The 2011 MetroPCS Orange Bowl Basketball Classic will feature another top doubleheader as the Classic continues to showcase some of the best college basketball in the country. The pre-season 11th-ranked Florida Gators, led by head coach Billy Donovan and featuring local prep star Kenny Boynton, will take on the 13th-ranked Texas A&M Aggies, featuring new head coach Billy Kennedy and local prep star David Loubeau. The first contest will feature new head coach Jim Larranaga and the 23rd-ranked Miami Hurricanes against their South Florida rival, the FAU Owls and reigning Sun Belt Coach of the Year Mike Jarvis.
The 2011 MetroPCS Orange Bowl Basketball Classic will be held on December 17 at the BankAtlantic Center in Sunrise, FL. The Miami-FAU game is scheduled to begin at 1:00 pm, followed by the Florida-Texas A&M matchup at 3:30 pm. Times are still subject to change.
For ticket information please contact the OBC ticket sales office at (305) 341-4701 or visit www.orangebowl.org.
The Florida Gators, will be appearing in the Classic for the 11th time in 12 years, and are projected as the 11th-ranked team in the country for the 2011-12 season by Rivals.com and Yahoo! Sports. Florida returns one of the top backcourts in the country headlined by Second Team All-SEC selections Erving Walker (14.6 ppg) and Kenny Boynton. The Gators are coming off a 29-8 season, including an Elite Eight berth and their 11th NCAA Tournament appearance in the last 13 years. Pompano Beach-native junior guard Kenny Boynton was second on the team in scoring with a 14.2 point average last year. The American Heritage (Plantation) prep star finished the season scoring in double-figures in 16 consecutive games, including every game in the SEC and NCAA Tournaments. The Gators have won at least 20 games each of the last 13 years under Billy Donovan, one of only five programs in the nation to accomplish that feat.
Texas A&M is led by first-year head coach Billy Kennedy. Kennedy, formerly the head coach at Murray State, led the Racers to back-to-back Ohio Valley Conference regular season championships before heading to College Station. The Aggies have been projected as the 13th-ranked team in the country for the 2011-12 season by Rivals.com and Yahoo! Sports. The team has made six consecutive trips to the NCAA Tournament and won 24 games last year. Texas A&M returns three starters, including their top two scorers, All-Big 12 Second Team forward Khris Middleton (14.4 ppg) as well as All-Big 12 Third Team forward and Miami-native David Loubeau (11.8 ppg). Loubeau averaged 31 points and 19 rebounds as a junior and 29 points and 17 rebounds as a senior at Westlake Prep (Davie).
The Hurricanes return all but one player from last year’s squad that went 21-15 and reached the NIT quarterfinals. Excitement abounds in Coral Gables as the Hurricanes hired Jim Larranaga as their new head coach. Larranaga led George Mason to its improbable Final Four run in 2007. Miami has been projected as the 23rd-ranked team in the country for the 2011-12 season by AOL and SportingNews.com. The Hurricanes return their top three scorers including their two dynamic guards, All-ACC Third Team selection Malcolm Grant (15.0 ppg) and Durand Scott (13.5 ppg).
FAU comes off its most successful season in school history under head coach Mike Jarvis. The Owls won 21 games, the most ever since they moved to Division I for the 1993-94 season, and won the Sun Belt regular season championship, advancing to the postseason NIT for the first time in school history. FAU returns four starters, including their top two leading scorers in guards Greg Gantt (14.0 ppg) and Raymond Taylor (11.6 ppg). Taylor, a Miami native, led Miami Pace High School to a state championship in 2007 before transferring to American Heritage (Plantation) and earning First Team All-State honors playing alongside current Gators star Kenny Boynton.
With assistance from Orange Bowl Committee title sponsor MetroPCS and associate sponsors BankAtlantic Center, FS Florida/Sun Sports, Sports Authority, and The Miami Herald, the Classic is the only Division I basketball to be played in Broward County this year.