Game 15 Preview: Rounding Out Non-Conference Play at Miami (FL)

Friday, December 29

Coral Gables, Fla.

6 p.m.

University of North Florida

Miami

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Game 15 Preview: Rounding Out Non-Conference Play at Miami (FL)

12/28/2023 12:00:00 PM | Men's Basketball

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JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - North Florida men's basketball finishes up its non-conference slate with its third consecutive Power Five opponent on the road against Miami (FL) on Friday, Dec. 29, at 6 p.m., in Coral Gables, Fla.

The Ospreys had three consecutive wins at home before losing back-to-back road tests against Florida State and Georgia. Chaz Lanier was the highlight of the week in both defeats with a combined 38 points between the two teams.

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

GAME DETAILS

Date: Friday, Dec. 29
Time: 6 p.m.
Location: Coral Gables, Fla.
Opponent: Miami (FL)

All-Time Series

Miami (FL) leads, 6-0, in the all-time series.
Will be sixth trip to Coral Gables, Fla., and first since the 2020-21 season.
Also set to play Miami for fourth time in eight years.
Hurricanes played only game of series at UNF during the 2016-17 season.

An Osprey Win Would...

Be first win against Miami (FL) in program history.
Finish the non-conference slate over .500 for the first time since the 2015-16 season.
Give UNF its second road win of the season and the first since its road opener against Charleston Southern.
Be first win against a Power Five program since beating Illinois in 2015.

PROJECTED UNF STARTING FIVE

G - Ametri Moss
G - Jasai Miles
G - Chaz Lanier
F - Nate Lliteras
F - Dorian James

COACH DRISCOLL ON TOMORROW'S GAME

"Coming off a quick couple days away with family and friends to celebrate the holidays, our ability to refocus, regroup and reestablish will be displayed in our last non-conference game of 2023-24 against another Power Five opponent in Miami. We have put together a lot of 2-3 minute runs in all of our guarantee games, when if you put them together, it's a full game worth of positive numbers. Now, we have to be able to compete media-to-media showing that consistency, while handling the high flying. They have the ability to score both at the rim, plus at a top-10 rate from the three, and full of activity on defense causing live-ball turnovers."
-- head coach Matthew Driscoll

SCOUTING MIAMI (FL)

The Hurricanes come back from the holidays with a 9-2 record overall and an undefeated 7-0 mark at home.
They have seen time in the AP Top 25 Poll this season being ranked as high as eighth overall.
The Canes have back-to-back wins heading into the matchup with victories against La Salle and Stonehill.
Marquee games this year have been wins against UCF and Notre Dame with losses to No. 12 Kentucky and Colorado.
Also defeated Georgia and Kansas State to win the Baha Mar Bahamas Hoops Championship.
Miami (FL) has four players that average more than 12 PPG led by Poplar Wooga with a 17.5 average.
Omier Norchad, Matthew Cleveland and Pack Nijel each join Wooga in the double figure range.
Wooga also leads the team in three-pointers made (30), while Norchad has been dominating the boards with 9.8 RPG.
Joseph Bensley is the final regular starter for the Hurricanes, joining Pack in the top two on the team in assists.

LOOKING AHEAD

North Florida kicks off Atlantic Sun Conference play with a pair of away games to finish up its five-game road slate starting with Stetson on Thursday, Jan. 4, at 7 p.m., in DeLand, Fla.

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.