Eh, I feel like having a thread for the team this year, but no need for one each game.
Looks like there's a huge measuring stick looming tomorrow afternoon. I'll try to catch it on ESPN.
http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/conversation?gameId=400839796
Thanks for the thread. Alot of smack talk from Louisville fans. Who can blame them? Illinois fans did the same thing.
It will be a big test for the Ospreys.
I expect Pitino to go after UNF physically and force a high foul game. His bench is deeper so they can afford it.
Good luck to our Birds of Prey!
UNF held tough for one half. Second half was a completely different game. Cards were just too big and athletic. Hopefully good lessons for UNF when they enter conference play.
Good first half. They just didnt seem to have the size to get rebounds. Louisville had a ton of second chance points.
Louisville fans were pretty stunned to be down 7 in the first half. Pitino had to go to his bench to pull a sophomore out to stem the 3's.
The Ospreys have an offense problem between 13:00 to about 7:00 left in 2nd halves.
I saw it last year when in the A-Sun Tournament and in the ILL and UT-RGV games this year. I am not sure if it defenses changing up to combat the threes and they have to adjust or what.
They were up on ILL by 20 and then went into this offensive funk and ILL got within 9. They snapped out of it in time.
In the UT-RGV game the same thing happened, UNF went into a funk, but they only got within 12 before UNF snapped out and blew them out.
USC Upstate beat them last year when they couldnt buy a point in that second half timespan. That is when Ty Greene got hot.
Every team has room to improve, but the Ospreys need to maintain their pluck in the first 8 minutes of the second half.
I see UNI stuffed #1 UNC today.
UNF played UNI last year and got totally blown out. They are a good under rated team.
Quote from: spuwho on November 21, 2015, 05:10:58 PM
UNF played UNI last year and got totally blown out. They are a good under rated team.
No doubt UNI is a very good team. They were a 5th-seed in the Tourney last year and I remember when they burst onto the scene by upsetting a #1 Kansas team several years ago on their way to the Sweet 16.
Great first half by the Ospreys, but it was pretty apparent even when UNF was leading/keeping it close, Louisville's size was a big problem. I didn't check the box score but they had a ridiculous amount of offensive rebounds.
Still have hope UNF can pull off another big win before they begin conference play, we shall see.
Another big road test tonight vs St Louis U. It's on Fox Sports Midwest. UNF leads the country in 3-pts made and second in 3 pt %.
Here is what SLU coach Jim Crews had to say to the St Louis newspaper about North Florida. If I didnt know better, I would say he was trying to get his team fired up.
http://m.stltoday.com/sports/college/slu/billikens-will-face-unique-challenge/article_f15d4de6-a094-5eee-af0c-d28f6f797788.html (http://m.stltoday.com/sports/college/slu/billikens-will-face-unique-challenge/article_f15d4de6-a094-5eee-af0c-d28f6f797788.html)
UNF 32 Saint Louis 33 - Halftime.
UNF had an early 5 point lead, but SLU got tough on the boards. UNF started fouling and turning the ball over and SLU built a 7 point edge.
Beech made a steal just before the half and got the deficit down to 1. UNF is shooting 33% from 3 point land.
This game is on Fox Sports Go, the streaming version of Fox Sports. You will need a cable account to get access.
^I am logged in through xfinity but can only see the UFC fight and League of Champions soccer match. I guess you have to actually have Fox Sports Midwest to be able to watch (channel 421 or something)?
Quote from: ProjectMaximus on November 24, 2015, 09:23:04 PM
^I am logged in through xfinity but can only see the UFC fight and League of Champions soccer match. I guess you have to actually have Fox Sports Midwest to be able to watch (channel 421 or something)?
If you go to Fox Sports Go and login using your cable account, you can access.
They are hurting right now. Down 13 with 5 min to go.
Dallas Moore is missing a lot of shots and making a lot of turnovers.
Beech has 4 fouls.
Coach finally called timeout. Down 16.
Still missing a lot of shots. They have really gone cold.
Down 66-50 at the final TV time out. 3 minutes left.
Quote from: spuwho on November 24, 2015, 09:44:26 PM
Quote from: ProjectMaximus on November 24, 2015, 09:23:04 PM
^I am logged in through xfinity but can only see the UFC fight and League of Champions soccer match. I guess you have to actually have Fox Sports Midwest to be able to watch (channel 421 or something)?
If you go to Fox Sports Go and login using your cable account, you can access.
They are hurting right now. Down 13 with 5 min to go.
Nope. I'm logged in and all that's available to me is UFC: Velasquez vs Werdum and Bayern Munich vs Olympiacos
Interesting strategy. SLU is intentionally fouling to keep UNF out of the threes and forcing the Ospreys to the line.
Too little too late I am afraid.
Game over.
UNF 57 - SLU 70
It was neck and neck until 5 min left. Seems the Ospreys panicked a little. The SLU defense on Dallas Moore really broke up the pattern.
UNF 81 Hartford 60
Still struggling with the threes, but did better on the boards.
Next is St Francis Brooklyn in the Brooklyn Hoops Classic on Saturday.
Good victory!
Here is a time lapse video of the gym and scoreboard upgrades that just wrapped at UNF Arena.
https://www.youtube.com/v/7X1_LHaLcnI
For anyone who asks, it was paid for by your state education taxes, good budgeting and increased revenue from the men's basketball program. I know we have some sensitivities on scoreboard funding around here. ;D ;D
UNF 78 - St Francis NY 65
Big victory up in Hartford CT for the Ospreys.
Now back to Jacksonville to play Division III Trinity Baptist before heading over to Baton Rouge to play #22 LSU and then right up to Dayton to play the Flyers, who have been red hot.
Tough road schedule coming up!
Good win. If they want a shot at an at-large bid, they gotta win these games coming up.
UNF 80 - Trinity Baptist 72
UNF continues chilly shooting. Division III Trinity kept it close until UNF could break out a small lead in the second half and then held on.
They are going to have to shoot way better when they travel to LSU. 11-28 from 3pt land tonight but they missed a lot of shots in 2pt range.
Trinity had alot of turnovers in 2nd half and that helped.
In what has to be one of the wildest games ever, UNF lost to #22 LSU. 119-108.
UNF woke up from the chilly shooting and was unconscious from 3 point range. Both Beech and Moore had 31 points.
UNF was leading by a healthy margin at halftime and LSU faithful were freaking out.
