans Memorial Center, where the Gators last played to open the '24-25 season (a win over South Florida) that ended with the NCAA championship. Grand Canyon, out of the Mountain West, is in its seventh season under Bryce Drew, once a UF foil at Vanderbilt, who has 142 wins and four NCAA berths with the Antelopes, including last year's 20-12 campaign. GCU, one of the nation's best defensive teams under Drew, returns one starter in guard Makaih Williams (14.0 ppg), but added a solid collection of transfers, including 2023 McDonald's All-America forward Omaha Biliew (6.4 ppg, 2.4 rpg at Wake Forest), NCAA Tournament hero guard Dylan Darling (remember his jumper for St. John's to knock out Kansas?) and guard Amarion Dickerson (2025 Horizon Defensive Player of the Year at Robert Morris).
Dec. 21 Florida A&M
The Rattlers haven't had a winning season since '06-07, which not only was the program's last NCAA Tournament appearance but also their lone above-.500 campaign over the last 36 years. They got close in '25-26, going 14-15 (including 11-7 in Southwest Athletic Conference) in the first year under Charlie Ward, who did remarkable things on the basketball court and football field at that other school in Tallahassee back in the early '90s (and with the New York Knicks later). The Gators are 14-0 all-time against the FAMU in a series that dates to 1991.
Dec. 29 Long Island
The final non-conference game will pit the Gators against a second straight former NBA star. LIU was one of the worst programs in the country when Rod Strickland took over – his first team went 3-26 overall and 1-15 in Northeast Conference play – but has posted improved records since and in '26 finished 24-11, won the NEC regular season and conference title, then as a 16-seed lost to top-seeded Arizona in the NCAA Tournament. Transfer guard Vasean Allette is a portal "grand slam" guy (four teams in four seasons). He averaged 17.4 points as a freshman at Old Dominion and was kicked off the team. He scored 11.4 points two seasons ago at TCU, then sat out the '25-26 season at Texas-San Antonio for reported "persona reasons," then landed at LIU.
Jan. 2 at Texas
Texas center Matas Vokietaitis (left)
Under Golden, the Gators are (stunningly) 0-4 in SEC openers and apparently the league office was shooting for 0-5. If UF is the preseason pick to win the conference, then Texas is very likely to be tabbed as the runner-up. The Longhorns reached the Sweet 16 in their first year under well-traveled and baggage-heavy Sean Miller and are projected to be ranked in the top 10 (maybe five) after gathering the top-rated transfer class in the country with a top-five incoming freshman class. UT lost eight of nine rotational players, with the lone exception 7-foot center Matas Vokietaitis (15.6 pg, 7.1 rpg). The Longhorns reloaded around him by adding five proven transfers, led by former TCU forward David Punch (14.1 ppg, 6.8 rpg), who punched the Gators for 19 points, nine rebounds and three blocks in the Horned Frogs' win at San Diego last November, plus guards Isaiah Johnson (16.9 ppg at Colorado) and Mikey Lewis (13.9 ppg at Saint Mary's). UT not only signed McDonald's All-America guard Austin Goolsby and sharp-shooting wing Bo Ogden, but in July added the No. 1-ranked player of the 2027 class, 6-9 power forward Marcus Spears Jr. (and, yes, the son of the former Dallas Cowboys defensive end and current ESPN analyst), who reclassified to '26.
Jan. 5 or 6 Oklahoma
At the start of this week, the Sooners had yet to post their '26-27 roster, while some unofficial listings show just 10 players, with the top returnees being guard Xzayvier Brown (15.4 ppg) and forward Derrion Reid (11.7 ppg, 4.4 rpg). OU went 21-16 last season, with an 11th place finish in the SEC. The Sooners' 7-11 conference mark was the fifth sub-.500 record in as many seasons under Porter Moser, who has one NCAA berth (2025) to show for his time in Norman. There were hot seat rumblings regarding Moser in '26 and they won't be mere rumblings in '27; not with that 33-57 conference won-loss record. OU had lower-half-of-SEC transfer and recruiting classes, with the top prospects being incoming freshman forward Gage Mayfield and guard Pop Isaacs (9.8 ppg at Texas A&M). The Sooners also are counting on the availability (and judge's injunction) of 6-11, 225-pound center Akoldah Gak, brother of former Gator Gorjak Gak, who played for the G League Capital City Go-Go last season.
