Gators accept NIT bid, will host Iona in first round

By
Ethan Hughes
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The Gators (19-13, 9-9 SEC) have accepted a bid to play in the National Invitation Tournament. Third-seeded UF will host sixth-seeded Iona in the first round.

Game time and broadcast information will be announced later.

The Gaels are coached by Hall of Famer Rick Pitino, who won the 1996 national championship at Kentucky and the 2013 title at Louisville, though the latter one has since been vacated due to Pitino’s NCAA violations.

Iona (25-7, 17-3) won the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference regular season championship to earn an automatic bid to the NIT.

This will be Florida’s 11th appearance in the NIT and their first since 2016.

Associate head coach Al Pinkins will serve as the Gators’ interim head coach following Mike White’s departure for Georgia.

Ethan Hughes
Ethan Hughes
Ethan was born in Gainesville and has lived in the Starke, Florida, area his entire life. He played basketball for five years and knew he wanted to be a sportswriter when he was in middle school. He’s attended countless Gators athletic events since his early childhood, with baseball being his favorite sport to attend. He’s a proud 2019 graduate of the University of Florida and a 2017 graduate of Santa Fe College. He interned with the University Athletic Association’s communications department for 1 ½ years as a student and also wrote for InsideTheGators.com for two years before joining Gator Country in 2021. He is a long-suffering fan of the Jacksonville Jaguars. You can follow him on Twitter @ethanhughes97.