Florida basketball is off to a 5-0 start, its best since starting 6-0 to begin the 2021-22 season.
But the No. 19 Florida Gators (5-0) will get an interesting test hosting Southern Illinois (2-2) on Friday night.
First-year SIU coach Scott Nagy has posted 577 career wins in 30 years at prior coaching stops with Wright State and South Dakota State. Nagy’s prior teams are known for playing tough, on-ball defense. SIU enters its matchup with UF allowing 70.8 points per game.
Florida is coming off an 84-60 win over Florida A&M on Tuesday night, a game in which reserve guard Denzel Aberdeen and reserve forward Sam Alexis were unavailable due to illness. Will Richard led the way in the win for the Gators with 20 points, with Walter Clayton Jr. adding 17 points and five assists.
Florida has won 17 of its last 18 games at home, dating back to the start of the 2023-24 season.
Florida basketball vs Southern Illinois start time
Florida and Southern Illinois are slated to tip off at 7 p.m. ET on Friday from the O’Connell Center in Gainesville (capacity, 10,151).
Florida basketball vs Southern Illinois odds
Per BetMGM, Florida is an 18.5-point favorite over Southern Illinois tonight. The over/under is 156.5 points.
What channel is the Florida basketball vs Southern Illinois game on today?
Florida and Southern Illinois will air on SEC Network and stream on WatchESPN.com. Mike Morgan will handle the play-by-play duties with Mark Wise as the color analyst.
How to listen to Florida basketball vs Southern Illinois game on radio
The Florida-Southern Illinois game will air on AM 850 and FM 98.1 in Gainesville and across the state on the Gator Radio Network. Sean Kelley will handle play-by-play duties, with former Gator great Lee Humphrey as the color analyst.
Kevin Brockway is The Gainesville Sun’s Florida beat writer. Contact him at kbrockway@gannett.com. Follow him on X @KevinBrockwayG1
This article originally appeared on The Gainesville Sun: Watch Florida basketball vs Southern Illinois game today: Channel, time, streaming info