Jan. 9 Vanderbilt
Vandy point guard Tyler Tanner (3)
The resurrection of the Commodores started the instant Mark Byington arrived by way of James Madison in the spring of 2024 and rescued the program from the abyss of the Jerry Stackhouse era. Stackhouse had two winning seasons and no NCAA appearances in five years. Enter Byington, who has lifted Vandy to a 47-21 mark and two tournament appearances his first two seasons, including a run to the SEC Tournament final last year when the Commodores beat the top-seeded Gators in the semifinals. The main on-court purveyor of the team's resurgence has been homegrown phenom Tyler Tanner, the first-team All-SEC point guard who averaged 19.5 points, 3.6 rebounds and 5.1 assists in guiding the club to 27 wins last season. Tanner tested the NBA waters, but opted to return, which makes the Commodores a contender, buoyed by a balanced transfer class – Ace Glass III (16.4 ppg at Washington State) is the headliner – and top-10 incoming freshman class that was really good and got better in July. Small forward Ethan Mgbako was the marquee rookie until '27 commit Gabe Nesmith, a top-20 guard and brother of former Commodore and current NBA player Aaron Nesmith, reclassified to '26 to give Vandy its highest-rated prospect since signing Darius Garland in 2018.
Jan. 12 or 13 at Mississippi State
Mississippi State sharp-shooter Josh Hubbard (12) is the SEC's active scoring leader.
The Bulldogs had a streak of three consecutive NCAA berths snapped by a 13-19 season and a 5-13 mark in SEC play. It was the first losing record for Chris Jans in his 10 seasons as head coach at three different schools, so how he'll bounce back from such a dubious first – he averaged 24 wins during his previous eight non-Covid seasons – will be the top storyline in Starkville. That and the return of mad-bombing guard senior Josh Hubbard, who was second in the SEC in scoring last season at 22.1 points per game and whose 891 attempts from the 3-point line (with 311 makes) top the league over the past three seasons. Hubbard, the SEC's active scoring leader, had nine games with double-digit shots from deep last season, 17 of the year before and 13 as a freshman. He's the lone returnee from the '26-27 rotation, which probably is a good thing. So is MSU's top-25 freshman class, featuring 6-9, 230-pound power forward Tristan Reed. The best of the five transfers is combo guard R.J. Johnson (14.5 ppg, 4.0 apg at Kennesaw State).
Jan. 16 at Alabama
Alabama forward Amari Allen (5) is looking like the latest in a long line of Crimson Tide first-round picks under Coach Nate Oats.
Nate Oats went 16-15 his first season in Tuscaloosa and since has averaged 25.7 victories, won two regular-season SEC titles, two conference tournaments and reached the Final Four for the first time in program history. A case could be made Bama is the marquee program in the league, but the Gators have defeated the Crimson Tide five straight in the series by an average margin of 16.5 points. Oats, again, will have a team capable of snapping the string. He lost SEC scoring leader Labaron Philon Jr. to the NBA, but forward Amari Allen (11.4 ppg, 6.9 rpg, 3.1 apg ) who dabbled with the draft process, opted to return. The status of guard Aden Holloway is up in the air after his bust on felony drug changes, but Oats added another positively loaded top-10 freshman class (four top-50 prospects), led by shooting guard Qayden Samuels and small forward/McDonald's All American Jaxon Richardson. The Tide wedged a couple more freshmen in late when Cole Cloer transferred from NC State after a coaching change there and 7-foot TJ St. Louis reclassified from '27 to '26. A pair of front court transfers, 6-11 center Drew Fielder (14.7 ppg, 5.7 rpg at Boise State) and 6-10 Brandon Garrison (4.7 ppg, 4.1 rpg at Kentucky), figure prominently. Bama will have six players 6-10 or taller. Hmmm. Wonder why they're stocking up on bigs? Could it be for match-up purposes?
Jan. 19 or 20 Texas A&M
"Buckyball" acquitted itself fairly well in its SEC debut. Coach Bucky McMillan, the Alabama high school wizard who Samford gambled on and won with his frentic, 3-point bombing system, won 17 of his first 21 games with the Aggies, hit a lull of six losses over eight games late and got jettisoned in second-round SEC Tournament play, but still reached the second round of the NCAA Tournament. In his first full offseason, McMillan basically had to turn over his entire roster – no rotational players are back – so it'll be transfers and freshmen for the Aggies. The former collection is underwhelming, with the exception of well-traveled (and talented) guard PJ Haggerty, who is a 21.5-point career scorer on his -- get this -- fifth school in five seasons after averaging 23.4 points, 5.3 rebounds and 3.8 assists at Kansas State last season. Haggerty was a second-team All American at Memphis two years ago. He can score, but does he make his team better (K-State went 12-20 last season)? Forward Jalen Shelly averaged 13.7 points and 6.6 boards at Loyola-Marymount. Freshman center Josh Irving was a top-75 prospect and A&M also is hoping for clearance for combo guard Bryson Warren, another guy from the G League last season
Jan. 23 at Georgia
Bulldogs senior guard Blue Cain is back for his fourth season at Georgia.
