Game Notes
MILWAUKEE, Wis. - After playing at Northwestern on Wednesday, Dec. 16, the North Florida men's basketball team will remain in the upper Midwest to face Marquette on Saturday, Dec. 19, at 2 p.m. ET at the Bradley Center in Milwaukee, Wis.
The game will air on AM 1320 WBOB and 103.7 FM in Jacksonville and can be heard online at 1320WBOB.com. Mike Ridaught will bring you the action. The game is also televised locally on Sports 32 in Milwaukee. In addition to the game airing locally in Milwaukee, it has also been picked up by the Brighthouse Network in Florida and will air in Tampa-St. Pete, Orlando, Daytona Beach and Melbourne.
It is the second game of a five-game in eight-day stretch for the Ospreys. It is also the sixth game of a nine-game road swing before they return home on Dec. 30 at face Palm Beach Atlantic. North Florida opens the season with 10 of its first 11 games on the road.
After Marquette the team heads to Gulfport, Miss. to participate in the South Mississippi Classic Dec. 21-23. The Ospreys face Canisius (Dec. 21 at 5:30 p.m. ET), New Orleans (Dec. 22 at 5:30 p.m. ET) and Southern Miss. (Dec. 23 at 8 p.m. ET).
North Florida is 1-6 on the year and 0-2 in Atlantic Sun Conference play, while Marquette is 7-3 and has not started Big East play yet.
“This is another excellent challenge for us as we continue on our five games in eight days swing,” said head coach Matthew Driscoll. “They are extremely talented and have recently finished second at the Old Spice tournament in Orlando. They press 94 feet for 40 minutes so we will need to quickly improve on our turnovers, which continues to be our Achilles heel.”
NORTH FLORIDA TIDBITS
PLAYING THE BIG BOYS EARLY AND OFTEN
Heading into Saturday's game against Big East foe Marquette, UNF has already played games at three other BCS schools, as well as at a top Missouri Valley Conference opponent, Illinois State. In addition to Illinois State, the Ospreys have faced Notre Dame (Big East), Alabama (SEC) and Northwestern (Big Ten). Including Marquette, the five teams have combined for a 38-11 overall record and a 78 percent winning percentage. North Florida's sagarin strenth of schedule ranks 23rd in the country through Thursday, Dec. 17..
PAIR OF FRESHMEN LEADING UNF IN SCORING AND REBOUNDING
A pair of freshmen are leading the Ospreys in scoring and rebounding. Guard Jerron Granberry is averaging 9.9 points per game and forward Andy Diaz is pulling down 4.0 rebounds a game. Senior guard Stan Januska is right behind Granberry at 9.6 points per game and Diaz is third at 8.3 points per outing. Junior guard Brad Huagabrook leads the team with 17 assists and sophomore forward Matt Sauey with 10 blocks.
UNF SHOOTING WELL FROM 3-POINT RANGE, RANK 8TH NATIONALLY
When the Ospreys do shoot it from deep it goes in almost 43 percent of the time. UNF is banging home 42.9 percent of its 3-point shots, eighth best in the nation through Thursday, Dec. 17. Columbia leads the country at 47.3 percent.
THREE OSPREYS SEE SNOW FOR THE FIRST TIME
While there is currently no snow on the ground in Milwaukee, there was snow on the ground during the bus ride from Chicago to Milwaukee. It was the first time that three of the players had ever seen snow. The three were freshmen Jerron Granberry and Andy Diaz, who both hail from Miami, and sophomore Matt Sauey, who is from Ocala. Coach Driscoll was ready for a mini-snow ball fight but the snow was gone by the time the team arrived in Milwaukee.
