JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - North Florida men's basketball makes the short trip up to Statesboro, Ga., to take on the Sun Belt's Georgia Southern tomorrow night at 7 p.m. in the first-ever men's basketball game at the Jack and Ruth Ann Hill Convocation Center. 

GAME DETAILS
Who | North Florida and Georgia Southern
What | First men's basketball game at Jack and Ruth Ann Hill Convocation Center
When | Saturday, Dec. 7 at 7 p.m.
Where | Statesboro, Ga. | Jack and Ruth Ann Hill Convocation Center
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
"Throughout the season we will experience a couple of these situations in which we play a home game followed by a road game with just one day of turnaround in between, including at the end of the conference schedule. Because of how we play on both ends of the floor, we are able to make that seamless and calculated transition from one game to the next. Georgia Southern men's basketball is playing its first home game at their brand new facility, making for that much greater of an expected atmosphere tomorrow night. Georgia Southern is one of the most up-tempo programs in the nation, making for high-pressure situations at the rim and the potential for opportunities at the three-point line. Defensively they employ the same amount of pressure on the ball, helping produce a lot of turnovers that can turn into transition offense."

Last Time Out
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - Five Ospreys scored in double figures, Josh Harris tallied a 26-point and 14-rebound double-double and UNF (6-3) drained 17 three-pointers in a 115-83 win against Warner (4-5) Thursday, Dec. 5. UNF's 115 points was just three points shy of setting the program's single-game scoring record.

Scouting the Opponent
Georgia Southern comes into play 5-4 and 3-0 at home … the Eagles dropped their last contest to VCU, 89-54 … Georgia Southern has fallen in each of its last two outings, while defeating West Georgia by ten Nov. 23 … Georgia Southern is in the top 30 in the country in teams of pace of play … the Eagles have scored 73.8 points per game, while permitting over 77 … Georgia Southern is paced by Adante' Holiman's 15.9 points per game.

Series History
UNF and Georgia Southern are meeting for the fourth time in the series' history … UNF is 3-0 across the four meetings … the Ospreys won by eight a year ago and also by three in the 2019 season, the same year that UNF went on to earn a share of the regular season title … this is the first-ever meeting between the teams in Georgia.

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 … UNF is the only team in the nation with two true power four road wins 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 and against Warner … the Ospreys have six players averaging double-digits, paced by Josh Harris' 15.8 points per game. 

Dishing Out Dimes
North Florida went for a DI-era program record 33 assists 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.

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, while going for a monster 26-point and 14-rebound double-double against Warner.

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.