The Florida Gators enter this season as the No. 1 ranked team in the nation, and for good reason.

Todd Golden's unit has established one of the most stacked rosters in college basketball.

It cost the team quite a bit of money to get the trio of Thomas Haugh, Alex Condon, and Rueben Chinyelu to return, but these are three guys who have their sights set on another National Championship.

Florida opens the 2026-27 season in Tampa for the Orion180 Tipoff Classic at the Benchmark International Arena against No. 14 Miami.

The Hurricanes are fresh off a solid 26-9 season, though neither of these teams was able to make it out of the second round in the NCAA Tournament.

Here on Monday, Nov. 2, an in-state showdown will open the season for a pair of top-15 schools who are looking to erase a disappointing end to their previous campaign.

Television Channel: ESPN2

Tip-off time: 6:00 p.m. E.T.

According to DraftKings, Florida enters this game as 5.5-point favorites. The money line sees the Gators come in at -230 while Miami sits at +190.

For those who are unfamiliar with each team's roster, Miami Roundtable's Anthony Aguirre revealed the projected starting lineups for both teams:

Gators:

- PG: Denzel Aberdeen (Fifth-year)

- SG: Boogie Fland (Junior)

- SF: Thomas Haugh (Senior)

- PF: Alex Condon (Senior)

- C: Rueben Chinyelu (Senior)

Hurricanes:

- PG: Acaden Lewis (Sophomore)

- SG: Dante Allen (Sophomore)

- SF: Shelton Henderson (Sophomore)

- PF: Caleb Gaskins (Freshman) or Malik Reneau* (Fifth-year)

- C: Somto Cyril (Junior)

* The starting power forward will be pending on availability.

These two teams last met on Nov. 16, 2025, in the GEICO Jacksonville Hoops Showdown.

The Veterans Memorial Arena hosted this matchup last season, one that saw the Gators improve to 3-1, handing Miami its first loss, 82-68.

Both Condon and Chinyelu finished with double-doubles while Haugh finished one rebound shy.

Miami's leading scorer was Malik Reneau with 22 points. He led all scorers in a game where Miami shot just 34% from the field compared to Florida's 44%.

Miami had a couple of tune-up games before playing Florida last season, but the Gators had other plans.

Golden's squad took on Arizona in the Hall of Fame Series in Las Vegas, though the No. 13 Wildcats handled the No. 3 Gators, 93-87.

To usher in a brand new season, the Gators are once again opting not to take it easy, as they have Miami on the schedule in a thrilling encounter.