After going nine consecutive seasons without a NCAA Tournament berth, the Bulldogs have been to two consecutive dances with Mike White, set to enter his fifth year on the UGA sidelines. Basketball is relevant again in Athens, but White and the fan base want it to be relevant behind the first round of NCAA play, where the Bulldogs (as an 8 or 9 seed) have been positively annihilated – never in the game, actually – in each of their two appearances; an 89-68 loss to Gonzaga (down 21 at halftime) in '25; a 102-77 loss to Saint Louis (down 17 at the half) in '26. UGA lost its scoring leader (guard Jeremiah Wilkinson) and top post presence (Cyril Somto) to the portal, but will return three very good players in guards Blue Cain (13.1 ppg, 5.1 rpg), "Smurf" Millender (12.0 ppg, 39% from 3) and forward Kanon Catchings (11.6 ppg, 4.8 rpg). The incoming freshman trio were all top-100 prospects. Transfer 6-11 forward James Scott, who will hit the "portal slam" with a fourth school in four years, averaged 5.3 points and 4.7 rebounds at Charleston, Louisville and Ole Miss, but along the way shot 77% from the floor, which leads the nation among active players.
Jan. 30 at Tennessee
With 860 victories, Tennessee's Rick Barnes is the second-winningest active coach in NCAA Division I, just two games behind Arkansas's John Calipari.
The Volunteers are still searching for the program's first Final Four appearance after – once again – coming close, reaching the Elite Eight before getting smashed by eventual NCAA champion Michigan. Hall-of-Fame Coach Rick Barnes has won at least 25 games in seven of his 11 seasons at UT, including the last five, and guided the Vols to a regional final each of the last three. They had the goods last year, led by lottery pick freshman forward Nate Ament, and despite having to virtually reload will be loaded again in '26-27 with an expected top-10 ranking going in. Barnes is known for his defensive teams, but at 72 has come around to realize that scoring is good. Look no further than his nine-member transfer class (ranked among the nation's top 3) that is packed with offense and will yield his starting five. Forwards Juke Harris (21.4 ppg, 6.5 rpg at Wake Forest), Jalen Haralson (16.2 ppg at Notre Dame) and 6-10 center Miles Rubin (11.3 ppg, 7.3 rpg at Loyola Chicago) will man the front court, with point guard Terrence Hill Jr. (15.0 ppg at VCU) on the ball and sharp-shooting Tyler Lundblade (15.6 ppg, 40.6% from 3 at Belmont) launching from deep. The four-man freshman class, also of top-five caliber, is led by small forward Ralph Scott.
Feb. 2 or 3 South Carolina
Speaking of the "hot seat," there's a lot riding on Lamont Paris and his fifth season at South Carolina. Paris had a tremendous second season, going 26-8 and finishing second in the league on his way to SEC Coach of the Year in 2024, but the Gamecocks went 36-60 in the other three campaigns, with just 12 and 13 victories (only six total in league play) the last two, respectively. Like a handful of others in the league, USC did a virtual roster turnover – 12 newcomers, including seven incoming transfers and four international prospects – in returning zero starters, a 10th man who averaged 12.9 minutes per game and just 178 of the 2,398 points scored last season (7.4%). Guards Shane Blakeney (14.2 ppg, 5.1 rpg at Drexel), Kory Mincy (14.3 ppg at George Mason), Camden Heide (5.9 ppg, 45.4% from 3 at Texas), plus Marcus Johnson, a top-60 national recruit, will man the backcourt, while the Gamecocks will bang up front with an array of overseas players with professional experience.
Feb. 6 Texas
The mid-week rematch with the Longhorns at O'Dome figures to be one of the biggest showdowns of the SEC regular season, with significant conference ramifications. Reminder to Rowdies: No "Horns Down" hand signs allowed (cue eye roll here).
Feb. 9 or 10 at Auburn
Once billed as a one-and-done for Bruce Pearl, guard Tahaad Pettiford enters his third season at Auburn and second under Pearl's son, Steven.
