GAME INFO
Saturday, Dec. 5 -- vs North Florida (0-4) (Millis Center) 2 PM
Live Stats | Watch | Game Notes
The High Point University men's basketball team returns home to the Millis Center to host North Florida for its home opener on Saturday (Dec. 5). The Panthers host North Florida after playing the Ospreys for the first time in program history a season ago in Jacksonville. The game against North Florida will be available on ESPN+ as will all other home games, Voice of the Panthers' Daron Vaught and SportsChannel8's Brian Geisinger will be on the call on Saturday.
Matchup History
· HPU played UNF for the first time a season ago in a game where the Ospreys were victorious 93-70. Saturday's game marks North Florida's first trip to the Millis Center.
· Tubby Smith is 1-1 against North Florida as a head coach and 5-1 all-time against teams in the Atlantic Sun.
Across the Bench
· The Ospreys enter Saturday's contest 0-4 with three of their four opponents being ACC foes (NC State, Miami, Florida State).
· Last time out, the Ospreys fell to #22 Florida State 86-58. North Florida's leading scorer was redshirt sophomore Dorian James who had 13 on the night, Jacob Crews was right behind him with 12 points. Crews hit four three-pointers on the night. The Ospreys who are known for their three-point shooting hit eight three-pointers in the second half alone against FSU.
· A season ago UNF led the country in made three-point field goals per game averaging 11.8 a game. North Florida made a nation-leading 391 three-pointers last season.
· UNF is led by Head Coach Matthew Driscoll who is in his 12th season as the head coach of the Ospreys. UNF is 184-183 under Driscoll.
· North Florida was an A-SUN Regular season co-champion in 2020 and fell in the A-SUN Tournament semifinals to Lipscomb 73-71.
Panther Notes
Mr. Wright Now
For the second straight game, John-Michael Wright was the leading scorer with 20 points on the night against Elon on Saturday. The sophomore is averaging a Big South Conference-leading 24.5 points per game. Wright is thirteenth in the nation in scoring with 24.5 point per game.
Wright Where He Left Off
After scoring 49 points in one-week, Wright was selected as the Big South Player of the Week for the first time in his young career after earning Big South Freshman of the Week honors five times last season.
Big Manny On Campus
Emmanuel Izunabor is coming off his best performance yet as a Panther after he scored a career-high 16 points against rival Elon. It was an extremely efficient night for the big man from Fayetteville, he was a perfect 4-4 from the field and 8-8 from the free-throw line. Izunabor also logged a career-high 26 minutes.
Business = Bloomin
In his first week as a college basketball player, Ahmil Flowers has made an immediate impact for the Purple and White. Flowers scored 14 against Davidson and 9 against Elon totaling 23 points in his first week for HPU. Flowers started in both road contests last week and logged 68 minutes so far through two games.
Return of the M.A.C.C
The Panthers return to the Millis Athletic and Convocation Center for the first time this season. Tubby Smith has a winning record at home in Millis as the head coach of the Panthers with a 15-13 record.
#GoHPU
