"Florida is gonna make Hurley cry again": Fans react as Dan Hurley's UConn set for marquee matchup at Madison Square Garden

The UConn Huskies, coached by Dan Hurley, have a marquee matchup against Florida Gators on their 2025-26 schedule. On Wednesday, @marchmadnessmbb on Instagram announced that the 2024 national champions will face off against the 2025 national champions on Dec. 9 in the Jimmy V Classic at Madison Square Garden in New York.

Todd Golden's Gators eliminated Hurley's Huskies in the second round of the 2025 NCAA national tournament, which foiled UConn's chances at a national title three-peat.

College basketball fans and spectators then gave their own predictions on how the matchup will fare next season.

"Florida is gonna make Hurley cry again," one user pointed out.

(image credits: @marchmadnessmbb on Instagram)

"Florida has reloaded, might be time for them to go back-to-back again," another user said.

"UConn by 15," another fan claimed.

"UConn by 20!!! We had them beat in the tourney," a user shared.

Other users just reacted with how excited they are for the surefire matchup.

"When will tickets go on sale? I'm going," one fan asked.

"The last three national champions too," another fan commented.

"Why can't it be played at a neutral site? And, before y'all say what I know y'all gonna say, we both know MSG ain't a neutral site," a user posted.

Florida eventually finished the 2024-25 campaign with an overall record of 36-4, 14-4 during 2025 SEC play, while the Huskies ended the season on a 24-11 record, 14-6 in Big East conference play.

The UConn Huskies and the Florida Gators have won the last three NCAA national championships

The UConn-Florida clash will see a marquee matchup between the winners of the last three national championships.

The Florida Gators won the 2025 NCAA national championship tournament when they outlasted the Houston Cougars 65-63 on April 7. This gave the program its third national title in its history and its first since winning back-to-back in 2006 and 2007.

They were led by eventual MOP Walter Clayton Jr., who averaged 22.3 points throughout the run.

Meanwhile, the UConn Huskies won back-to-back national championships in 2023 and in 2024. During the former, they defeated the San Diego State Aztecs by 17 points, 76-59, and then in the latter, they trounced the Purdue Boilermakers by 15, 75-60. Their MOPs during the aforementioned national title runs were Adama Sanogo (2023) and Tristen Newton (2024).

About the author

Koby del Rosario is a college sports journalist at Sportskeeda who took up BS in Advertising Management at De La Salle University, one of the big "four" universities in the Philippines. Koby has over four years of experience with Complex PH, M2.0 Communications, The LaSallian, Daily Tribune, and Time Attack Manila.

Koby's favorite college team would have to be the North Carolina Tar Heels. Apart from being MJ's alma mater, Koby has always been fond of the Jordan silhouettes that release in the school's colors (being a sneakerhead himself).

His past favorite college players would have to be Russell Westbrook (UCLA) and Markelle Fultz (Washington). With Russ, his 1-2 punch with Kevin Love during their UCLA days was something Koby marveled at as Russ became his favorite player to watch post-Kobe.

Besides playing basketball, Koby enjoys nightlife, collecting sneakers, and playing video games. Apart from hosting parties and taking pictures for parties/bars/clubs, Koby is learning to DJ as a hobby with all sorts of house and hip-hop as the main genres.

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Edited by Brad Taningco