North Florida Ospreys men's basketball

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North Florida Ospreys
2015–16 North Florida Ospreys men's basketball team
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University University of North Florida
Conference A-Sun
Location Jacksonville, Florida
Head coach Matthew Driscoll (7th year)
Arena UNF Arena
(Capacity: 5,800)
Nickname Ospreys
Colors Navy Blue and Gray[1]
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Uniforms
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Home jersey
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Team colours
Home
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Away jersey
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Team colours
Away
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Alternate jersey
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Team colours
Alternate
NCAA Tournament appearances
2015
Conference tournament champions
2015
Conference regular season champions
2015, 2016

The North Florida Ospreys represent the University of North Florida (UNF) in men's college basketball. The Ospreys compete in the Atlantic Sun Conference (A-Sun) in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). They play home games at UNF Arena on the school's campus in Jacksonville.

The program was founded in 1992 in the NAIA. They entered NCAA Division II the following season. The Ospreys transitioned into NCAA Division I from 2005 to 2009. Their current head coach is Matthew Driscoll.

History

The North Florida Ospreys men's basketball team played its first games in the 1992–1993 season, spending their first year as an National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) Independent.[2] UNF initially had no basketball court, so the Ospreys' first three home games were played at Florida Community College at Jacksonville until UNF Arena was finished in 1993.[3] Their first coach was Rich Zvosec.[4][5] In the 1993–1994 season UNF transitioned into NCAA Division II, joining the Sunshine State Conference. In 1996 the Ospreys switched over to the Peach Belt Conference, also in Division II.[2][6] After six seasons, Zvosec was succeeded as head coach by former National Basketball Association (NBA) player Sidney Green.[4][7][8] In 1999, Matt Kilcullen became the team's third head coach.[9][10][11]

In 2005, UNF began its transition into NCAA Division I competition, joining the Atlantic Sun Conference (A-Sun).[2][6] The four-year transition period, 2005–2009, was difficult for the Ospreys, who compiled a record of 20–96, a substantially worse record than the Ospreys had faced in their previous six seasons under Coach Kilcullen. In 2009, new athletic director, Lee Moon, relieved Kilkullen of his position and replaced him with former Baylor University assistant coach Matthew Driscoll for the Ospreys' first year as full Division I members.[10][12] The Ospreys improved under Driscoll, who led them to their first conference tournament appearance in the 2009–2010 season. In the 2011 A-Sun Tournament the Ospreys upset Jacksonville and East Tennessee State to advance to the championship game, but were defeated 87–46 by Belmont.[13][14][15] The game was UNF's first to be nationally televised.[16]

In the 2014–15 season, the Ospreys made their first ever appearance in the NCAA Division I Tournament by winning the Atlantic Sun Tournament for the first time. On December 6, 2014, they defeated the Purdue Boilermakers on the road, marking their first ever victory over a Big Ten Conference opponent.[17] They also won the Atlantic Sun regular season title for the first time and posted the best record in team history with 23 wins and 11 losses. As a No. 16 seed in the NCAA Tournament, they were defeated by fellow No. 16 seed Robert Morris in the First Four in Dayton, Ohio.[18] Nevertheless, the Ospreys drew unprecedented media attention both locally and nationally.[19][20]

Their success continued as the 2015–16 Ospreys began the season with a 93–81 upset at Illinois. It was the program's second win over a Big Ten Conference opponent.

Head coaches

Men's basketball head coaches Seasons
Rich Zvosec 1991–1997
Sidney Green 1997–1999
Matt Kilcullen 1999–2009
Matthew Driscoll 2009–present

Facilities

The Ospreys' home venue is UNF Arena. Also the home to the UNF women's basketball and volleyball teams, it opened in 1993 and has a capacity of 5,800.[21] The facility is slated to undergo upgrades and additions as part of UNF's Varsity Village program.[22][23]

Rivalries

North Florida's most notable rivalry is with crosstown opponents the Jacksonville University Dolphins.[24] The two universities contest the "River City Rumble", in which the school with the most wins annually over the other across all sports receives a trophy, the SunTrust Old Wooden Barrel.[25]

The first game between North Florida and Jacksonville was played on November 23, 2004 when JU defeated UNF, a Division II program, 78–73.[26] The Ospreys' first win over their crosstown rival came on January 25, 2006 by a score of 90–78.[27] The series record was 8–1 in favor of JU through the 2008–09 season, when UNF completed their transition to Division I.

