UNF Basketball Thread: 2015-16 Season

[spuwho]

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.

[spuwho]

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.

[pierre]

With UNF faltering, they would almost certainly be stuck in Dayton again for a play in game.

[spuwho]

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.

[JaxJersey-licious]

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.

[spuwho]

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.

[spuwho]

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.

[spuwho]

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.

[spuwho]

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.

[ProjectMaximus]

Nice! Thanks for the updates.

[spuwho]

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.

[spuwho]

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.

[spuwho]

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.

[spuwho]

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.

[ProjectMaximus]

This sets up nicely for UNF then, if they can get by FGCU.