#15o R.P.I. North Florida @ #44 R.P.I. Virginia Tech:
Tip-off: Monday, 7pm
TV coverage: ESPN3
Vegas Line: TBA
8-3 Virginia Tech returns to action after final exams in an unusual Monday evening tip-off inside the Cassell Coliseum vs. the 5-4 North Florida Ospreys.
North Florida hails from the Atlantic Sun Conference and returns 4 starters from last year’s squad that was within the Atlantic Sun championship game itself of making the NC2A’s. North Florida is a 16,000 student university centered in the Jacksonville area which caters to business and music majors alike; and yes, I am reaching for something to say about this 42 year old school already.
In pure basketball terms, the Ospreys have opened the year with next akin to murders row and they have the battle scars of 6 L’s vs. some rather big name opponents to prove it. Thus far North Florida has played three nationally ranked hoops teams, one A.c.c. team and K.State which will bring the Forum Guide into play a little later on in this preview.
To be direct, North Florida has gotten worked when they have stepped up in competition, having been beaten by 20, 33 and 34 points vs. the three ranked basketball teams that they have played hence far. North Florida has been a bit more competitive vs. the other three name teams that they have faced albeit still a good over-matched at the end of the day.
Ergo, it is already difficult to conjure a methodology as to how North Florida can come into the New River Valley and steal one on Monday nite.
There are only a handful of shopping days until Christmas and only 19 more training days before the A.c.c. opens for business.
North Florida at a glance:
- No.FLA is 318th in FT% (61.2%)
- No.FLA is 3o2nd in turnovers. (17)
- No.FLA is 292nd in defensive rebounding.
- No.FLA is 288th in assists (10.7)
- No.FLA is 280th in scoring (62 points per game)
North Florida backcourt:
6`4“ 215 lb. junior year Jerrone Granberry is prolly the best basketball player on the Osprey’s 2011-2012 roster and the one with the
best shot at being able to contribute on an A.c.c. level. Versatility is the name of Granberry’s game as no less than Lindy’s pre-season magazine lists him as the most versatile hoops player in the entire Atlantic Sun Conference for this season. Granberry gets you a team leading 10 points per game; on a team leading 41% from downtown with 3 boards and a team wide first best in steals (0.9) as the Osprey’s best on the ball defender. Granberry is the industrious or hard-working gym-rat who has basically willed himself into a D-1 basketball player via tour de force. Also averaging 10 per game is 6`3“ 150 lb. (that’s one-hundred fifty pounds) junior year Parker Smith. Take another look at that, dood only weighs 150 lbs. folks! Think the VT backcourter’s might just have a physical advantage here? Yah, me too; although Parker is a pretty decent enough shooter both from range (38%) and from the charity-stripe where he leads the Osprey’s at 88% on the campaign. Jimmy Williams Jr. is a senior year 6`4“ 215 lb. right sized point-guard who leads the Osprey’s in assists with 3.6 per game to go with 6 points and 3 boards; although he is a miserable 41% from the FT-stripe. Helping out in the Osprey backcourt is 5`10“ 165 lb. Will Wilson a junior year point-guard who does start on occasion as he passes the ball well enough and does precious little else (1.8 points per game).
North Florida frontcourt:
Andy Diaz is a 6`6“ muscular 235 lb. forward in his junior season from Miami. Andy is the only thing even approaching true D-1 frontcourt size on the entire Osprey roster. Andy nets you 10 points in addition to a team leading 5 boards and 1 block per contest. And also leads the Ospery’s in FTA’s with 58 on the year, as he will attack the rack as best he can from his wing position. Travis Wallace is a 6`6“ 225 lb. small-forward who will bang with you while collecting 5.boards and 9 points no thanks to very limited range on his J (jump-shot). Fred Landers is another 6`6“ 200 lb. ‘tweener kinda player for Coach Matty Driscoll who is the only freshmen on the entire Osprey roster. Fred gets you 2 and 1 respectively and is a live body with an actual pulse off the bench if nothing else. Matt Sauey is a 6`7“ 205 lb. senior year player who somehow manufactures 4 points and 3 boards off the Ospery pine as yet another undersized North Florida baller goes.
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Conclusion(s), illation, OPT digits:
Upon even an entry level worth of effort, it is easy to see that No.FLA has no size, some pretty fair to middling experience, a couple of sorta to kinda decent ballers and almost nothing else. The Osprey’s are one other thing, 10 deep as a roster goes and all 10 play at least 10 minuets per game. That’s only ten people on the entire Osprey roster mind you. Other than that, the Osprey’s are just not very good at much of anything other than getting beat when they step up in class. We do however enjoy the raffled services of an O.O.C. (out of conference) forum guide for this sleepy looking Monday night game.
In head-to-head Forum Guide terms, VT is the better rebounding team by 10 boards per game, offense was nearly even although VT was the better 3-point shooting team, whereas defense favored VT in no small way thanks to a whopping defensive rebounding advantage on the glass.
Overall, there is just not a whole helluva a lot to see here folks, and segueing right along, there is so little to see here that I could only find one single solitary picture of the Osprey cheerleaders. Ergo, you will be seeing that one again, and I do apologize as a professional heterosexual for that. Or in other words I can not find any reason in the entire “Wide Wide World of Sports” as to how VT could conceivably get upset by North Florida in this one. VT wins this one folks, it is only a matter of calculating by how much. .
Virginia Tech=83 North Florida=58
“LETS GO!”
“HOKIES!”
bourbonstreet**