Men's Basketball Announces 2010-11 Schedule
8/11/2010 9:03:11 PM | Men's Basketball
*Get Copy of 2010-11 Schedule
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — After leading the University of North Florida men's basketball team to one of the best season turnarounds in program history, second-year head coach Matthew Driscoll has put together an extremely challenging schedule for the 2010-11 season that includes 13 games at home in UNF Arena.
The Ospreys pre-conference schedule is highlighted by games against teams from several high major conferences including the ACC (Florida State, Maryland), Big East (Pittsburgh), Big Ten (Purdue) and Big XII (Missouri, Texas, Kansas State) conferences. The '10-11 ledger also features participation in a Thanksgiving holiday tournament played in Cancun, Mexico.
“Our 2010-11 schedule presents our team with some exciting opportunities,” said Driscoll. “We have the chance to battle some of the top high-major programs in the country including three teams that are consensus Top 10 squads (Purdue, Kansas State, Pittsburgh) in the preseason discussions. This makes for great exposure for our program as well as an exciting opportunity to play against some quality opponents. The schedule is very challenging as we will play 10 teams that posted 20 or more victories last year and participated in postseason play including nine NCAA Tournament participants. We hope that all of these competitive games have us prepared to play our best basketball during conference play and in March.”
The season opens Nov. 4 with an exhibition game against fellow Jacksonville program Edward Waters. Driscoll then sends his troops through a six-game road swing culminating with participation in the Cancun Challenge. UNF opens the stretch Nov. 12 at Florida State before travelling to Pittsburgh for a homecoming of sorts for Driscoll, a native of the Steel City, on Nov. 13.
The Ospreys play at Wyoming (Nov. 18) and Missouri (Nov. 20) in opening round games of the unique Cancun Classic. Tournament action concludes with a pair of games Nov. 23-24 in Cancun as UNF battles Prairie View A&M before taking on either Western Illinois or Morgan State, an NCAA Tournament participant in 2010.
“Playing in the Cancun Challenge is a great opportunity for our program,” Driscoll added. “We have a chance to face two high-major foes but also play a pair of mid-major opponents with a chance to earn another tournament championship. It also allows us to expose our guys to different parts of the country as well as the world with two games in Cancun.”
Following their brief Caribbean holiday, North Florida returns homes for its true home and Atlantic Sun Conference opener Dec. 2 against Florida Gulf Coast. The Ospreys also host A-Sun foe Stetson (Dec. 4) before hitting the road for a pair of road tilts against NCAA Tourney teams Purdue (Dec. 11) and Texas (Dec. 14). UNF hosts Furman Dec. 18 and Palm Beach Atlantic in an exhibition game Dec. 20 before heading home for the Christmas holiday.
After a short holiday break, UNF concludes the 2010 calendar year with contests at Maryland (Dec. 29) and Kansas State (Dec. 31).
The Ospreys ring in the New Year with three consecutive A-Sun road games versus Campbell (Jan. 5), Belmont (Jan. 8) and Lipscomb (Jan. 10). UNF's first home contest of 2011 comes Jan. 13 against defending conference champion ETSU followed by a Jan. 15 tilt with USC Upstate at UNF Arena. North Florida visits Kennesaw State (Jan. 20) and Mercer (Jan. 22) before renewing the annual River City Rumble rivalry with cross-town foe Jacksonville on Jan. 26. The JU game marks the start of a four-game home stand for the Ospreys including contests against Campbell (Jan. 29), Lipscomb (Feb. 3) and Belmont (Feb. 5).
The regular season closes with the Ospreys playing five of their final seven games on the road. North Florida plays the River City Rumble rematch at JU Feb. 8 followed by contests at Upstate (Feb. 11) and ETSU (Feb. 13). UNF's final home appearances come Feb. 18 and 20 versus Mercer and Kennesaw, respectively. Games at in-state foes Stetson (Feb. 24) and FGCU (Feb. 26) mark the conclusion of the regular season.
The 2011 Atlantic Sun Conference Championship is set for Mar. 2-5 in Macon. Ga.
“It should be another competitive season in the A-Sun this year,” said Driscoll. “Three of the league's best teams return most of their rosters making it a very top heavy conference again. This provides us a great challenge to look forward to as we look to continue building this program.”
North Florida posted 13 victories last season marking a five-game improvement from the previous year. The Ospreys return four of five starters from last year's squad including three of the top four scorers, the top two rebounders and the team's assist leader. UNF also welcomes a talented newcomer class featuring freshmen, transfers and junior college products.
Season ticket information is available by contacting the UNF Athletic Ticket Office at (904) 620-BIRD (2473) or via e-mail: Ospreytickets@unf.edu.