The first season under Steven Pearl bore little resemblance to the previous 11 under his father. Bruce Pearl, who averaged better than 25 wins over his final eight seasons and guided the Tigers to the only two Final Fours in program history. Bruce strategically stepped down last fall and pulled the levers to get his 39-year-old son – with zero head-coaching experience – the job. The younger Pearl's first team went 7-11 and finished 11th in SEC play, missing the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2021. The Tigers, however, showed some mettle by winning the National Invitational Tournament. They also – and this one stung – handed the Gators their lone home defeat of the season. Auburn brings back guards Tahaad Pettiford (15.4 ppg, 3.8 apg) and Kevin Overton (14.1 ppg) and will surround them with five transfers and a freshman class which ranks a very-un-Bruce-like next-to-last in the league (in front of only Florida, by the way). Forward Owen Freeman averaged 12.8 points and 6.7 in two seasons at Iowa, but took a step back last season at Creighton (5.0 ppg, 4.0), while senior forward Thomas Dowd (14.4 ppg, 10.1 rpg) averaged a double-double at Troy last season. Guard George Kimble averaged 18.0 points as a sophomore at Eastern Kentucky and sat out last season at Vanderbilt with an injury.
Dennis GatesFeb. 13 Missouri
Golden and Dennis Gates were finalists for the UF job in '22. Gates ended up at Missouri, with Golden winning their first three head-to-head match-ups. The Tigers, though, have won each of the last two regular-season meetings – UF defeated Mizzou in the '25 SEC Tournament – and figure to have the goods to stare down the Gators again in '27. Gates has guided the program to three NCAA berths, with the lone exception the disastrous 0-18 league mess of '24. He's also proven to be quite the recruiter, as he was as Leonard Hamilton's assistant at FSU, having reined in a top-15 class that includes two McDonald's All Americans (joining Arkansas as the lone league team with a pair so honored). Starting wing Trent Pierce (10.4 ppg, 3.8 rpg) is the lone player among the top nine in minutes back from a 20-13 team. Of the half-dozen transfers, forwards Jamier Jones (11.9 ppg, 4.5 rpg at Providence), Bryson Tiller (7.9 ppg, 6.1 rpg at Kansas) and beefy Jaylen Carey (7.4 ppg, 6.0 rpg) come from power conferences, but freshmen Jason Crowe Jr., out of Inglewood, California, was the No. 2-ranked combo guard in the class, while 6-9, 215-pound power forward Toni Bryant, out of Orlando, was the sixth-best prospect at his position.
Feb. 16 or 17 at LSU
He's back.
Matt McMahon was hired in 2022 to clean up the nefarious mess that festered during the final seasons under Will Wade, who was banished from Baton Rouge for an array of "strong-ass" NCAA misdoing. McMahon, by way of Murray State, lasted four seasons, only one of which ended with a winning record, and went a dreadful 17-55 in league play. So, naturally, the Tigers brought back Wade, who rehabilitated himself for two seasons at nearby McNeese State, where he went a staggering 58-11, then for one season at NC State, which he left in lurch after an NCAA appearance. Every LSU player hit the portal and, at the start of the week, the Tigers had more coaches (5) listed on their roster page than players (4) because Wade was basically playing a free-agency game that called on, among others a G-Leaguer (RJ Luis Jr., by way of St. John's in '25) and a handful of international pros, the bulk of them in their mid-20s. Guard Abdi Bashir Jr. (13.2 ppg at Kansas State) and forward Mouhamed Dioubate (8.8 ppg, 5.5 rpg at Kentucky) are the top listed transfers, but Wade eventually will have a full team and his track record – a .691 winning percentage at four schools in four different conferences – suggest he'll succeed. By any means necessary.
Feb. 20 Georgia
A lot of Florida fans like to point to Golden's 8-1 advantage in nine meetings against former UF coach Mike White, but the Gators' dominance over the Bulldogs was well established when White was on the Florida sidelines, also. The Gators have won 14 of the previous 15 meetings, dating to 2020, including seven straight at the O'Dome.