Then LSU freshman Ben Simmons went on a tear for the ages as he scored 43 points and LSU had a 71 point second half to finally beat the Ospreys.
LSU knew UNF was trouble for them.
http://www.nola.com/lsu/index.ssf/2015/12/what_the_lsu_players_johnny_jo.html#incart_river_index (http://www.nola.com/lsu/index.ssf/2015/12/what_the_lsu_players_johnny_jo.html#incart_river_index)
It was the biggest output by an LSU player since Shaquille O'Neal.
You gotta give those Ospreys credit, they came to play!!
I watched the second half. I am a little concerned that this will be a problem for the team anytime they face a Power Five/Major Conf opponent. They can shoot lights out all they want but clearly playing big man, inside ball trumps that when done well.
Anyway, I'm sure they'll continue to grow and learn from this and hopefully dominate the A-Sun.
Louisville went to a large frontcourt to defend the threes. But it took a sophomore off the bench athletic enough to make a difference.
Illinois went inside to try to take advantage of the size difference, but they had a young frontcourt that couldnt defend the three very well.
Saint Louis ran a perimeter defense intended to push the 3pt shooters farther out. This forced UNF into an inside/outside game and caused alot of turnovers for UNF.
LSU tried to defend the three but in post game interviews the players said they were playing UNF close and had hands in their faces and they were still making them. It took Ben Simmons inside game to make the difference. No one on UNF could stop him.
When you score 100+ points in a college game you should be the team coming out on top.
This is becoming a trend against the bigger boys, the lack of defense is sometimes painful to watch. In each of these games UNF lost, they had control at one point and let it dwindle away. It's like they forget what defense is in the second half.
On the bright side, they aren't getting rocked by these teams, and Beach played an incredible game last night. Simmons will get the praise nationally (well deserved) but that was one hell of a performance by Beach. Swoop!
UNF 71 Dayton 86
UNF was down 38-35 at the half but allowed Dayton to go on a 12-2 run to open the second half and they couldn't recover until 6min left in the game. After that they matched them point for point.
UNF has got to pick up their second half defense coming out of the locker room. Of their losses, they allow teams to go on these big runs and can't stop or respond. Last year, they always seem to go cold on offense early in the second half. In the A-Sun they always recovered, but against the power conferences, they don't.
4 Dayton players were in double figures.
Next game is at home vs Coastal Georgia
Coverage: ESPN3
7:00 PM ET, December 12, 2015
UNF Arena, Jacksonville, Florida
Driscoll mentions that Beech is getting scouted by several NBA teams.
Per St Augustine.com:
http://m.staugustine.com/sports/college/2015-12-10/energetic-driscoll-working-encore-unf#gsc.tab=0 (http://m.staugustine.com/sports/college/2015-12-10/energetic-driscoll-working-encore-unf#gsc.tab=0)
Energetic Driscoll working on encore at UNF
By BRENT WORONOFF
brent.woronoff@staugustine.com
Whether he's recruiting, pacing the sideline or speaking to the St. Johns County Sports Club, North Florida men's basketball coach Matt Driscoll is a ball of energy.
Driscoll didn't pace when he spoke to the club Thursday afternoon at The Corner Bar in St. Augustine, but he did hint at a local recruiting effort, and he wasn't shy about promoting UNF's games. Both of those duties have become easier since the Ospreys won the Atlantic Sun Conference and advanced to the NCAA tournament for the first time in school history last season.
The A-Sun tournament championship game made a YouTube sensation out of UNF's crazy, dancing band member, Stephen Putnam, and helped put the Ospreys on the national radar. A boisterous student section fits Driscoll's personality perfectly, and the highest demand ever for Ospreys season tickets proves the seventh-year coach is on the right track.
"We had 6,155 fans (for the A-Sun championship game in the 5,800-seat UNF Arena)," Driscoll told the club Thursday. "That was larger than the fire marshal wanted, so we sent him on a cruise."
In the offseason, UNF added a million-dollar state-of-the-art video scoreboard over center court, a 40-foot LED scorer's table and the UNF Cool Zone — 44 premium seats on the floor that cost $1,000 a game. The seats are selling and all of the additions were supported by sponsors, which have been much easier to find now that the team is winning.
"No one said basketball could survive in Jacksonville, but when you win people are going to come out," Driscoll said.
When it comes to winning, Driscoll sounds like Vince Lombardi.
"Coming close isn't what it's all about," he said. "Moral victories are non-existent in what we do."
At UNF, he's managed to build a winner with few resources. He took over a team in 2009 that went 8-22 the previous year and led it to a 13-18 mark in his first season. Last season, the Ospreys went 23-12 with a 12-2 conference record. They also knocked off Big Ten power Purdue and duplicated that feat in this year's season-opener with a 93-81 win at Illinois.
Driscoll has a 102-103 record in his six seasons at the Jacksonville school, including 6-4 so far this season.
"We're going in to win every game and make our guys understand that winning is what it's all about," he said.
And he's doing it with high-character players, such as Ponte Vedra High School's Beau Beech, who made the A-Sun academic honor roll in 2012-13.
Beech is averaging 16.4 points per game, is third in the nation in 3-pointers made with 35 and eighth in 3-point shooting percentage at .538. The 6-foot-9 swingman hit 8 of 12 from 3-point range on the way to a 31-point performance last week in a 119-108 loss to LSU.
"He's 6-9 and he shoots peas. He's got a chance to go pro," Driscoll said. "The Celtics, Spurs and Hawks have come out to watch him. He's going to be UNF's all-time leading scorer for a year. And then [junior guard Dallas Moore] is going to pass him."
The Ospreys are the No. 1 team in the nation in 3-pointers made (281) and fourth in 3-point shooting percentage (.459). They always have four players on the floor who can shoot from beyond the arc and they get their shots off as quickly as they can, so they have been unaffected by the new 30-second shot clock, Driscoll said.
"We have athletic dudes who run and dunk and jump," he said. "We're really talented, really, really fun to watch. And our tickets are $10 a game. That's less than a movie. And the popcorn is pretty good too."
After promoting, he focused on recruiting. Without naming names, which would be a recruiting violation, Driscoll said he has prioritized another St. Johns County player who would be a perfect fit for UNF.
"In two years we lose 100 percent of our scoring," Driscoll said. "So we need your [player]. We're trying not to be Vanilla Ice. He had one hit, 'Ice, Ice Baby.' We ain't trying to be one and done."
