University of North Florida recently issued the following announcement.
Ospreys Face Seventh P5 Opponent on the Year
North Florida men's basketball will play its second Big 12 foe of the year and seventh Power Five opponent on the season when it goes to Kansas State to face the Wildcats (8-3) at Bramlage Coliseum. Tip-off is set for 8 p.m. EST, with the game airing on Big 12 Now on ESPN+. It'll be the fourth-ever meeting between the teams, who last met in 2012.
LAST TIME OUT
North Florida men's basketball had five players put up double-digit scoring days, Jadyn Parker tallied a double-double and tied the UNF single game blocks record and the Ospreys took care of Trinity Baptist, 92-44, Saturday, Dec. 18.
PROBABLE STARTERS
G - Jose Placer (12.8 PPG | 3.5 RPG | 2.8 APG)
G - Jarius Hicklen (8.3 PPG | 1.8 RPG | 0.9 APG)
F - Carter Hendricksen (10.2 PPG | 4.2 RPG | 1.7 APG)
F - Dorian James (5.1 PPG | 3.7 RPG | 1.5 APG)
F - Jadyn Parker (8.5 PPG | 4.7 RPG | 1.9 BPG)
FROM THE JUMP
GET THAT OUTTA' HERE
Forward Jadyn Parker went off for seven blocks in UNF's 92-44 win against Trinity Baptist Dec. 18. Parker tied the UNF single game blocks record with that performance, becoming the third such Osprey to reach that mark. UNF had nine blocks in that game, two short of the UNF single game team record.
THE GAUNTLET
UNF played one of the toughest schedules in the nation to start the season, opening with consecutive games at Texas Tech, Texas A&M, Grand Canyon, Arizona State and UCLA. Since then, UNF also faced No. 10 Kentucky and No. 20 Florida.
All-told, UNF has played nine of 13 games on the road.
HOME COOKIN'
UNF is a perfect 4-0 at home this season. The Ospreys are scoring 97.3 points per game at home while holding other teams to just 57 points. Jose Placer has scored 16.8 points per contest, while Jady Parker is averging 10.8 points, 7.8 rebounds and 4.3 blocks per contest.
RIGHT ON BRAND
The Birds of Trey are living up to the moniker yet again in 2021-22. UNF is 15th in the nation for three-point field goal attempted (360), 23rd for three-pointers per contest (10.2) and 14th in total three-pointers made (133).
TAKING ADVANTAGE AT THE CHARITY STRIPE
The Ospreys went 22-25 from the line in a 91-84 win against Austin Peay Dec. 11, a key element in the Ospreys' home victory that day. For the season, UNF is shooting 74.9 percent from the line, good for 15th in the country.
FAMILIAR FOE
Kansas State is a familiar foe for head coach Matthew Driscoll and assistant coach Stephen Perkins, both having gone up against a number of times during their respective stints at Baylor University.
SERIES HISTORY
-UNF and Kansas State meet for the fourth time.
-The last time UNF and Kansas State met was Nov. 18, 2012. The Wildcats won that meeting.
-All three of UNF and KSU's contests have come in the state of Kansas. Twice UNF and KSU met in Manhattan, Kansas, while North Florida faced Kansas State in Wichita, Kan., in 2011.
-North Florida took the Wildcats to overtime in their meeting back in 2011.
-UNF and KSU met for three consecutive seasons between 2010 and 2012.
MILESTONE WATCH
- Hendricksen needs 7 points to become the 18th player in program history with 1,000 points and is 10 rebounds shy of 500 (Would be only 10th player in program history with both)
- Jose Placer just reached 500-career points in the win against Trinity Baptist Dec. 18
- With 196 wins at UNF, head coach Matthew Driscoll moved into third place for wins among ASUN men's basketball coaches in the history of the league.
SCOUTING REPORT | Kansas State Wildcats
-Kansas State was set to host Morgan State Dec. 29 before that game was canceled and UNF and KSU was scheduled.
-The Wildcats are off to a good start this season, posting an 8-3 record in response to a 9-20 year in the 2020-21 campaign.
-KSU's three losses have come against Arkansas, Illinois and Marquette.
-The Wildcats have picked up wins against FAMU, Omaha, North Dakota, Wichita State, Green Bay, Nebraska and McNeese State.
-Six of KSU's eight wins have come at home.
-The Wildcats are coached by head coach, Bruce Weber, who helped lead the Illini to an NCAA Championship runner-up finish in 2005 before falling to a North Carolina. Weber is 491-288 in his career as a head collegiate coach.
-Just as UNF shoots the three-ball well, KSU defends it well. The Wildcats rank fourth in the nation in three-point field goal defense, holding teams to 24.6 percent from beyond the arc.
-K-State features seven newcomers, including three Division I transfers (Ismael Massou - Wake Forest), Markquis Nowell (Little Rock) and Mark Smith (Missouri).
-Nijel Pack paces KSU in scoring with 14.9 points per contest.
-Mark Smith is the team's leading rebounder, reeling in 7.9 boards per game.
-No KSU player averages more than 0.5 blocks per contest.
-14 different Wildcats have earned playing time this season.
DRISCOLL CONFIDENTIAL
"Even entering season number 13, this time of year still remains one of my favorite in coaching. This is the time of year when you tweak and adjust schemes, sets, and rotations, marking the last few days of fine-tuning before the beginning of ASUN regular season league games. It seems like this will be a very fluid time based on the current climate of athletics, however the ability to persevere and embrace where your feet are planted will allow purposeful growth, sustaining our daily habits." -- Head Coach Matthew Driscoll
UP NEXT
UNF plays its final game of the 2021 calendar year when it hosts Keiser for the first time Friday, Dec. 31 at 2 p.m.
Original source can be found here.
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