Release - University of Florida Men's Basketball to play at Amalie Arena vs. Belmont November 21

The University of Florida Gators and Belmont University Bruins will square off in Tampa’s AMALIE Arena on Monday, November 21, 2016. This will be Florida’s first visit to the arena since 2012. Belmont posted a 20-12 record last season and won the Ohio Valley Conference regular season title with a 12-4 league record. Television broadcast information and start time are forthcoming.

While the Gators' home is undergoing a $64.5 million renovation that will turn Exactech Arena at the Stephen C. O'Connell Center into essentially a brand new arena, the Gators are on the road for the bulk of their non-conference schedule. The game in Tampa is the team’s 4th game of the regular season.

ABOUT UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA MEN’S BASKETBALL

Head coach Mike White is entering his 2nd season as head coach at UF (21-15 record), 6th season overall as head coach (122-55 record). This year, Florida returns 7 of its top 8 scorers from last season, including SEC All-Freshman guard KeVaughn Allen, UF’s top returning scorer. Allen averaged 11.6 points per game last season and posted 12.3 per game in SEC action. Center John Egbunu led the Gators in blocked shots (48), ranked second in rebounds (6.5) and third in scoring (11.5) last season. The Gators also added graduate transfer Canyon Barry, who averaged 19.7 points per game last season, along with redshirt freshman Keith Stone who spent last season developing his game and getting stronger in the weight room.

ABOUT BELMONT UNIVERSITY MEN’S BASKETBALL

Head coach Rick Byrd is entering his 31st season as head coach at Belmont (639-324 record), 36th season overall as head coach (731-379 record). In 2016, Belmont claimed the regular season Ohio Valley Conference championship, its eighth regular season conference championship since 2006. Belmont has reached the NCAA Tournament seven of the past 11 seasons and has been an NCAA Top 100 team each of the past six seasons. The Bruins return 11 of 13 players from last year’s team, including top scorer Evan Bradds, a 6-foot-7 forward who averaged 17.6 points per game last season.