UNF 117 - Coastal Georgia 71
It was tight for about the first 4 or 5 minutes, then UNF went on a 12-0 run and that was it, the rout was on.
The lead got to 40 points and varied between 40 and 45 points and ended with a 46 point difference.
Beau Beech fouled out with about 8 minutes left. The guy from CG was giving him the business throughout the whole game, and Beau kind of cleaned him out on the 5th foul. Coach Driscoll was clearing the bench anyway so it had no impact on the game.
CG tried to get chippy a little after UNF was still bombing in the threes with a 40 point lead, but the UNF players kept their cool and it just delayed the inevitable.
The only moment it got irritating is when the game degraded into playground ball before the end of the first half, but a time out by coach but that to rest for good.
The new scoreboard at center court had 1 malfunction and the clock had to be reset once in the second half.
The graphics are pretty cool and the clips they play when a player does something is funny. Beech probably has the funniest clip. Dallas Moore beating his chest the same way he did when they won the A-Sun tourney.
But the "over the top" award goes to the battle cry video of Coach Matt Driscoll. They only play it twice, at the start of each half. The guy has energy, no doubt about it.
Small crowd due to students finished with finals on Friday and left town.
Moment of silence at the start for the long time UNF scorekeeper who passed away.
UNF 91 - FIU 72.
They will play Austin-Peay tonight at UNF Arena.
UNF shot 16 three pointers on FIU and are still national leaders in 3 pointers. On a per game basis, UNF shoots more threes than anyone in Division 1.
Just 2 more home games before they head back for a tough road schedule.
Arkansas
VCU
And then against Eastern Michigan outside Detroit before starting their Atlantic Sun Conference schedule.
ESPN Bracketology guru, Joe Lunardi still has UNF getting a #15 slot. Which means he is expecting them to avoid the play in game in 2016 by winning the season and ASun tourney. Hang tough, Ospreys!
Big date coming up? UNF vs JU. Saturday, January 9th @ UNF Arena.
Gotta win both of those road games to have any shot at an at-large. I don't think UNF will pull off an at-large or a win in the tourney, but it looks like it will be a fun season anyway and who knows?
UNF 41 - AP 24
Mackey hit a 3 at the buzzer to end the half.
UNF is playing a trapping zone on defense tonight and it has AP stuggling. Its helping the rebounding alot.
Beech has been shooting 3 to 4 feet beyond the 3 pt line tonight. Not sure why so far out as he hasnt made one that far out yet.
UNF 80 - AP 70
UNF was up by 20 at one point then went south mentally.
AP pressed and got a lot of late game turnovers which converted to 3's or alley oops for AP.
The game ended on a huge alley oop by Chris Horten from AP.
If AP had started pressing 1 min sooner, it would have been even closer.
Uh Oh, did AP discover the template to slow down UNF ? Look for other teams to copy.
Unf struggled against the full court press last season too. Let's just hope they can build big enough leads to overcome it, especially when they start conference play.
Quote from: Dapperdan on December 17, 2015, 10:33:38 AM
Uh Oh, did AP discover the template to slow down UNF ? Look for other teams to copy.
Well, AP was effective in the 2nd half. I checked the stats last night and UNF only made 3 baskets in the final 6 minutes of the game. 2 threes and a layup.
Granted UNF chewed up alot of clock on their possessions, but it was rife with miscues as they attempted to run their offense with much less on the shot clock. Most of that dur to the pressing.
But what got me was the lack of blocking out on rebounds in the same period near the end. They were superb in the first half, but in that final 6 min I saw them standing around under the basket with their hands up in the air. Chris Horten of AP got this great rebound by basically out jumping them from behind.
I am not down on the Ospreys, I just see these lapses periodically and I cant attribute it to the other teams abilities. Its something I noticed last year in ASun conference play as well.
But the Ospreys did play much better defense this time around. Makes me wonder if the LSU game prompted it.
UNF 87 - FAMU 70
Ospreys take their record to 10-4 with a victory over the FAMU Rattlers at UNF Arena.
Once again the Ospreys held a sizable lead in the first half (20 points at the half) and then let it melt away down to 9 points in the second half before the offense woke up. FAMU missed 2 consecutive 3 pointers to get the margin back to 6, before Beau Beech came back in and restarted the offense. The lead then returned to 15 thereafter, but FAMU outscored the Ospreys in the second half.
Brent Martineau and Lee Moon Jr, who were announcing for ESPN3 coverage made mention that UNF needs to raise their defense and their mental edge coming out from the half or they are going to get challenged by a couple of Atlantic Sun teams. They also noted that UNF is a first half team against all their opponents, especially against the Power Conferences, but their weak defense in the second halves have allowed them to lose unrecoverable leads. Against weaker opponents in Div 1, they have gotten by, but they can't get away with it against Big10, SEC and ACC teams.
So in short, they need to stop the mental breakdowns in the 2nd half, get a killer mentality on defense, and for crying out loud, can someone show them how to block out under the basket for a rebound? Just like Austin Peay, I see FAMU guys jumping over their backs to get rebounds.
Hire Dennis Rodman for a week for goodness sake!
UNF 72 - Arkansas 97
Arkansas led the entire game last night. UNF had no answer to their inside game and were out rebounded.
UNF did make a run late in the first half to get the margin to 5, but they never got closer as they were dominated inside and outside.
Arkansas did have back their star guard on the court from injury and that helped their perimeter defense, but UNF was only 10-27 from 3 point range.
Just to give you an idea how dominate Arkansas was, they out rebounded the Ospreys 52-28 for the game and shot 53% from the field, mostly because the shots were under the basket.
The Ospreys are off for the holidays before they head up to play VCU and Eastern Michigan. After that the A-Sun schedule starts.
UNF is now 10-5 for the season so far. All 5 losses were on the road against power conferences.
UNF 68 - VCU 80
Tough road loss to a good team. Can't wait to get back on the A-Sun schedule.
VCU shut off the three pointers (7-19). UNF fought back to within 9 with 2.5 minutes left but VCU went on a run to seal the deal.
Once again UNF was in range at the half, but allowed a 14-4 VCU run coming out of the locker room.
Next is Eastern Michigan. Go Ospreys!
UNF 82 - EMU 77
In a road game up at the Convocation Center in Ypsilanti Michigan, the Ospreys took on Eastern Michigan from the MAC Conference today.
