OSU Basketball To Face Florida In Orange Bowl Classic

Oklahoma State basketball coach Travis Ford has announced the Cowboys will take on Florida in the 22nd annual MetroPCS Orange Bowl Classic on Dec. 19 at the BB&T Center in Sunrise, Fla.

Oklahoma State and Florida have combined for four national titles and 11 trips to the Final Four. Tip time will be announced at a later date.

“We're tremendously excited to take on a program with the tradition of Florida, and to do it at the Orange Bowl Classic makes it even that much more special,” Ford said.

This will be OSU's first appearance in the Orange Bowl Classic, and just the third all-time matchup between the Cowboys and the Gators. The two programs last met in the Elite Eight round of the 2000 NCAA Tournament, when Florida took down OSU, 77-65. Florida won the only other meeting, 74-69, on Dec. 28, 1993 in Honolulu, Hawaii.

The Gators will be making their 17th appearance in the Orange Bowl Classic and have a 14-2 record all-time. Florida will take the court with a new head coach after Billy Donovan took over for the Oklahoma City Thunder. Michael White, who was highly successful at Louisiana Tech with 101 wins in four years, took the reins from Donovan.

The other matchup at the Orange Bowl Classic will feature Florida State and Florida Atlantic. For ticket information please contact the Orange Bowl ticket sales office at (305) 341-4701 or visit www.orangebowl.org.