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University of North Florida Athletics

Chaz Lanier dribbling at practice APSU

ASUN Quarterfinals Preview: at #4 Austin Peay

3/4/2024 6:00:00 PM

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - North Florida men's basketball will start off its adventure in the ASUN Championship tournament as the fifth seed, taking on the fourth-seeded Austin Peay Governors on Tuesday, Mar. 5, with tip-off set for 8 p.m., at in Clarksville, Tenn.

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.

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.

Well, it's that time of year where it's literally the survive-and-advance period. The third phase on our calendar is the ASUN Championship tournament with the only conversation being Austin Peay. An incredible 2OT matchup at the beginning of February was hopefully an opportunity to play at F&M Bank Arena, while competing against Austin Peay, to give us some familiarity leading into this 4-seed vs 5-seed battle. They has won seven of their last eight contests with dominate guard play and consistent, high-level scoring from their interior game. Austin Peay continues to mix up looks defensively and create lots of indecision.
Head Coach Matthew Driscoll