Butler Basketball uses Twitter to start home-and-home with Florida

Twitter can be a valuable tool. Butler basketball head coach LaVall Jordan used the social media giant to create a home-and-home with Florida.

Finding quality non-conference matchups in college basketball is not easy. Teams around the country struggle to create difficult schedules during November and December while using a variety of tactics. Non-conference strength of schedule has been a discussion point for Bracketologists around the country over the past few seasons as it is becoming more and more important for the selection and seeding of the NCAA Tournament.

For Butler basketball, LaVall Jordan took to Twitter to find an opponent for the next two seasons. The soon-to-be second-year head coach of the Bulldogs is an active member of the social media giant, tweeting nearly every day. His 19,000+ followers were treated to a nice surprise on March 26th when he used his social media presence to reach out to Florida head coach Mike White:

Much like Butler, Florida has been one of the most consistent programs in college basketball over the last 20 years. The Gators also exhibit plenty of basketball tradition and are one of the most well-respected programs in the nation. In three seasons under White, who followed the great Billy Donovan as head coach at the school, Florida has reached the NCAA Tournament twice.

Both White and Jordan are relatively new to the head coaching world, as they have a combined nine years of experience with the position (both have only been the head coach at two schools). Within two minutes of the initial contact by Jordan, White was on board with the idea, responding:

With that, the deal looks to be set and we can count on a couple of awesome games between top-tier programs coming up. The 2018 matchup of this series will be played in Gainsville while the 2019 edition will be held in the storied Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.

This is a story ripe with intrigue thanks to the involvement of social media by both coaches. This has been done by some coaches in the past, such as Dan Muller at Illinois State, and it is a great example of how powerful Twitter can be.

Now a part of non-conference scheduling, the social media giant has also played a vital role in collegiate marketing as well as recruiting. The college basketball landscape is constantly changing with the integration of new environments for communication. Using social media to create a home-and-home generates articles such as this one and others to start talking about the future matchups. This is free marketing at an elite level.

Both of these teams return enough talent to return to the NCAA Tournament next season. Leading the way for the Bulldogs in 2018-19 will be Kamar Baldwin, who averaged over 15 points per game in his sophomore season. Several other key players will be returning alongside him as well. As for Florida, senior guard KeVaughn Allen will be back next season to headline.

Florida and Butler are already both in the field for the 2018 Battle 4 Atlantis Tournament. This means that they will have to be placed on opposing sides of the bracket field in an attempt to avoid another matchup against each other.

Per the Butler Sports website, Jordan had this to say about Florida and the arrangement:

"“We have great respect for Florida’s basketball program. They are a strong addition to our schedule for the next two seasons. Coach White and his staff do a tremendous job. Every season they are near the top of the SEC standings and in the NCAA Tournament. This series provides our team with another challenge to help prepare us for BIG EAST play and also gives our fans another marquee opponent to look forward to.”"

Next: Villanova is back in the Final Four

Butler vs. Florida will be a headlining game for each of the next two seasons. The last time these two teams met was in the Elite Eight of the 2011 NCAA Tournament, with Butler coming out on top, 74-71.