After a nip and tuck game where the lead changed multiple times in both halves, Beau Beech hit a critical three for the lead with 1:23 left and UNF's defense stiffened where EMU missed several 3's in the last minute. Dallas Moore's layup at the buzzer sealed the victory.
UNF is now 10-6 for the season. This is the 2nd non-conference road win.
This now completes the Ospreys non-conference schedule and they open the A-Sun at Stetson on January 6th.
Interesting...LSU destroyed Kentucky 85-67 last night. Maybe not such a bad loss for the Ospreys.
http://www.cbssports.com/collegebasketball/eye-on-college-basketball/25439542/lsu-picks-up-massive-win-over-no-9-kentucky-as-cats-struggle
LSU has the number one overall pick on their team and a few other talented players. That game shows just how good they can be when they play a complete game.
Quote from: Downtown Osprey on January 06, 2016, 02:27:56 PM
LSU has the number one overall pick on their team and a few other talented players. That game shows just how good they can be when they play a complete game.
Ben Simmons didn't play all that much in the Kentucky game.
Some LSU fans were "thanking" UNF for helping the team finds its mojo.
UNF 97 - Stetson 79
Ospreys open the A Sun schedule with a victory down in Deland.
A 15-2 run with 6 minutes left opened the game up for UNF.
Chris Davenport came 1 assist away from a triple double.
Good stuff. I'm expecting a strong conference campaign. I think anything short of regular season champ will be a letdown.
UNF's recent wins and with Illinois upsetting #20 Purdue today has helped them fare well in the College Basketball RPI Index.
UNF now has a RPI of 132, which is 30 points better than when they went into the NCAA First Four last year.
Beating Eastern Michigan (RPI 97) on the road has helped improve that score.
If Illinois (who UNF beat) continues to improve their Big 10 play, this will help the Ospreys even more.
ESPN Bracketology still shows them as a 15 seed (not a play in).
The Atlantic Sun had a mild upset last night as USC-U beat new conference member NJIT @ NJIT.
Relatively speaking, none of the other A-Sun teams have as brutal a road schedule as the Ospreys do.
This message went out to people who attended the UNF - JU game.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * *
I wanted to personally reach out and thank you for attending last Saturday's River City Rumble men's basketball game against Jacksonville University. You helped set a record for the largest regular season game crowd, and witnessed our fifth straight men's basketball victory over JU! We are undefeated at home this season, and hope that your support will continue as we move through the remainder of conference play.
Our men's basketball program has six more regular season Atlantic Sun Conference home games left and I would love to see you in UNF Arena again, encouraging the Ospreys with the same enthusiasm and energy! I do encourage you to purchase tickets in advance at the link below that is connected directly to our ticket site.
Men's Basketball Ticket Link: http://bit.ly/OspreyMBBTix
Additionally, I wanted to make you aware of a free event we will be hosting at UNF Arena on Thursday, February 25th to watch the next River City Rumble on the brand new videoboard. UNF plays at JU that night, and there are limited tickets available due to the small capacity of Swisher Gym, so we will be hosting our first-ever UNF Arena Watch Party. More detailed information will be released in the near future on UNFOspreys.com and via our social media accounts. Finally, the UNF Bookstore at the Student Union will be open until 6:30pm prior to every home game. A team store will also be set up in the Arena lobby. Stop by and pick up the latest Ospreys gear.
Thanks again for all of your support and Go Ospreys!
Lee Moon
Athletic Director
Looks like they may breeze through the A -Sun this year. I see no other teams that pose any danger whatsoever. Unless they have a total mental breakdown, they should win every game.
UNF 82 - FGCU 76
This game was the biggest challenge UNF has had in the A-Sun so far. FGCU was leading most of the first half. UNF finally got an 11 point bulge going with 5 minutes left with some out of this world plays and stratospheric 3 pointers, but they didnt use the clock well after that looking for the quick release 3's instead. FGCU whittled the lead down to 2 with less than a minute left. But UNF held up to the press and fouls and FGCU couldnt convert a shot and the Ospreys came out with the win.
Beau Beech was on fire and some chippy defense by FGCU tried to hold him back but failed. On one possession I saw Beau's jersey pulled up to his nose by the defender. No whistle on that one, but was typical of the evening.
Large crowd at UNF arena tonight, the announced crowd was around 4k, but I couldnt hear the details. Lots of FGCU fans came up from Fort Myers for the game.
UNF 82 - Stetson 86
The Ospreys not only lose their first A-Sun game of the season, but also break their home winning streak of 12 games dating back to last year.
While UNF beat the Hatters down in Deland by 18 last month, this time the Hatters were prepared and had a solid defense against the Ospreys.
Stetson took a nice lead in the first half before a 10 point run by UNF cut it to 4. A 19-9 run by UNF to start the second half pushed them out to a 11 point lead, but it didn't last as once again, the Osprey's kept pulling the quick trigger three's and Stetson worked their way back to take a lead with 2 minutes left. Dallas Moore's incredible drives kept the Osprey's close and down by only 2 with 12 seconds left, but Nick Malonga missed the front end of a 1 and 1 with 8 seconds left and UNF fouled the rebound.
Probably the biggest stat was the fact that Stetson held guard Trent Mackey to zero 3 pointers. The first time all season this has happened. The Ospreys are 15-2 when Mackey scores at least (3) three pointers.
JU is only a game back now. How cool would it be if the ASun final was JU/UNF?
Quote from: spuwho on February 01, 2016, 10:15:43 PM
UNF 82 - Stetson 86
The Ospreys not only lose their first A-Sun game of the season, but also break their home winning streak of 12 games dating back to last year.
You can blame Dan Hicken for that
They played poorly aginsyt FGCU as well. JU played both teams way better. I think JU at this current moment is the better team and would win.
UNF 65 - FGCU 81
UNF fell into a tie in the A-Sun (with JU) with their road loss to FGCU tonight. It is clear the Osprey's are reeling.
The game started out terrible as FGCU blasted out to a 22-6 lead, but Beau Beech knocked a long range three and that got them on a roll to a 1 point lead at the half.
But the Osprey's totally fell apart in the 2nd half and allowed FGCU a 11-2 run which they never could recover from. The entire team (except for Dallas Moore) racked up the fouls. Davenport, Mackey, Beech, Odum all had 4 fouls and Daniels fouled out. The Osprey's also suffered at 3 point range as they were 10-35, way below their average.
