North Florida Welcomes the New Year with a Showdown Against Austin Peay

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – North Florida kicks off the 2025 season and the Atlantic Sun schedule on Thursday, Jan. 2 at 2 p.m. at the UNF Arena. This marks the second occasion UNF has started conference play against Austin Peay, with the inaugural instance occurring on New Year’s Eve in 2022.

GAME DETAILS

Who | North Florida vs. Austin Peay

What | First Atlantic Sun Game of 2025

When | Thursday, Jan. 2 at 2 p.m.

Where | UNF Arena

Coverage | ESPN+

Live Stats | sidearmstats.com

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

“We bid farewell to the old and usher in the new tomorrow with the commencement of the New Year and conference action. The 2024 non-conference lineup yielded our second-best overall record in 16 years, alongside an opening week that we believe is unprecedented at our level of college basketball. Nevertheless, similar to last year, what has transpired is behind us. What matters now is what is in front of us, beginning with Atlantic Sun Conference play against Austin Peay at the UNF Arena’s CSI Companies Court. We’re thrilled to commence conference action against Austin Peay with a healthy and ready squad. The Governors have faced challenges with several key players sidelined due to injuries, but they are now fully equipped and ready to contend. Austin Peay utilizes a highly physical style of play with significant interior scoring from their forwards and various guards capable of driving and attacking the basket, drawing fouls, and making three-pointers. They aim to “muddy the waters,” so to speak, by altering their pressures and strategies to disrupt your positioning. It’s game time!”

Last Time Out

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – North Florida men’s basketball (7-6) concluded the non-conference segment with a challenging match against No. 7 Florida (12-0), suffering a defeat against the unbeaten Gators, 99-45, on Saturday, Dec. 21.

Scouting the Opponent

Austin Peay enters the contest at 5-8 … prior to Austin Peay’s victory over Brescia, APSU had endured six consecutive losses, falling to Vanderbilt, Ohio, Southern Illinois, Samford, ETSU, and UT Arlington … LJ Thomas has been a prominent player for Austin Peay this season, averaging 18.3 points per game … the Governors reached the Atlantic Sun Conference Championship Semifinals last year, narrowly defeating the Ospreys in overtime during the quarterfinals … Austin Peay ranks 313th nationally in terms of bench points per game … the Governors frequently go to the line, recording the second-highest free throws made per game in the league … Isaac Haney leads the league with an 86.1 percent free throw shooting percentage.

Series History

UNF and Austin Peay have had numerous closely contested games in recent times, particularly since both teams became Atlantic Sun rivals … each of the last five encounters has been determined by five points or fewer … three of those matches have gone to overtime … both of last year’s clashes reached at least overtime, with the Feb. 3 contest going to double overtime … this will be the first encounter at UNF since Dec. 31, 2022, when North Florida emerged victorious, 90-85.

Non-Conference Recap

North Florida wrapped up the non-conference season with a 7-6 record, having achieved two of those victories against Power Four teams … North Florida equaled its total wins against P4 teams within just one week to begin the season … UNF was named NCAA Team of the Week as a result after securing a commanding 90-66 triumph against Charleston Southern … it marked UNF’s best start in non-conference play since finishing with an 11-6 record in the 2015-16 season.

Atop the League

UNF leads the league in assists/turnover ratio (1.51), assists per game (16.9), fastbreak points per game (11.62), rebounds per game (38), scoring offense (84.6), three-pointers per game (13.2), and bench points per game (27.85) … UNF continues to top the nation in three-point attempts per game as well as three-pointers made per game.

Atlantic Sun Awards

Josh Harris, Jaylen Smith, and Jasai Miles have all been recognized with all-league distinctions this season … Harris received the ASUN Newcomer of the Week honor, while Smith and Miles both achieved their first careers’ all-league accolades.

Just the Fourth Time Ever

Miles’ performance of 30 points and 11 rebounds against Georgia Southern marked only the fourth instance of a 30-point and 10-rebound performance in UNF history, and the first since Carter Hendricksen achieved this feat in 2023 at Central Arkansas. 

Smith Taking the Reigns

Jaylen Smith has assumed leadership at the point guard position, dishing out a conference-leading 78 assists this season … his assist/turnover ratio of 2.23 also leads the league, along with his average of six assists per game.

Dishing Out Dimes

North Florida achieved a program record in the DI era with 33 assists against Edward Waters … the Ospreys made 20 three-pointers in the victory, just one shy of a program record … sophomore guard Jaylen Smith recorded nine assists in the win.

History at UNF

North Florida’s commencement of the 2024-25 season has been historic, as the Ospreys secured their first-ever victories against an SEC foe and an ACC foe within the same week. UNF’s Power Four wins in the opening week matched the program’s all-time record for victories against Power Four teams. Thanks to the victories against South Carolina and Georgia Tech, in addition to a 24-point win against Charleston Southern, North Florida garnered 14 votes in the Associated Press Top 25 poll, marking a first for the Ospreys. North Florida also earned a ranking of No. 10 in the CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top 25 poll … UNF’s 3-0 start is its finest since 2015-16 … North Florida is the first team to ever defeat two Power Five teams on the road during the opening weekend.

Freshman Phenom

Freshman Josh Harris has showcased his talents early in the season … the forward scored 23 points against Charleston Southern and poured in 22 at Georgia Tech. His average of 16.3 points per game is the highest among any UNF freshman in the program’s DI era after three games. He also surpassed the 20-point mark ahead of any previous UNF freshman during that time. His 23-point performance against Charleston Southern was the highest by a UNF freshman since Wajid Aminu scored 24 in 2016 … on Nov. 29, he added 20 points and nine rebounds at SIUE.

The Familiar Faces 

North Florida men’s basketball returns five players, all of whom either started the majority of last season’s games or have been starters throughout their collegiate career.career … Nate Lliteras recorded the highest number of starts among all returning players, achieving 31 starts in 31 games while averaging 10.4 points per contest, more than any other returning competitor … Jaylen Smith was unexpectedly promoted to the starting point guard role last season after junior guard Ametri Moss encountered a season-ending injury just as league play commenced … the left-handed guard hailing from Ocoee, Fla., went on to receive all-freshman accolades from the conference … Oscar Berry is the most seasoned Osprey in Navy and Gray this season, having played two years with UNF after beginning his collegiate journey at Fairleigh-Dickinson … following his first collegiate start not far from his residence in Coral Gables last December, now-sophomore Jasai Miles is back after making 19 starts and recording an average of 5.7 points per game.

Overview of the Newcomers

UNF’s roster includes eight newcomers, not taking into account redshirt-freshman Mason Lee who sat out last year after transferring to UNF from nearby Providence School of Jacksonville … among them, four are true freshmen, namely Josh Harris, Arden Begaj, Taylor Thompson and Dante Oliver … the remaining four newcomers come with substantial experience as transfers, two of whom have already attained degrees in Liam Murphy and Nestor Dyachok … Murphy averaged 12 points and seven rebounds per game at Columbia during his freshman year, while Dyachok had over nine points per game at Southern Utah … Alex Vargo joins the Ospreys from Garrett College, averaging more than 26 points per game and scoring 47 in a single match against Southern Maryland … he began his collegiate career at Youngstown State after amassing 1,634 points at Wheeling Park HS … marksman Kamrin Oriol returns to his home state of Florida after being named league freshman of the year in 2022-23 … he received recognition as conference player of the week once during the previous season.