Men's Basketball | 11/13/2019 12:00:00 PM
JACKSONVILLE - Looking to remain undefeated at home this season, the North Florida men's basketball squad welcomes Southern Mississippi to UNF Arena on Thursday night at 7 p.m. The game marks the third of four consecutive home games for the Ospreys.
1. REWIND
North Florida led for most of the way in a tightly contested game against Georgia Southern on Monday night, earning an 80-77 victory to improve to 2-1 on the year | Ospreys went 15 of 28 (54%) from the three-point arc led by a 7 of 8 (88%) performance by JT Escobar | Escobar led a quartet of starters in double digures, finishing with a season high 23 points followed closely by
Garrett Sams with 20 |
Carter Hendricksen collected a career best 17 boards to go along with 12 points for his first career double-double | UNF overcame 24 turnovers by forcing 16 of their own and boasting a 48-33 advantage on the glass
2. HOME SWEET HOME
The Ospreys have now won six straight at UNF Arena heading into Thursday's clash against Southern Mississippi | UNF has boasted 10+ wins at home in each of the last five seasons | North Florida is 58-15 at home since start of 2014-15 season and owns a 94-41 mark during head coach
Matthew Driscoll's 11-year tenure
3. #BIRDSofTREY
UNF has double digit 3PM in every game this season and are currently averaging 12.7 threes per game (7th in nation) | The Ospreys lead the ASUN and are ranked 3rd in the nation with 38 three-pointers this year | North Florida is listed 7th in the NCAA for 3-point attempts | JT Escobar is listed 4th nationally for 3PM (13) and is 15th in treys per game (4.3)
4. MILESTONE WATCH
On Monday, senior
Wajid Aminu became the 14th member of the UNF 1,000 Point Club (10th in the DI era) | Sophomore
Carter Hendricksen has enjoyed some early success posting a career best 20 points vs Florida National followed by his first career double-double with 12 points and a personal high 17 rebounds, which ranks as the second most rebounds in a game in UNF's Division I era | JT Escobar just missed his career high mark with his 7 treys versus Georgia Southern, one shy of his record
5. LAST TIME WE MET
The Ospreys and Golden Eagles met last season in the semifinals of Mayan Division play in the Cancun Challenge with UNF staking a 64-48 victory | North Florida raced out to a 44-23 halftime advantage before holding of a second half charge from USM |
Garrett Sams netted a 16 point/12 rebound double-double performance in the win for UNF while JT Escobar connected on 4 of the squad's 6 three-pointers | Tim Rowe finished with 12 points/6 rebounds to lead the Golden Eagles
SCOUTING SOUTHERN MISSISSIPPI
- Southern Miss enters the matchup with a 1-1 overall and an 0-1 mark on the road
- The Golden Eagles dropped a tough 75-69 decision at South Alabama in their last outing on Nov. 9
- USM has four players scoring in double digits paced by Boban Jacdonmi's 23.5 PPG
- Leo Harper-Baker is averaging a double-double at 12.5 PPG and 11.5 RPG
- Southern Miss is scoring at a 79.5 PPG clip and making 52% (66 of 127) of its shots
- Head coach Jay Ladner is in his first season at the helm of his alma mater
PROBABLE OSPREY STARTERS
G -
Ivan Gandia-Rosa (12.7 PPG | 4.3 RPG | 5.7 APG)
G - JT Escobar (15.7 PPG | 1.3 RPG)
G -
Garrett Sams (14.7 PPG | 5.3 RPG | 2.7 APG)
F -
Carter Hendricksen (13.3 PPG | 10.3 RPG)
F -
Wajid Aminu (9.0 PPG | 6.7 RPG)
UP NEXT
North Florida closes out its four-game home stand Monday against in-town foe Trinity Baptist College at 7 p.m. Following the game, UNF will play 11 of its next 12 on the road.
FOLLOW THE ACTION: Stay connected with the Ospreys all season long by following
@OspreysMBB and
@UNFOspreys on Twitter for all of the latest UNF men's basketball updates. Be sure to use the hashtag #SWOOPLife and #BirdsofTrey