Since JU beat Stetson tonight, this puts even more pressure on the Ospreys when they face JU at the Swisher Center in the season finale on February 25th. But with 2 consecutive losses now, most are getting concerned the Ospreys are going to finish the season.
As a fairly consistent watcher of the Osprey's, I point to a spot with 7 minutes left in the snow delayed game with NJIT up in New Jersey. Up by 23 at that point, they mysteriously began a slow and methodical mental release that survived a couple of Driscoll timeouts as NJIT whittled it down. If NJIT had 2 more minutes, they would have probably won.
While they did beat FGCU at UNF last week, they still didn't seem to be "in their game" periodically.
So either teams have been watching their film of UNF and prepping their defenses well, or perhaps the Osprey's are suffering a wave of the flu bug going around Jax these days. Anyway you look at it, these losses are surprising (especially the Stetson loss @ home)
Lets hope they can find themselves mentally again and refocus on winning the A-Sun Regular season. Clearly something has them by the feathers.
You have to give Jasick a ton of credit for what he has done at JU in just two seasons.
UNF 91 - Kennesaw State 101
The UNF Ospreys continue their A-Sun meltdown and fall back into a continued tie for first place with a resounding thud by losing on the road to Kennesaw State up in Marietta, GA tonight.
Since JU was upset by Lipscomb 93-92 as well this evening, this keeps the Ospreys tied.
With Kennesaw State just a game above last place USC-Upstate in the A-Sun, this loss by the Osprey's continues the head scratching on what is really going on with this team.
UNF now has lost to 2 teams (Stetson and Kennesaw) that don't have the same level of talent or experience as the Ospreys do.
The losses have dropped UNF in the NCAA bracketology back to play-in status (if they can still win the tourney, that is)
I realize they are in a slump but this has been an on-going theme. They can't defense at ALL. So frustrating.
Quote from: spuwho on February 11, 2016, 11:27:00 PM
The losses have dropped UNF in the NCAA bracketology back to play-in status (if they can still win the tourney, that is)
"Play-in status" . . . . . and if you win you have the thumping by the No. 1 seed to look forward to. Not a position you want to be in, but you have to start somewhere. It can start with simple recognition.
Quote from: CCMjax on February 12, 2016, 09:54:51 AM
Quote from: spuwho on February 11, 2016, 11:27:00 PM
The losses have dropped UNF in the NCAA bracketology back to play-in status (if they can still win the tourney, that is)
"Play-in status" . . . . . and if you win you have the thumping by the No. 1 seed to look forward to. Not a position you want to be in, but you have to start somewhere. It can start with simple recognition.
The difference between play-in status and the 15 seed can be significant.
Hey, I think it would be great if they still make play-in status, but I obviously would like to see improvement over the year prior.
I am not whining like Kentucky fans are right now, I just want to see UNF do well. As a regular watcher, I am well aware of their skills and limitations.
This isnt a Final Four team in its current iteration by any means, but to show year to year improvement is not a reach either.
The better regular season they have, the better it positions them in post season play.
UNF 87 - Lipscomb 94
That is 4 losses in a row and this one hurt as it drops them out of first place tie and into a 3 way scrum for the A-Sun regular season title.
UNF had a 10 point lead at the half but just couldnt survive several runs by Lipscomb.
NJIT upset FGCU and Kennesaw upset JU tonight.
So that puts the UNF, JU and NJIT in a 3 way tie.
And who does UNF play the next few games? JU at Swisher Gym, NJIT at home and last place USC-Upstate at home.
This one is going down to the last week it seems.
With UNF faltering, they would almost certainly be stuck in Dayton again for a play in game.
Quote from: pierre on February 15, 2016, 01:03:32 PM
With UNF faltering, they would almost certainly be stuck in Dayton again for a play in game.
At this point, any team (UNF or otherwise) who wins the A-Sun Tourney will land in the play in game.
The second place team will probably land in the NIT and if not, anyone else with a compelling W-L record will land in the CIT Tournament. Both FGCU and USC-U went to the CIT last year which was won by UT-Martin. It is considered a great post season tournament for mid-major schools who dont qualify in the NCAA finals.
Great seeing UNF put the wood on NJIT defensively and get back to it's wnning ways. Would have loved to see the Ospreys here when they played NJIT in Newark but...you know....snow.
UNF 53 - NJIT 25 Halftime.
UNF is shooting 70% from the field and 64% from the 3 zone.
Good 1st half defense and they have added some new plays to their repertoire since I last saw them.
Now they need good solid 2nd half defense and none of the mental breakdowns.
They really need this game big time.
JU is up on USC-U 43-34 at the half up at Swisher Gym.
FGCU is up 34-28 on Lipscomb down in Ft Myers.
If UNF keeps things going here, we could still have a 3 way tie in the A Sun at the end of the evening.
UNF 107 - NJIT 71
No doubt, the Ospreys came to play tonight.
Coach Gus Bradley is here with his son. I dont know if he spoke to them before hand, but if he did, it worked!
USC-U has caught up with JU. With 2 minutes left.
Dallas Moore became the UNF all time leading scorer tonight.
JU did beat USC-U tonight so UNF & JU are in an A Sun tie.
FGCU & NJIT are 1 game back.
JU still has to play NJIT and UNF. (NJIT beat JU by 20 previously)
NJIT plays JU and USC-U.
FGCU plays Kennesaw and Stetson.
Nice! Thanks for the updates.
UNF 41 - USC-U 40 Halftime.
NJIT is up 16 on JU up in Arlington at the half, which is a surprise.
Kennesaw is up on FGCU at the half down in Ft Myers.
UNF has to win tonight to control their destiny. JU has to win to have a shot at winning or sharing the regular season.
UNF 81 - USC U 78.
The Ospreys lost their halftime lead and were struggling with the Spartans perimeter D. For awhile they were down by as much as 8 points. But at about the 4 minute mark they went zone defense. USC-U gave up alot of fouls and the Ospreys made them pay with clutch free throws in the final 2 minutes.
But it was 2 killer 3 pointers, one by Mackey and one by Dallas Moore that got them back. The one by Dallas Moore, you could hear the whole arena go silent as he released the ball and then the uproar when hit nothing but net.
It was UNF Homecoming as well as Senior Night.
They honored the graduating seniors, Mackey, Beech, Daniels and Ismail Oguda. They even played the Nigerian national anthem for Ismail.