After beginning their Division I era 0–5 against the Dolphins, UNF finally defeated JU in the 2011 A-Sun Tournament quarterfinals in one of the young program's most significant wins.[13][28] Since then, the Ospreys have held the edge, bringing the all-time series record to 15–10 in favor of JU after the 2015–16 season. However, UNF leads the series 9–7 since UNF became a full Division I member.[29]

Year-by-year results

Season Coach Overall Conference Standing Postseason
Independent (NAIA) (1992–1993)
1992–93 Rich Zvosec 7–20 –
NAIA Total: 7–20
Sunshine State Conference (Division II) (1993–1997)
1993–94 Rich Zvosec 15–13 5–9 T-6th
1994–95 Rich Zvosec 10–17 2–12 8th
1995–96 Rich Zvosec 14–15 6–9 6th
1996–97 Rich Zvosec 8–19 2–12 7th
Sunshine State Total: 47–64 15–42
Peach Belt Conference (Division II) (1997–2005)
1997–98 Sidney Green 8–17 4–12 T-5th
1998–99 Sidney Green 12–16 8–8 4th
1999–00 Matt Kilcullen 9–17 4–12 6th
2000–01 Matt Kilcullen 14–13 8–8 2nd
2001–02 Matt Kilcullen 13–14 10–9 4th
2002–03 Matt Kilcullen 15–14 11–8 4th
2003–04 Matt Kilcullen 13–15 5–11 4th
2004–05 Matt Kilcullen 14–17 9–7 4th
Peach Belt Total: 98–123 59–75
Atlantic Sun Conference (Division I) (2005–present)
2005–06 Matt Kilcullen 6–22 3–17 10th
2006–07 Matt Kilcullen 3–26 1–17 10th
2007–08 Matt Kilcullen 3–26 3–15 12th
2008–09 Matt Kilcullen 8–22 6–14 11th
2009–10 Matthew Driscoll 13–18 8–12 7th
2010–11 Matthew Driscoll 15–19 10–10 6th
2011–12 Matthew Driscoll 16–16 10–8 T-4th
2012–13 Matthew Driscoll 13–19 8–10 T-7th
2013–14 Matthew Driscoll 16–16 10–8 T-4th
2014–15 Matthew Driscoll 23–12 12–2 1st NCAA First Four
2015–16 Matthew Driscoll 22–12 10–4 1st NIT first round
Atlantic Sun Total: 138–208 81–117
Total: 290–415

      National champion         Postseason invitational champion  
      Conference regular season champion         Conference regular season and conference tournament champion
      Division regular season champion       Division regular season and conference tournament champion
      Conference tournament champion

NCAA Division I tournament results

The Ospreys earned their first invitation to the NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament in 2015 as a #16 seed in the south region. They lost to Robert Morris giving them a tournament record of 0–1.

Year Seed Round Opponent Location Result/Score
2015 #16 First Four #16 Robert Morris Dayton, OH L 77–81

NIT results

The Ospreys earned their first bid to the National Invitation Tournament in 2016. Due to renovations at the O'Connell Center, the Ospreys hosted Florida at the UNF Arena.

Year Seed Round Opponent Location Result/Score
2016 #7 First round #2 Florida Jacksonville, FL L 68–97

Conference tournament results

In seven appearances in the Atlantic Sun Men's Basketball Tournament, the Ospreys have an overall record of 6–6. They won their first Atlantic Sun Tournament championship in 2015.

Year Seed Round Opponent Location Result/Score
2010 #7 Quarterfinals #2 Jacksonville Macon, GA L 69–76
2011 #6 Quarterfinals
Semifinals
Championship		 #3 Jacksonville
#2 East Tennessee State
#1 Belmont		 W 68–64
W 59–55
L 46–87
2012 #5 Quarterfinals #4 East Tennessee State L 66–68
2013 #7 Quarterfinals #2 Florida Gulf Coast L 63–73
2014 #6 Quarterfinals #3 USC Upstate Spartanburg, SC L 74–80
2015 #1 Quarterfinals
Semifinals
Championship		 #8 Stetson
#5 Lipscomb
#3 USC Upstate		 Jacksonville, FL W 81–67
W 71–57
W 63–57
2016 #1 Quarterfinals
Semifinals		 #8 USC Upstate
#4 Florida Gulf Coast		 W 92–69
L 56–89

Conference championships

The Ospreys won the Atlantic Sun regular season championship for the first time in the 2014–15 season and won their second in a row the following season.

Season Coach Overall record Conf. record
2014–15 Matthew Driscoll 23–12 12–2
2015–16 Matthew Driscoll 22–11 10–4

References

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  22. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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  25. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  26. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  27. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  28. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  29. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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