Halftime Report
Fortunes may be turning around for North Florida after losing three in a row. They have jumped out to a quick 39-38 lead against Stetson. North Florida took a big hit to their ego last Friday, so a win here would be a pleasant pick-me-up.
If North Florida keeps playing like this, they’ll bump their record up to 8-8 in no time. On the other hand, Stetson will have to make due with an 8-7 record unless they turn things around (and fast).
Who’s Playing
North Florida Ospreys @ Stetson Hatters
Current Records: North Florida 7-8, Stetson 8-6
How To Watch
What to Know
We’ve got another exciting Atlantic Sun matchup on schedule as the Stetson Hatters and the North Florida Ospreys are set to tip at 7:00 p.m. ET on January 4th at Edmunds Center. The timing is sure in Stetson’s favor as the team sits on four straight wins at home while North Florida has not had much luck on the away from home, with six straight road losses.
Last Friday, the Hatters didn’t have too much breathing room in their game against the 49ers, but they still walked away with a 79-75 victory. Stetson was down 20-8 with 13:17 left in the first half but they still came back for the handy four-point win.
Stetson can attribute much of their success to Jalen Blackmon, who scored 34 points. That makes it three consecutive games in which Blackmon has scored at least 33% of Stetson’s points. Alec Oglesby was another key contributor, scoring 17 points.
Meanwhile, it’s hard to win when you don’t work as a unit and post 16 fewer assists than your opponent, a fact North Florida found out the hard way on Friday. There’s no need to mince words: the Ospreys lost to the Hurricanes, and the Ospreys lost bad. The score wound up at 95-55. The result shouldn’t come as a shock considering that’s the fewest points North Florida has scored all season.
The Hatters’ victory bumped their record up to 8-6. As for the Ospreys, they now have a losing record at 7-8.
Fans should be in for an exciting game on Thursday as both teams are among the highest scoring teams in the league right now. Stetson hasn’t had any problem running up the score this season, having averaged 78.6 points per game. However, it’s not like North Florida struggles in that department as they’ve been averaging 76.8 points per game. With both teams so easily able to put up points, the only question left is who can run the score up higher.
Looking forward, Stetson is the favorite in this one, as the experts expect to see them win by seven points. This will be their first time playing as the favorites at home this season.
Odds
Stetson is a solid 7-point favorite against North Florida, according to the latest college basketball odds.
The oddsmakers were right in line with the betting community on this one, as the game opened as a 7-point spread, and stayed right there.
The over/under is set at 153 points.
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Series History
North Florida has won 7 out of their last 10 games against Stetson.
Feb 11, 2023 – North Florida 92 vs. Stetson 81Jan 02, 2023 – Stetson 68 vs. North Florida 62Feb 26, 2022 – North Florida 74 vs. Stetson 69Jan 08, 2022 – Stetson 68 vs. North Florida 66Feb 27, 2021 – Stetson 85 vs. North Florida 68Feb 26, 2021 – North Florida 79 vs. Stetson 74Feb 27, 2020 – North Florida 85 vs. Stetson 72Jan 30, 2020 – North Florida 78 vs. Stetson 65Feb 26, 2019 – North Florida 77 vs. Stetson 67Jan 16, 2019 – North Florida 87 vs. Stetson 77