This game also set a new UNF record. First time they have reached 20 wins in the regular season (they had 19 last year) with 1 game left.
Since JU lost to NJIT tonight and FGCU beat Kennesaw, this puts the Ospreys into 1st place again in the A Sun.
JU, NJIT and FGCU are all now tied, 1 game behind UNF.
The game against JU is not only huge, but the A-Sun Tourney is going to be really good this year.
UNF will be facing USC-U @ UNF Arena on Tuesday to kickoff the defense of the A-Sun Tournament.
UNF had to work pretty hard to beat USC-U here in Jacksonville last week, so no walkovers should be expected.
As far as the NCAA Bracketology goes, right now they have been alternating with Winthrop for the 16th seed in the West (against North Carolina @ Raleigh) or in the East (against Villanova @ the Barclays Center in Brooklyn)
Wintrop as a 137 RPI, UNF has a 152.
UNF lost a lot of RPI during that 4 loss streak, especially that loss to Stetson at home. When UNF had a RPI in the 130's they were landing as a 15 seed in the East against #2 seed, Virginia (again @ Raleigh)
UNF has a much more difficult road schedule against the power conferences than Winthrop did.
For the "First Four" play in game, they are currently predicting them to be Bucknell, Hampton, TexasSouthern & Wagner. All of them have RPI's well below UNF.
The only team that has surpassed UNF for a 15 seed so far is Weber State. The Ospreys are only down 1 RPI to them and if UNF does surpass them, it will realign them (probably back to the West Regional). Above Weber State, the RPI's are 30-40 points better, so there is no room for bracket improvement above that.
The destiny of the Ospreys is still pretty much in the hands of getting the automatic A-Sun tourney berth. Right now the only at-large berths are predicted to be teams with RPI's of 60 or less.
UNF 92 - USCU 69
The Ospreys came out in the 2nd half strong on defense and more focused on offense. This was Osprey basketball and how they need to play.
In 2 absolute stunners:
JU lost to Lipscomb up at Swisher Gym in OT.
NJIT lost to Stetson up in New Jersey easily.
This means UNF will play FGCU ( they beat Kennesaw by 10) and Lipscomb will play Stetson for the second round.
This sets up nicely for UNF then, if they can get by FGCU.
Good crowd here at UNF Arena tonight.
UNF is playing good defense.
Huge game for Ospreys.
Media TO.
UNF 21 - FGCU 12
FGCU has 3 offensive fouls already. They are trying to penetrate the UNF defense.
UNF 24 - FGCU 30
FGCU is starting to dominate the boards and UNF is missing the quick 3's.
UNF is just making to many mental mistakes and letting FGCU back in. HT can't come quick enough.
UNF 31 - FGCU 45
Ospreys got blitzed in the last 6 minutes.
FGCU has a lot of fouls, but the Ospreys cant make the FT's.
They couldnt stop Norega in the final 3 minutes. He totally smoked Daniels twice.
UNF 33 - FGCU 53
They need some major defense now.
17 min left.
Ospreys will need some miracles now. They looked pretty gassed.
Down by 25 with 10:25 left.
People are starting to file out.
Ugh.
A shame to go down this way. Wonder where they'll be seeded in the NIT?
UNF 56 - FGCU 89
I know you will freak when you read this.
Stetson upset Lipscomb up in Nashville tonight. So if Stetson upsets FGCU in Ft Myers on Sunday, UNF will be declared the NCAA team.
Stetson is ineligible for NCAA play this year. If they win the tourney, the NCAA reverts to the regular season champs.
Which of course was the Ospreys.
So just think how many Osprey fans will be rooting for Stetson on Sunday.
That was a tough loss. I was one of those who filed out early, but I think I made it till 8 minutes left. I am can deal with a loss from cold shooting, but it was extremely frustrating watching FGCU just have opportunity after opportunity, either from offensive rebounds or sloppy turnovers by UNF. I don't know if it was an adjustment made by FGCU, but it was like someone turned the switch off for UNF. They were up 8 and then just got careless. I know they doubled up Dallas a bunch after his hot start, but it was just shocking to see them collapse like that.
Quote from: Lucasjj on March 03, 2016, 10:04:27 PM
That was a tough loss. I was one of those who filed out early, but I think I made it till 8 minutes left. I am can deal with a loss from cold shooting, but it was extremely frustrating watching FGCU just have opportunity after opportunity, either from offensive rebounds or sloppy turnovers by UNF. I don't know if it was an adjustment made by FGCU, but it was like someone turned the switch off for UNF. They were up 8 and then just got careless. I know they doubled up Dallas a bunch after his hot start, but it was just shocking to see them collapse like that.
It was after the first media time out. The Ospreys missed several free throws and then Noriela started going inside.
The forward traps they started running on Dallas Moore forced his head down and wasted shot clock while he back court dribbled to break the trap. This put all of the Ospreys out of their usual positions as they circulated forward to help out.
But the Ospreys didnt have an answer for those top court traps. And if Dallas drove to the basket when the trap broke, he had significant height blocking his path to the basket.
Coach didnt replace Moore with Karlos Odum until they were down by 24, which was nearly too late. Odum never got trapped, but did get his shots blocked a couple of times.
Beau Beech had several shots tipped at release, his defender was getting just enough jump on him to scratch the ball. Beau started driving after that and drawing fouls, but it was too late by that time.
I hate second guessing coaches, but if UNF had changed up their game plan sooner, stop using Moore exclusively for the front court dribble (as good as he is) and broke the trap cycle, perhaps.
But by the 10 minute mark, I could see it on the Ospreys faces. When they let Providence graduate Terrell free access to the basket twice and even let him take 2 rebounds away from them, it was done. By this time they couldnt defend or rebound. The turnovers just pushed the margin even higher.
Like what was said, it was like a switch got turned and UNF lost their nerve.
We are all Stetson fans now, lol
This was just another example of how this team has played all year. Even early on it was apparent that having no inside presence was going to hurt them. Once other A-SUN teams figured that out, well, you saw the slump they went on and never did recover from.
Also, they have to be one of the worst defensive basketball teams I've ever seen. Oh well, let's hope they can still build up this program and Coach stays around for the foreseeable future. There IS something here.
Coach Driscoll said he changed the defensive schemes 3 times during the FGCU run.
Man 2 man, 1-3-1 and 2-3 trapping zones, none of them worked.
