Sunday, January 17, 2010

MACON, Ga. - The first installment of the SunTrust River City Rumble hits CSS when Jacksonville hosts UNF at 8:00 p.m. on Monday night from Swisher Gymnasium.

Both the Ospreys and Dolphins turned their seasons around by winning holiday tournaments. UNF won the South Mississippi Christmas Classic and Jacksonville won the UCF Holiday Classic. UNF became only the second A-Sun team to win a three-day regular-season tournament (Georgia State, 2001). Both teams have climbed back to the .500 mark as UNF has won eight of its last 10 while Jacksonville owns wins in seven of its last eight contests..

Since UNF joined the A-Sun in 2005, Jacksonville has dominated the River City Rivalry, winning seven of the eight contests, including the last six. Over this eight-game span, Jacksonville has won by an average of almost 13 points per game. The Dolphins have consistently owned the battle on the backboard, outrebounding the Ospreys by almost close to eight rebounds per game.

Under first-year head coach Matt Driscoll, the Ospreys have experienced one of the top turnarounds in the nation. According to CollegeRPI.com’s daily ratings, UNF has improved its standing from last year’s final rating by 148 places, representing the sixth-best improvement in the country.

While UNF was going through the transition to Division, the Ospreys found the life away from Osprey Arena a most difficult place, winning only twice in 65 tries. This year, Ospreys have picked up five wins in road/neutral environments. In their last road trip, the Ospreys swept FGCU and Stetson, doubling their road victory total from the prior four years.

Ben Smith saw his streak of consecutive games scoring 20+ point end at eight when he scored 17 on Saturday against Belmont. He has scorched the nets over this nine-game span, averaging better than 23 points per game while shooting better than 50 percent from the field. No Player in the A-Sun has posted better scoring numbers over than span.

Matt Stewart and Sonny Smith will be on the call. In central Florida, Bright House Sports Network will carry the game live. Cox subscribers can see the game on tape delay at 8:00 p.m. on Tuesday. For those outside these markets, catch all the action on ASun.TV.