Gators open season with Coaches vs. Cancer Classic

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Posted 10:09PM on Thursday, September 8, 2005

GAINESVILLE, Fla. (AP) The Florida Gators will host one of four regionals in the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic to open the 2005-06 season. The Gators open against St. Peter's College on Nov. 9, then play either Albany or Oakland (Mich.) the following night. The winner of the four-team Gainesville regional will advance to the tournament championship at Madison Square Garden in New York. The other regional hosts are Syracuse, Texas Tech and Wake Forest. Florida's non-conference schedule includes a Dec. 6 game at Providence, facing coach Billy Donovan's alma mater, and a Dec. 22 road game against Miami. The Gators also will host Florida State on Nov. 25, the night before the longtime rivals play football in Gainesville. ``We're excited about the schedule we've put together this season,'' Donovan said after the schedule was released Thursday. ``It starts a little earlier than we're accustomed to, but that's a good thing. With our preseason tournament, we'll find out a lot about our team very early in our schedule. He added: ``We'll face some difficult tests on the road in the non-conference portion of our schedule, which will hopefully help us prepare for a very balanced and challenging SEC season.'' Florida begins conference play Jan. 7 at Georgia and concludes the 16-game league slate March 5 at Kentucky. Here is Florida's 2005-06 basketball schedule: Nov. 1-Embry-Riddle, exhibition, 7 p.m. Nov. 4-West Florida, exhibition, 7 p.m. Nov. 9-St. Peter's College, Coaches vs. Cancer, 7:30 p.m. Nov. 10-Albany or Oakland (Mich.), Coaches vs. Cancer, 8 p.m. Nov. 17-pending, Coaches vs. Cancer at Madison Square Garden, TBA. Nov. 18-pending, Coaches vs. Cancer at Madison Square Garden, TBA. Nov. 25-Florida State, 7:30 p.m. Nov. 28-Alabama State, 7 p.m. Dec. 3-UCF, noon. Dec. 6-at Providence, 7:30 p.m. Dec. 9-Bethune-Cookman, 8:30 p.m. Dec. 18-Jacksonville, 1 p.m. Dec. 22-at Miami, 7 p.m. Dec. 30-Florida A 1 p.m. Jan. 3- Morgan State, 6 p.m. Jan. 7-at Georgia, Noon. Jan. 11-Mississippi State, 7 p.m. Jan. 14-Auburn, 6 p.m. Jan. 18-Savannah State, 7 p.m. Jan. 21-at Tennessee, 7 p.m. Jan. 25-at South Carolina, 8 p.m. Jan. 28-Vanderbilt, 1 p.m. Jan. 31-at Ole Miss, 8 p.m. Feb. 4-Kentucky, 9 p.m. Feb. 8-South Carolina, 7 p.m. Feb. 11-LSU, 1 p.m. Feb. 15-at Vanderbilt, 8 p.m. Feb. 18-at Arkansas, 2 p.m. Feb. 22-Tennessee, 8 p.m. Feb. 26-at Alabama, 4 p.m. March 1-Georgia, 7 p.m. March 5-at Kentucky, Noon. March 9-12-at SEC tournament in Nashville, Tenn., TBA. (Copyright 2005 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)