Ospreys Open December at Nebraska

Sunday, December 1

Lincoln, Neb.

4 p.m.

University of North Florida

Nebraska

Lliteras makes the return to his home state tomorrow at Nebraska.

Photo by: Brock Borgeson

11/30/2024 11:40:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Big Ten Network Live Stats Game Notes

First Meeting Between Two Teams

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - North Florida men's basketball opens December in the Cornhusker State as the Ospreys take on Nebraska Sunday, Dec. 1 with tip-off set for 3 p.m. CST. It's UNF's first-ever game against the Cornhuskers and fourth game against a power conference program this season.

GAME DETAILS
Who | North Florida and Nebraska
What | First game of December
When | Sunday, Dec. 1 at 3 p.m. CST
Where | Lincoln, Neb. | Pinnacle Bank Arena
Coverage | Big Ten Network

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 The Upcoming Game
"What an amazing day of preparation leading up to our next opportunity at Nebraska. Oftentimes in life you have to monitor and adjust accordingly as challenges present themselves. However, when you wrap up the day with a home-cooked family meal it makes situations that much more manageable. We want to say thank you to the Lliteras family for hosting us for a great meal and fellowship before tomorrow's game. Turning our attention to tomorrow, Nebraska as a team is exactly what you would expect out of a Fred Hoiberg-led team to look like. His team possesses skill, size and the ability to shoot, all amplified by the pace they operate with in offensive transition. Hoiberg and his program bring with it NBA schemes and the ability to turn you over at a high rate."

Last Time Out
EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. - From down 11 to up by as many as nine, North Florida men's basketball (5-2) earned its third road win of the season thanks to five Ospreys with double-digit points in a 78-73 victory against SIU Edwardsville (5-4) Friday, Nov. 29.

Jasai Miles went for his second double-double of the season and Josh Harris scored a game-high 20 points on 9-for-11 shooting to pace North Florida. UNF's bench outscored SIUE by ten and UNF drained seven more three-pointers.

Weekend Travel
North Florida has made the trek across four states since last night's win at SIUE … after flying in to St. Louis Thursday morning, North Florida took down SIUE and bused across Missouri and through Iowa before reaching Lincoln.

The Hometown Guy
Graduate student Nate Lliteras is from just down the road in Seward, Neb. … Lliteras attended Seward HS before attending Longwood and transferring to North Florida prior to the 2023-24 season.

Balanced Attack
North Florida had five different players score in double figures last night at SIUE … the Ospreys have six players averaging double-digits, paced by Josh Harris' 15.4 points per game.

Dishing Out Dimes
North Florida went for a DI-era program record 33 assists last time out against Edward Waters … the Ospreys scored 20 three-pointers in the win, one shy of a program record … sophomore guard Jaylen Smith had nine assists in the win.

Murphy the Marksman
Graduate transfer Liam Murphy leads the league in three-pointers per game as well as three-point percentage, shooting 58.3 percent from deep … both numbers are good for top 30 in the nation respectively … twice this season he has hit five three-pointers in a game … all of his production has come off the bench.

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 … North Florida is the first-ever team to defeat two Power Five teams on the road in opening weekend.

Scouting the Opponent
Nebraska enters at 5-1 and coming off a 96-79 win against North Dakota … the Husker's Connor Essegian opened things up with 29 points, bringing the Cornhuskers to their highest point total since 2001 … Nebraska's lone loss came to Saint Mary's … the Cornhuskers picked up a quality ranked win at Creighton earlier this year, holding Blue Jays big man Ryan Kalkbrenner to one field goal attempt … head coach Fred Hoiberg is in his sixth season leading the Huskers, joining Nebraska after a stint with the Chicago Bulls … Hoiberg was born in Lincoln, Neb., and went on to have a 10-year NBA career.

Series History
This is the first meeting between the two teams … the Ospreys last contest against a Big Ten program was last year in Iowa City as the Ospreys took on the Hawkeyes in Iowa City.

Freshman Phenom
Freshman Josh Harris has put his abilities on display early on in the season … the forward notched 23 points against Charleston Southern and poured in 22 at Georgia Tech. His 16.3 points per game scoring average was 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 … yesterday he added 20 points and nine boards at SIUE.

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.