Uncategorized

The basketball team of the Florida Gators men represents the University of Florida in the sport of basketball. The Gators compete in NCAA Division I's Southeastern Conference (SEC). Home matches are played in the Exactech Arena at the Stephen C. O'Connell Center on the university's Gainesville, Florida campus.
The University of Florida's first basketball team took the court but success was rare for many years. The program didn't possess an adequate gymnasium before the Florida Gymnasium in 1950, did not hire a full-time basketball trainer until Norm Sloan at 1960, also did not play in a contemporary stadium until the O'Connell Center started in 1980. Florida made its first postseason tournament appearance in the 1969 National Invitation Tournament and first appeared at the NCAA tournament in 1987, but consistent success was elusive, and the Gators often found themselves in the bottom half of their conference standings.
Florida's basketball program finally found success under head coach Billy Donovan, who was hired in 1996. Recently as Florida's trainer, Donovan led the schedule to seven of its eight Southeastern Conference (SEC) regular season championships, all four SEC championship championships, two of twenty-two NCAA Tournament appearances, four from five Final Four appearances, and back-to-back national championships in 2006 and 2007. Florida's head coach as 2015 has been Mike White, who has led the Gators to three NCAA Tournament bids in his first four seasons in the school.

Read more: snorkernews.com