Game 17 Preview: at Florida Gulf Coast

Saturday, January 6

Fort Myers, Fla.

7 p.m.

University of North Florida

FGCU

1/5/2024 5:00:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Stream Live Stats Media Guide

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - North Florida men's basketball continues its opening weekend slate to start off ASUN play, as well as its final stop in a five-game road trip, against Florida Gulf Coast on Saturday, Jan. 6, at 7 p.m., in Fort Myers, Fla.

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

Countdown to Tip-Off

at Fort Myers, Fla.

Days

Hours

Mins

Secs

G - Jaylen Smith

G - Chaz Lanier

G - Jasai Miles

F - Nate Lliteras

F - Dorian James

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.

We talked about this a lot in the preseason that the beauty of basketball is you get to play games much closer together. You're not able to sulk about yesterday, nor worry about tomorrow, because today is the greatest day we have. Preparation on a quick turnaround is vital, especially when you are traveling between game days. FGCU is the hottest team in the ASUN easily and they demonstrated that on Thursday night with a dominating home opener against Jacksonville. They have a lot of interchangeable parts and getting healthy at the right time, which gives them experienced depth. No doubt our ability to focus on personnel and eliminate second-chance points will determine the outcome of this game for us.

Head Coach Matthew Driscoll

UPCOMING MBB SCHEDULE

NEXT FOUR GAMES

Oct 29, 2025 at 7 p.m.

Men's Basketball vs

Warner

Nov 6, 2025 at 8 p.m.

Men's Basketball at

No. 3 Florida

Nov 12, 2025 at 7 p.m.

Men's Basketball at

No. 18 Tennessee

Nov 15, 2025 at 2 p.m.

Men's Basketball vs

New College of Florida

Next Event

FGCU

W, 78-58

Jan 6 (Sat)

7 p.m.

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Full Schedule

NORTH FLORIDA MEN'S BASKETBALL | BOOT CAMP EXTENDED CUT

Wednesday, October 01

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Sunday, December 15

Coach Driscoll Postgame Interview at Georgia Tech

Monday, November 11

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Tuesday, January 16