The UCF men’s basketball team will face Florida on Dec. 1 in the inaugural Florida Citrus Sports Shootout at the Amway Center in Orlando, Florida Citrus Sports announced Thursday. The contest will serve as the first collegiate game inside the new facility.
Tickets for the game are currently available via Ticketmaster.com. Construction on the Amway Center, which will serve as the new home of the Orlando Magic, is set to conclude in the fall. The building will seat 18,500 fans for basketball games.
New UCF head coach Donnie Jones spent 11 years as an assistant at Florida under head coach Billy Donovan, helping the program claim back-to-back national titles in 2006 and 2007. Jones took over the Knights’ program in March after three campaigns as the head coach at Marshall.
The Knights should be greatly improved from a year ago with the return of several key letterwinners including junior guard A.J. Rompza (Chicago, Ill.), sophomore forward Keith Clanton (Orlando, Fla.) and sophomore guard Marcus Jordan (Chicago, Ill.). Florida returns all five starters from a squad that went 21-13 in 2009-10 and participated in the NCAA Tournament.
UCF has not played a neutral site game in the City of Orlando since 1990. The Knights’ last neutral site appearance in the area was in 2007 at the Old Spice Classic in Lake Buena Vista.
This season, UCF is now scheduled to play in two neutral site games in Florida. On Dec. 18, the Knights will meet Miami in Sunrise as part of the MetroPCS Orange Bowl Classic.
Ticket prices for the FCSports Shootout range from $15-100 with lower bowl tickets as affordable as $15. For ticket information or to purchase tickets, call (407) 423-2476 or visit Ticketmaster.com. Priority seating is available for members of Florida Citrus Sports. For information on joining, visit FCSports.com.