JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - North Florida men's basketball returns from its road swing in the midwest to host Warner in the first home game of December Thursday, Dec. 5 at 7 p.m. from the UNF Arena.

GAME DETAILS
Who | North Florida and Warner
What | First Home Game of December
When | Thursday, Dec. 5 at 7 p.m.
Where | UNF Arena
Coverage | ESPN+

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
"It's always a great feeling when you return to The Nest where the energy produced by cheer, the pep band, student section and our loyal supporters always makes for one of the best venues in the Atlantic Sun. Warner is the first team that we've faced that has been coached by a former members of our support staff, with Matt Warner serving as one of our student coaches as a UNF alum. Warner brings in a similar style of play, attacking on offense while shooting a lot of three-pointers. But, what is even more impressive is the amount of times that they have been able to get to the free throw line and convert on those attempts."

Last Time Out
LINCOLN, Neb. - Nate Lliteras paced all Ospreys (5-3) with 17 points in a return to his home state, but Nebraska (6-1) got ahead and stayed ahead in a 103-72 loss Sunday, Dec. 1. UNF finished its weekend swing with a split as North Florida opened up the December month. 

Four Ospreys scored in double figures, with Jasai Miles adding 14 points and eight rebounds. Jaylen Smith and Liam Murphy also reached double-digit points in North Florida's fourth game against a power conference program this year. 

Road Warriors
UNF is one of eight programs with three true road wins as of Sunday, Dec. 1. The Ospreys have picked up road victories against South Carolina, Georgia Tech and SIU Edwardsville this season.

Starting off Strong
UNF's 5-2 start to the season matched the program's best mark in the month of November, previously set during the 2015-16 season. UNF has never had a better start to a season during the opening month in the program's DI era.

Balanced Attack
North Florida had five different players score in double figures at SIUE … the Ospreys have six players averaging double-digits, paced by Nate Lliteras' 14.6 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.

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
Warner comes into the game 4-5 overall and 1-2 in league play … the Royals have lost two straight games entering Thursday … Warner's last win came against NAIA No. 15 Florida Memorial … the Royals fell to Keiser and Fort Lauderdale in the last two contests … Jack Voth paces Warner with 18 points per contest, followed by Blaize Darling Jr. at 16.7 points per game … head coach Matt Warner was previously a manager with the UNF men's basketball program.

Series History
North Florida and Warner are meeting for the first time in the program's respective histories.

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 … Nov. 29 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.