But the Ospreys shot absolutely terrible during the same run. Beech, Mackey, Bodager all missed open threes they usually make.
This is why I think UNF should have gone "big" and took it to the basket more and draw the fouls. It would have allowed the game to slown down and allowed more points off the clock. FGCU was clearly physical and the refs were calling it, so leverage it.
But the guys got rattled mentally at about the 12 minute mark and started turning the ball over. Malonga, Mackey, ill advised or ill timed passes. Beech had a line drive pass slip in his hands and it ended up in the student section.
Great no look passes were wasted because the player wasnt expecting it or wasnt quite ready. I will say that FGCU played excellent defense and it forced the Ospreys onto a lot of low percentage shots, many near the end of the 30 second clock.
But one thing I have said since they played Austin-Peay, they arent good rebounders. I dont know if that is the result of being a 3 point team and just expecting it to swish or what, but I still dont see them blocking out under the basket. They stand with their arms up.
Overall, they have had a great season and the fact they done this well (for 2 years no less) with essentially a 3 guard, 2 power forward team speaks volumes about Coach Driscoll and his abilities.
If they dont make the NCAA or NIT, they will probably get invited to the CollegeHoops.com Classic which is a post season tourney for winning mid-major programs.
Both USC Upstate and FGCU played in it last year. FGCU lost in the first round, but Upstate lost to the eventual champion UT-Martin in the semis.
I love watching these guys play, yeah, they got flaws as everyone does, but they have done some cool things and have added some great history to the University.
More people know about North Florida now than they did 3 years ago.
(https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1442/25490097866_4469f5c5c4_z.jpg)
FYI: Stetson split the season series with FGCU this year. They beat FGCU in Deland just a week and a half ago.
If FGCU wins and takes the automatic NCAA berth, UNF then takes the automatic NIT berth as the regular season champions.
For you Gator fans......
The updated predicted brackets came out for the NIT and it has the Gators playing the Ospreys at UNF Arena in the first round.
That should be an interesting game. Ospreys would be seeded 8th in the South bracket, Florida #1. Think that game will sell out?
The Ospreys losing to FGCU completely has changed the bracketology for the NCAA Tourney. With FGCU's much lesser RPI now predicted to be in the bracket, they now get a slot in the First Four in Dayton.
Lehigh took UNF's place as the 16th seed, and this pushed some lower RPI's up into the lower seeds.
The brackets will churn even more as the different conference tourneys come and go over the next week, but UNF's loss was definitely the first shakeup in the lower seeds.
Stetson is up on FGCU 35-30 at the half down in Ft Myers.
Stetson 69 - FGCU 69
Looks like overtime.
FGCU's Marc Eddy Norelia just fouled out. He is their top scorer.
Stetson 72 - FGCU 73
less than 3 min left in OT
Stetson 78 - FGCU 80
Final OT
FGCU goes to the NCAA
UNF goes to the NIT
I still can't believe the loss to FGCU. Its not just the loss but how they lost. No one played any defense at all and FGCU had easy bucket after easy bucket. What a huge disappointment. They just had to win that game and they were in. I guess someone forgot to tell them that.
Quote from: Dapperdan on March 07, 2016, 12:59:12 PM
I still can't believe the loss to FGCU. Its not just the loss but how they lost. No one played any defense at all and FGCU had easy bucket after easy bucket. What a huge disappointment. They just had to win that game and they were in. I guess someone forgot to tell them that.
Lack of defense, mostly in the paint is what hurt them, but 2 things hurt more.
Missing shots and poor rebounding.
I watched the second half of the Stetson/FGCU game to pick up on anything that might help understand that crushing loss.
FGCU plays a very physical game, they generate alot of fouls quickly. Stetson was making their free throws. FGCU missed alot, especially near the end. It kept the Hatters in the game.
But the final Stetson shot in the paint at 3 seconds left in OT was symbolic of FGCU's play. They blocked the shot at the rim and the game ended. They just defend the paint well.
I talked with some coaches about that loss to FGCU, and while some werent very diplomatic, the common theme they all saw was that FGCU started doing better at contesting UNF shots. This created more misses and fed the rebounding.
The less diplomatic felt UNF lost their nerve and refused to go inside because they are a bunch of wimps (harsher terms were used here)
Davenport, Daniels or Beech couldn't stop Marc Eddy Norelia. Shifting the defense to stop him left Terrell wide open at some key times.
Having watched them the whole season, many teams have tried to stop the Ospreys through a tougher perimeter defense to keep the threes from setting up the inside game. Some have been successful (Saint Louis, Louisville, VCU) and they beat the Ospreys. Some have failed (Illinois, Austin Peay, LSU) and only LSU was able to outscore them.
All that being said, sometimes I see moments where they are plumb tired. That 4 game losing streak had some qualities of fatigue around it. That is why I kept asking if they were sick. Duke deals with this every year. Everyone gets up for them. UNF is the defending champ, everyone was getting up for them too.
Maybe the NIT is a better fit for them. They likely would have been blown out in the first round to a 1 seed. I think they may have missed the play in game and gone straight to 16 seed. They might have a chance against Florida.
It will be interesting to see who UNF is matched up with. I doubt FSU or UF makes the NCAA tourney and each would be likely matchups for the Ospreys.
Florida is doing major renovations to the O-Dome and cannot host a game. So maybe they can play that here.
Quote from: pierre on March 08, 2016, 08:00:08 AM
It will be interesting to see who UNF is matched up with. I doubt FSU or UF makes the NCAA tourney and each would be likely matchups for the Ospreys.
Florida is doing major renovations to the O-Dome and cannot host a game. So maybe they can play that here.
I think if that's the case they should move it to the Arena if it's available. The Gators probably being the higher seed can host wherever they want when they're home is unavailable and the massive crowds from both sides would be an excellent setting for the Ospreys to make right from the disaster that was the FGCU playoff game, particularly for the seniors.
I would actually prefer the UNF arena. A nice compact college atmosphere.
Here is the current projected NIT Brackets based on current standings and places in conference tourneys. (March 9)
Graphic courtesy of the NIT Bracket Project:
http://bracketmatrix.com/nit (http://bracketmatrix.com/nit)
(http://www.bracketmatrix.com/NIT160309.png)
Reminder: Regular season champions that do not win their conference tournament get an automatic bid to the NIT. This season so far, Belmont, Bucknell, High Point, Hofstra, IPFW, Monmouth, North Florida, Valparaiso and Wagner have automatic bids to the NIT.
