Game 13 Preview: Starting Five-Game Road Stretch at Florida State

Tuesday, December 19

Tallahassee, Fla.

8 p.m.

University of North Florida

Florida State

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Game 13 Preview: Starting Five-Game Road Stretch at Florida State

12/18/2023 7:00:00 PM | Men's Basketball

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JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - North Florida men's basketball starts out a five-game road stretch with an in-state battle against Florida State on Tuesday, Dec. 19, at 8 p.m., in Tallahassee, Fla.

The Ospreys successfully navigated through its home stand with a 3-1 record, including three consecutive wins against Edward Waters, Georgia Southern and Trinity Baptist heading into the week. Head coach Matthew Driscoll won his 250th career game on Saturday and is four victories away from becoming the winningest coach in Atlantic Sun Conference history.

Follow along @OspreyMBB on X/Twitter and @ospreysmbb on Instagram from in-game updates. Live stream will be through ACC Network, while live stats will be available on stats.statbroadcast.com.

GAME DETAILS

Date: Tuesday, Dec. 19
Time: 8 p.m.
Location: Tallahassee, Fla.
Opponent: Florida State

All-Time Series

FSU leads, 7-0, in the all-time series.
Have faced each other in five of the past seven seasons.
All matchups have been played in Tallahassee, Fla.
Dorian James, Chaz Lanier and Brandon Rasmussen all played against FSU in 2022.

An Osprey Win Would...

Give UNF its first win against Florida State in program history.
Be its first four-game winning streak since Feb. 15, 2020.
Start the five-game road trip out with a victory.
Be first win against a Power Five program since beating Illinois in 2015.

PROJECTED UNF STARTING FIVE

G - Ametri Moss
G - Oscar Berry
G - Chaz Lanier
F - Nate Lliteras
F - Dorian James

COACH DRISCOLL ON TOMORROW'S GAME

"Having put the fall semester to rest and completed 12 non-conference games as well, we are entering the most difficult portion of our schedule. We have five straight road games with three consecutive Power Five teams, then we will begin ASUN regular season play with the last two. Florida State has the same DNA that they have had dating all the way back to 2010, when we made this trip to Tallahassee to open the season. They are extremely deep with so many similar-type players combining athleticism, length, and defensive tenacity that we haven't witnessed yet. FSU has a multitude of combo guards with efficient offensive numbers plus five 6-10 or taller rim protectors, including a potential lottery pick creating many challenges on both ends of the court."
-- head coach Matthew Driscoll

SCOUTING FLORIDA STATE

FSU heads into this matchup with a 4-5 overall record, including a 2-2 record at home.
They have already played one conference game this season, as they lost to No. 17 North Carolina on the road, 78-70.
Over Thanksgiving break, they defeated No. 18 Colorado to win the Sunshine Slam Championship, 77-71.
After the tournament, the Seminoles have now lost four straight games, including its most recent ones to USF and SMU.
Will have two more non-conference games on deck against Winthrop and Lipscomb before reaching full ACC play.
Jamir Watkins has been an all-around star for the Noles with a team-leading 13.2 PPG and 6.1 RPG.
He also leads the team in assists with 30 total while starting in all nine games with a 45.6 FG%.
Darin Green Jr. also averages 12.4 PPG and has been the leader from range shooting 23-for-63 (36.5%) from deep.
Baba Millar and Jalen Warley are two other consistent starters for FSU, while Cameron Corhen and De'Ante Green have been splitting starting reps throughout the year.

LOOKING AHEAD

North Florida continues its strenuous road trip with a quick turnaround to play Georgia on Thursday, Dec. 21, at 3 p.m., in Athens, Ga.

NORTH FLORIDA NOTES

THE 2023-24 SCHEDULE

31 games, 16 at home
Games in two time zones (EST, CST)
Home and season opener Nov. 6 vs. Coastal Georgia
Road opener at Charleston Southern Nov. 9
First Coast Classic Multi-team event (MTE) Nov. 16-18 at the UNF Arena
Four first time foes (Presbyterian, Northwestern State, Maine, Georgia)
Takes on teams from 12 different leagues
First time facing a Big Ten team since going to Iowa Nov. 21, 2019
Going to Queens for the first time in program history
Senior Night set for the lone regular season game in March, March 1 vs. Stetson
Four-game home stand between Dec. 2 and Dec. 16
UNF plays four games against 2023 NCAA Tourney Teams

16 HOME GAMES

North Florida's 16-game home slate is good for the most home games in UNF's Division I era.
North Florida plays eight non-conference home games and eight Atlantic Sun games at home. The Ospreys also host the First Coast Classic Nov. 16-18.
For the first time in over a decade, North Florida men's basketball played the season opener at home.
The last time North Florida began the year at The Nest was Nov. 10, 2012 against Edward Waters.

ROSTER TIDBITS

North Florida's 2023-24 roster features 13 Ospreys, with seven letterwinners returning.
The Ospreys' roster also includes six newcomers, with three being true freshmen and three being transfers.
All three transfers were significant contributors for their previous teams. Nate Lliteras comes to UNF as a junior athletically, having helped Longwood to the NCAA Tournament with a Big South Championship title. Lliteras logged 85 games for the Lancers, having tallied 90 three-pointers and 11 double-digit scoring performances.
Jake van der Heijden comes to the Ospreys as a graduate transfer after playing in 95 games at Bucknell in Lewisburg, Pa. The rangy lefty logged 1,574 minutes and over 300 points and 200 rebounds.
Shifty and agile lefty point guard Ametri Moss comes to the Ospreys after two seasons of averaging double-digit points at South Florida State College.
The UNF freshman features Mason Lee, Jaylen Smith and Jasai Miles. Lee arrives from just down the road at Providence HS. Smith is a highly touted guard out of Ocoee, Fla. Miles is a product of Miami, bringing 6-6 size to UNF.
Dorian James, Chaz Lanier and Oscar Berry comprise the most amount of experience among UNF returners. James has logged 110 games played in the Navy and Gray, while Berry was an all-freshman pick at FDU in 2021-22 and Lanier touting 72 games played in three seasons.
Returners Brandon Rasmussen, Max Hrdlicka, Jah Nze and Trent Coleman round out the roster, all bringing in at least one letter of experience in the Navy and Gray.