Feb. 23 or 24 Ole Miss
The Rebels, who reached the Sweet 16 in '25, suffered a 10-game losing streak in conference play last season, then made a surprising run to the SEC Tournament semifinals before falling to eventual champion Arkansas in overtime to finish 15-20, marking the first losing record in Chris Beard's 10 seasons at four coaching stops. On paper, the Rebels may struggle again in '27 with the 10 new players. They get back guards Ilias Kamardine (11.2 ppg, 3.4 rpg) and Patton Pinkins (9.3 ppg) from the rotation. The best of the incoming six transfers figure to be in the frontcourt Roman Siulepa (10.0 ppg, 5.5 rpg at Pittsbugh), Dasear Haskins (11.1 ppg, 6.4 rpg at Saint Joseph's) and Santiago Trouet (8.1 ppg, 6.1 rpg). Among the three freshman, Australian professional forward Ben Henshall is a name hardcore UF fans may know after a visit with the Gators last season. Henshall played with Condon at the Centre of Excellence during their prep days Down Under.
Feb. 27 at Arkansas
Razorbacks forward Billy Richmond III figures to be on everybody's preseason All-SEC lists.
In their second season under John Calipari, the Razorbacks went 28-9, won the SEC Tournament, reached the Sweet 16 for the second consecutive year, then bid farewell to seven of their top eight scorers, three of them to the NBA, including lottery-pick point guard and SEC Player of the Year Darius Acuff Jr. Calipari, of course, is a master when it comes to replacing five-star talent with more five-star talent. His lone returnee, all-league candidate forward Billy Richmond III (11.2 ppg, 4.3 rpg), will be surrounded by the nation's top-ranked signing class, highlighted by the No. 1 shooting guard, Jordan Smith Jr., plus the No. 5 shooting guard in JJ Andrews, and a top-10 small forward in Abdou Toure. The rookie class was fortified by the reclassification of 2027 top-30 center Caleb Ourigou to '26. Smith and Andrews were McDonald's All Americans. The Hogs plucked two from the portal, with point guard Jeremiah Wilkinson (17.4 ppg at Georgia) expected to run the show.
March 2 or 3 at South Carolina
The Gamecocks and Bulldogs are league-assigned permanent opponents, with this being the final rematch.
March 6 Kentucky
Iowa State transfer Milan Momcilovic figures to be one of the best 3-point shooters in the SEC this season.
Think the Thomas Haugh/Alex Condon/Rueben Chinyelu "Senior Day" will require Kleenex? Plus, the Gators get the Wildcats for their home finale for the first time in five years. It's a different Kentucky model these days. The incoming UK freshman class is two players strong and at No. 59 nationally ranks 14th in the conference. Let that sink in. Better believe it's sunk in for Big Blue Nation, which basically ran Calipari out of town and is still grappling with being a decent – rather than the dominant – team in the SEC. In his first two seasons, Mark Pope went 46-26 overall and a middling 20-16 in league play since making the jump from Brigham Young to the school where he won a NCAA title for Rick Pitino in 1996. After UK exited second-round play of the NCAA Tournament, the natives in the Commonwealth were restless as Pope struggled to fill his roster. Eventually, 7-0 center Malichi Moreno (7.8 ppg, 6.3 rpg) pulled out of the NBA process and returned, which was significant, but the bigger news came later when sharp-shooting 6-8 forward Milan Momcilovic (16.9 ppg at Iowa State) left the draft pool and transferred to UK. In Momcilovic the Cats landed the nation's No. 1 portal prospect who led the nation with 136 converted 3-pointers last season – he drained at least five in 11 games – and a 48.7% marksmanship from deep. He joined combo guards Zoom Diallo (15.7 ppg, 4.9 apg at Washington) and Alex Wilkins (17.8 ppg, 4.7 apg at Furman) at the top of the transfer class. The Gators have won four of the last five in the series and last year became just the fourth team to beat the Wildcats three times in a season. This match-up will be the only UF-UK date of the season, marking the first time since 1962 the Gators have not played in Lexington.
March 10-14 SEC Tournament at Nashville, Tenn.
The SEC Tournament is back at Bridgestone Arena on Broadway in Nashville.
The tournament is back in the Music City, where it is contracted to remain through the 2035 season. Bridgestone Arena and its surroundings on Broadway have proved the perfect venue for the event, where Arkansas will be the defending champion and Florida, the tournament champ in 2025, will seek its sixth all-time crown.
In '25-26, the reigning NCAA champs loaded up with a schedule that eventually was ranked the 30th-most difficult, pitting them against five top-50 teams (none at home), with three in the top five, each of which reached the Elite Eight (with one advancing to the Final Four). Against that paddle wheel, the Gators went 9-4, then went on to win the SEC regular-season crown, get a second straight 1-seed and lose in NCAA second-round play. 
