The Illinois Fighting Illini will face off against the Florida Gators in the first round of the Emerald Coast Classic on November 27th, according to CBS Sports’ Jon Rothstein.
This game will take place on the campus of Northwest Florida State College, located in Niceville, FL.
This will be the first match-up between the two teams since March 19, 2000, when the Gators routed the Illini 93-76 in the 2000 NCAA tournament. Â
The Illini, however, are 4-1 against the Gators, including two wins in the state of Florida.Â
Illinois will likely be the underdog in this match-up, as the Illini are currently projected to be a 9-seed in Joe Lunardi’s latest 2021 bracketology. Florida is projected to be a 7-seed.
Florida Sophomore forward Keyontae Johnson (14 pts, 7.1 reb, 1.6 ast) will be the Gators’ key returnee for the 2020-2021 season.
Gators' four-star recruit forward Samson Ruzhentsev will also be a player to look out for.
The winner of this game will play the winner of the other first round match-up – Iowa State vs. Oregon.