Ospreys Carry Winning Streak Into Athens

2024-25 North Florida Men's Basketball - Kamrin Oriol Going For A Jump Shot

Photo by: Brock Borgeson

11/11/2024 11:06:00 PM | Men's Basketball

North Florida Set to Play Third Game Against Power Four Team

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - North Florida men's basketball carries a three-game winning streak into Stegeman Coliseum as the Ospreys take on the Georgia Bulldogs for the second-straight season. It'll be UNF's fourth game in eight days as North Florida plays through the early portion of its non-conference ledger.

GAME DETAILS
Who | North Florida at Georgia
What | Second of two in Georgia
When | Tuesday, Nov. 12 at 7 p.m.
Where | Athens, Ga. | Stegeman Coliseum
Coverage | Watch on SECN+

Projected Starters
Sophomore, Guard | Jaylen Smith
Senior, Guard | Oscar Berry
Sophomore, Guard | Jasai Miles
Senior, Guard | Nate Lliteras
Freshman, Forward | Josh Harris

Coach Driscoll on Sunday's Game
"The beauty of this time of year is that our program is accustomed to ripping and running from city to city, all the while embracing doing the next right thing. Our resilience and ability to grow daily has been extremely refreshing thus far. Georgia, like all of these Power Four opponents, brings such balanced scoring and the ability to create separation through explosive runs. Georgia's length, athleticism and relentless pressure to create havoc on the defensive end will be a challenge all 40 minutes." -- Head Coach Matthew Driscoll

Last Time Out
ATLANTA - The early-season magic rolled on for North Florida men's basketball (3-0), with the Ospreys (3-0) putting up 105 points on Georgia Tech (1-1) in a 105-93 victory at McCamish Pavilion. The win gave the Ospreys their first-ever win against an ACC program, while bringing UNF to two Power Four wins in the same season for the first time in program history.

The last time a program put up over 100 points on Georgia Tech in Atlanta was Duke in 2017. Helping the high-scoring cause was six double-digit scoring performances, including 22 points from Josh Harris and 18 apiece from Jasai Miles and Nate Lliteras.

History at UNF
North Florida's start to the 2024-25 has been a historic one, with the Ospreys earning their first-ever wins against an SEC foe and ACC foe in the same week. UNF's Power Four victories in the opening week matched the program's all-time record for wins against Power Four programs. Thanks to the wins against South Carolina and Georgia Tech, along with a 24-point win against Charleston Southern, North Florida earned 14 votes in the Associated Press Top 25 poll, a first for the Ospreys. North Florida also earned a spot at No. 10 in the CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top 25 poll … UNF's 3-0 start is its best to begin a season since 2015-16.

Freshman Phenom
Pembroke Pines, Fla., native and freshman, Josh Harris, is coming off a 22-point game at Georgia Tech as well as a 23-point outing in the win against Charleston Southern. His 16.3 points per game scoring average is the highest by any UNF freshman in the program's DI era through three games. He also broke the 20-point marker ahead of any previous UNF freshman during that era. His 23-point game against Charleston Southern was the most by a UNF freshman since Wajid Aminu had 24 in 2016.

Series History
UNF and Georgia are meeting for the second time in the series' short history … the Bulldogs won the lone meeting Dec. 22 of last season back in Athens.

The Familiar Faces
North Florida men's basketball returns five players, all of which started the majority of last year's games or have been a starter throughout their collegiate career … Nate Lliteras started the most games among all returners, tallying 31 starts in 31 contests while averaging 10.4 points per game, the most among returning players … Jaylen Smith was thrust into the starting point guard position last year after junior guard Ametri Moss suffered a season-ending injury at the start of league play … the lefty guard out of Ocoee, Fla., went on to earn all-freshman honors from the conference … Oscar Berry is the most veteran Osprey in the Navy and Gray this year, having played two years with UNF after starting out his collegiate career at Fairleigh-Dickinson … after making his first collegiate start not far from home in Coral Gables last December, now-sophomore Jasai Miles returns after making 19 starts and averaging 5.7 points per game.

Rundown on the Newcomers
UNF's roster features eight newcomers, not including redshirt-freshman Mason Lee who sat last year out after joining UNF from nearby Providence School of Jacksonville … four are true freshmen, including Josh Harris, Arden Begaj, Taylor Thompson and Dante Oliver … the other four newcomers bring in significant experience as transfers, two of which have already earned degrees in Liam Murphy and Nestor Dyachok … Murphy put up 12 points and seven boards a game at Columbia as a freshman, while Dyachok scored over nine points per game for Southern Utah … Alex Vargo joins the Ospreys by way of Garrett College, scoring over 26 points per game while lighting up Southern Maryland for 47 in a single contest … he started his collegiate career at Youngstown State after scoring 1,634 points at Wheeling Park HS … sharpshooter Kamrin Oriol comes back to his home state of Florida after earning league freshman of the year honors in 2022-23 … he was named conference player of the week once last season.

Scouting the Opponent
Georgia has generated a pair of high-scoring performances in its 2-0 start, winning 83-78 against Tennessee Tech in the opener before beating Texas Southern by 28 on Sunday … Georgia is under the direction of third-year head coach Mike White … Asa Newell and Dakota Leffew are both tallying at least 20 points per game thus far … the Bulldogs were tabbed to finish 12th in the SEC Preseason poll, one slot behind South Carolina.