^ The idea that Temple (14-4 in the American Athletic Conference) is projected as a 3 seed in the NIT is laughable. If the Owls best USF tomorrow, they are fairly solidly in the Big Dance. If they lose, I submit they still rank higher in NIT brackets than FSU (see playing no favorites with my two schools), and UF.
Funny thing, when I note to some friends who are Gator fans that they might be playing UNF in the NIT, they all scoff at me and say "not possible"...."we deserve to play someone better than them"...."not in the same league"....."what a joke".
I was like whoa, don't get too uppity or anything, after all it is the NIT.
Its almost like 2 thirsty wolves and one doesn't want to have to drink from the same pond as the other.
But they didn't hesitate to want tickets if it really happens.
The last projected NIT bracket came out before the NIT selection show tonight.
UNF has moved to a different bracket and would no longer play Florida, but play Valparaiso (won the Horizon Conference regular season)
That would be interesting in that UNF Coach Matt Driscoll was at Valpo as an assistant for all of 3 month before his boss, Coach Scott Drew was recruited to take over scandal plagued Baylor and took Driscoll with him.
Florida (currently an NCAA bubble team) is showing playing High Point where UNF formerly was.
Florida State got moved as a #1 seed in their bracket and moved to #3 under Florida.
Sorry, tufsu1, Temple has moved up to a #2 seed in the Florida/FSU bracket. I guess we will see reality in a few hours here.
(http://www.bracketmatrix.com/NIT160311.png)
Here are the NIT Brackets for 2016. Florida will face UNF. NIT rules say the higher seed gets the home floor, but with Gainesville out of action currently, waiting to hear where the game will be played. Davidson will come down and play FSU in Tallahassee.
(https://cdn2.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/V18fjd_9l4Xp1IkSXKpumLxuqas=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn0.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/6185561/st-bonaventure-byu.0.jpg)
(https://cdn0.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/FOPIjLbNmuO4rsCajOqediXxbow=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn0.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/6185557/valparaiso-saint-mary.0.jpg)
(https://cdn1.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/CpbXIgkza1XNW94x_UcYzn85cgY=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn0.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/6185567/monmouth-florida.0.jpg)
(https://cdn0.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/mrEf1VwZARd299ngtFsj3mWTAs8=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn0.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/6185569/south-carolina-san-diego-state.0.jpg)
A lot of schools are bellyaching about not getting a NIT invite when there are some records floating around that are superior to some of the seed holders.
This statistic is why:
20 regular season champs ended up losing their conference tourney, 15 of which ended up in the NIT. That oversaturated the brackets and pushed many teams out.
The NCAA, in its effort to keep the NIT relevant under the glaring lights of the March Madness 68, made deals to allow conference regular season champs to get automatic berths.
But now the result is that this years NIT field is considered one of the richest pool of teams in a long time.
UNF will host Florida on Tuesday night at 9. There will be a tailgate starting at 6:30 and 750 free student tickets in addition to general admission of $15.
My boss is an Ohio State grad. If the Gators and the Buckeyes both win Tuesday, he's curious where the second round would be played. UF is the higher seed, but would they play the game in Columbus?
Yes it would be in Columbus.
Reserved seating at UNF Arena sold out this morning.
GA is still available, but I noticed they had already sold a healthy clip at 11pm last night.
I have spoken to a half dozen Gator fans, they arent going. They said the game is "too late".
Word on the street is that John Egbunu will not play due to a need for surgery. Can anyone confirm that? Something about a torn ligament in his thumb.
UNF 7 - FL 8
1st media TO.
Place is packed. Cars parked all around the UNF campus.
UNF 11 - FL 19
Gators are doing a good jon contesting shots. Ospreys have missed some 3's.
Gators have missed a few contested layups.
UNF 17 - FL 32
Gator perimeter defense is holding the Osprey 3 pointers well. Egbunu is playing, but has a large wrap around his thumb.
A couple of series where UNF was set for the three and UF stopped it.
UNF 25 - FL 46
Gators are dropping the 3's now. Ospreys are changing up their defenses.
UNF 25 - FL 57
Halftime.
Gators reeled off (4) 3 pointers in a row.
Its a total rout so far. Ospreys are completely ineffective.
UNF 38 - FL 66
1st media TO
15 min left.
Ospreys moved to the double trap defense. It worked for about 2 min. And forced a Gator TO.
UNF 42 - FL 71
Gators are working into their bench now.
Ospreys flirt down to 25 points periodically the Gators take it back up.
UNF 51 - FL 73
Ospreys got a little run going on the Gators bench.
7:52 left. Gators put the starters back in.
UNF 57 - FL 79
Ospreys got it down to 18.
5min left.
UNF 68 - FL 97
Final. Gators face Ohio State in next round.
Ospreys had it down to 20 with 2 minutes left before Coach Driscoll cleared his bench.
Ospreys have a lot to be proud of. It was a great group of guys this year.
Looking forward to next year!
Thanks for the updates all year! And congrats to 2016 Conference Champ UNF! Hope the underclassmen can ride the momentum into next year.
Newest Atlantic Sun member, NJIT is playing in the CIT (College Insiders.com Tourney) which is for mid-majors with winning records.
Tonight was their first game and they beat Army 79-65.
So the A-Sun still has 2 active teams in post season play.
The CIT is expected to be won by Grand Canyon. They are on probation since this is their 1st year in Div 1. They were second in the WAC regular season to New Mexico State and are coached by former Phoenix Sun's guard Dan Majerle.
The final A-Sun team in post season play, NJIT, was beat by Columbia tonight 80-65 in the semi-final of the CIT Tourney.
NJIT had a pretty good run in the CIT, as they beat Army, Boston U, U-Texas Arlington before succumbing to Columbia.
Columbia will face UC Irvine in the CIT final.
UC Irvine was one of those bubble picks when they lost to Long Beach State in the Big West Tourney, where Hawaii came out as the tourney winner instead.
Since Hawaii also won their regular season as well, this pushed UC Irvine into the CIT instead of the NIT.
With Grand Canyon getting beat last week, UC Irvine will probably take this tournament.
The fact that NJIT, an A-Sun contender near the end of the season, got this far in the CIT is pretty good. Most mid tier A-Sun teams get eliminated in the earlier rounds. UNF beat NJIT twice this past season, in pretty sturdy form.