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Watch Florida Basketball vs. Jacksonville game today: Channel, Time, Streaming

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After a successful neutral-site season debut against USF, the No. 21 Florida basketball team is back in Gainesville for its home opener against Jacksonville on Thursday night.

The Florida Gators (1-0) rallied from a 13-point first-half deficit to beat USF 98-83 on Monday night at VyStar Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Arena. Senior point guard Walter Clayton Jr. scored 29 points to lead UF to the comeback victory, while senior guard Will Richard contributed 25 points. Florida shot 27-for-33 from the free-throw line, overcoming a 20-percent shooting night (5-for-25) from 3-point range.

“It's a credit to our guys that they were more aggressive, going downhill in the second half and getting to the rim,” Florida basketball coach Todd Golden said. “And of course we shot well from two possessions, but in the second half we also got to the goal line 29 times and just had relentless pressure on the rim.”

Jacksonville (1-0) opened its season with a 78-65 win over Trinity Baptist College behind a double-double (19 points, 13 rebounds) from junior forward Stephon Payne III. The Dolphins are coached by Jordan Mincy, who was an assistant coach at Florida under Mike White from 2015-21.

“Seeing him work his way up from LA Tech here and then to Jacksonville, I think he’s doing a really good job,” Golden said. “I think he does a really good job recruiting; they are a good size for a low major program. He's always able to find pretty good, edgy scoring guards, and obviously he has a good pedigree. I'm sure he'll be thrilled to come in here and do his best.

Florida looks to continue its high level of play at the O'Connell Center, where the Gators went 14-1 last season.

“Our program is really excited to play in front of home fans again,” Golden said. “We feel like we had a big bounce back last year at home in the second half of the year, only losing one home game all year and playing very, very well here for the most part.”

Florida has won 33 straight home openers, with its last home opener loss coming on November 27, 1990 against Texas.

Florida Basketball vs. Jacksonville start time

Florida and Vanderbilt are scheduled to kick off on Monday at 8:00 p.m. ET from the O'Connell Center in Gainesville (capacity: 10,151).

Florida Basketball vs. Jacksonville betting odds

According to BetMGM, Florida is the 22.5-point favorite over Jacksonville. The over/under is 153.5 points.

What channel is the Florida Basketball vs. Jacksonville game on today?

Florida and Jacksonville will air on SEC Network Plus and stream on WatchESPN.com. Kyle Crooks will handle play-by-play duties, with Mark Wise as color analyst.

How to listen to the Florida Basketball vs. Jacksonville game on the radio

The Florida-Jacksonville game will be broadcast on AM 850 and FM 98.1 in Gainesville and statewide on the Gator Radio Network. Sean Kelley will handle play-by-play duties, with former Gators star Lee Humphrey as color analyst.

Kevin Brockway is the Florida beat writer for The Gainesville Sun. Contact him at [email protected]. Follow him on X @KevinBrockwayG1

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