The 2015–16 North Florida Ospreys men's basketball team represented the

University of North Florida The University of North Florida (UNF) is a public university, public research university in Jacksonville, Florida, United States. It is part of the State University System of Florida and is accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern ...

during the

2015–16 NCAA Division I men's basketball season The 2015–16 NCAA Division I men's basketball season began on November 13. The first early-season tournaments to begin were the Puerto Rico Tip-Off and the Charleston Classic. The season ended with the 2016 NCAA Division I men's basketball tour ...

. The Ospreys were led by seventh-year head coach Matthew Driscoll and played their home games at

UNF Arena UNF Arena is a multi-purpose arena located on the campus of the University of North Florida in Jacksonville, Florida. It is home to the North Florida Ospreys men's and women's basketball and women's volleyball teams. It is also used for other e ...

on the university's campus in

Jacksonville, Florida Jacksonville ( ) is the most populous city proper in the U.S. state of Florida, located on the Atlantic coast of North Florida, northeastern Florida. It is the county seat of Duval County, Florida, Duval County, with which the City of Jacksonv ...

as members of the

Atlantic Sun Conference The Atlantic Sun Conference (ASUN) is a collegiate athletic conference operating mostly in the Southeastern United States. The league participates at the NCAA Division I level, and began sponsoring football at the Division I FCS level in 2022. ...

(A-Sun). For the second year in a row, the Ospreys won the A-Sun regular season championship. They finished the season 22–12, 10–4 in A-Sun play. Guard Dallas Moore was named A-Sun Player of the Year, the first such award for a North Florida player. Driscoll and his staff were named A-Sun Coaching Staff of the Year for the second year in a row. As the No.1 seed in the Atlantic Sun tournament, they advanced to the semifinals where they were upset at home by Florida Gulf Coast. As a regular season conference champion who failed to win their conference tournament, the Ospreys received an automatic bid to the

National Invitation Tournament The National Invitation Tournament (NIT) is an annual men's college basketball tournament operated by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). Since 2023, all rounds of the tournament are played at various sites across the country whi ...

. As a No. 7 seed, the Ospreys hosted the No. 2 seed

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

in the first round, where they fell 97–68. The Ospreys made the most three point shots (402) out of all NCAA Division I teams in the 2015–16 season, earning them the nickname "Birds of Trey".

Previous season

The

Ospreys The osprey (; ''Pandion haliaetus''), historically known as sea hawk, river hawk, and fish hawk, is a diurnal, fish-eating bird of prey with a cosmopolitan range. It is a large raptor, reaching more than in length and a wingspan of . It is ...

finished the 2014–15 season with a program-best overall record of 23–12, and a 12–2 record in conference play. They won the Atlantic Sun Conference tournament and advanced to the NCAA tournament for the first time. As a No. 16 seed in the South Region, they were defeated 81–77 by fellow No. 16 seed

Robert Morris Robert or Bob Morris may refer to: :''Ordered chronologically within each section.'' Politics and the law * Robert Hunter Morris (1700–1764), lieutenant governor of Colonial Pennsylvania * Robert Morris (financier) (1734–1806), one of the Foun ...

in the First Four in

Dayton, Ohio Dayton () is a city in Montgomery County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of cities in Ohio, sixth-most populous city in Ohio, with a population of 137,644 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The Dayton metro ...

Preseason

Before the season, Driscoll agreed to a four-year contract extension to remain the team's head coach through 2022. The Ospreys were picked as preseason favorites to retain their A-Sun Conference title by coaches and media. Multiple players received preseason all-conference honors, including guard/forward Beau Beech who was named A-Sun Preseason Player of the Year.

Roster

Schedule and results

November

The Ospreys carried their previous season's momentum right into their first game by earning a road upset of Illinois by a score of 93–81. In a game that UNF never trailed, the Ospreys set a program record (at the time) for three-point-shots made with 17. It was the program's second victory over a

Big Ten Conference The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference, among others) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Fa ...

opponent, with the first coming in December 2014 at

Purdue Purdue University is a public land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, United States, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded in 1869 after Lafayette businessman John Purdue donat ...

. In their home opener, the Ospreys blew out Texas–Rio Grande Valley, 106–84. For the second straight game they connected on 17 three-point-shots, tying the program record. They improved to 2–0 for the first time since the 2005–06 season. It was just the third time UNF has reached 100 points since joining Division I. Guard Dallas Moore recorded his second straight

double-double In basketball, a double-double is a single-game performance in which a player accumulates ten or more in two of the following five statistical categories: points, rebounds, assists, steals, and blocked shots. The first "double" in the ter ...

and became UNF's 11th player to score 1,000 career points. On November 18, coach Matthew Driscoll surpassed Matt Kilcullen to become the winningest coach in program history with a 98–69 win over crosstown rival and NAIA member Edward Waters. With the win, UNF started the season 3–0 for the first time since the 1994–95 season when they were members of Division II. Over the next two games, the Ospreys trailed at halftime by only two points at Louisville and one point at Saint Louis, however, they went on to lose those games by margins of 28 and 13 respectively. They won three consecutive games to finish November with a record of 6–2.

December

On December 2, Moore and Beech each scored 31 points (a career high for Beech) in a 108–119 loss at LSU. The Ospreys led 56–48 at halftime, but 43 points by freshman phenom

Ben Simmons Benjamin David Simmons (born 20 July 1996) is an Australian professional basketball player who plays for the Los Angeles Clippers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for one season with the LSU Tigers, a ...

proved too much for UNF to handle. The Ospreys once again set a program record for three-point-shots made with 19. In their next game, they trailed at Dayton by only three points at halftime, but lost by a margin of 15. On December 12 against Coastal Georgia, the Ospreys scored the most points in program history with a 117–71 victory. In December, North Florida swept a four-game home stand to extend their winning streak at UNF Arena to 14 games, a program record. The Ospreys then lost two in a row at Arkansas and at VCU to close out the month of December.

January

On January 2, the Ospreys won at Eastern Michigan, 82–77, to finish their non-conference schedule with a record of 11–6. In the game, senior forward Demarcus Daniels set the program record for career blocks with 146. Their 11 wins marked the most non-conference victories in program history. On January 9, the Ospreys defeated crosstown rival Jacksonville for the fifth time in a row in the River City Rumble. On January 16, the Ospreys defeated Kennesaw State, 93–78, despite trailing by 14 points in the first half. In the game, guard Beau Beech scored a career high 33 points, and UNF extended its home winning streak to 17 games. On January 24 in a win at NJIT, the Ospreys made a program record 20 three-point-shots, a record that was broken or tied four times in the 2015–16 season.

February

The Ospreys had improved to 7–0 in conference play until losing at home to Stetson on February 1. The loss snapped an 18-game home winning streak. The Ospreys lost the following three games, all on the road, to fall into a three-way tie for first place in the A-Sun at 7–4. They snapped their losing streak by defeating NJIT at home, 107–71 on February 18. On February 20, the Ospreys clinched at least a share of the Atlantic Sun regular season title by defeating USC Upstate, 81–78. They secured the regular season championship and No. 1 seed in the Atlantic Sun Tournament with a win at crosstown rival Jacksonville.

March

The Ospreys began their quest to win back-to-back Atlantic Sun Tournament titles by defeating USC Upstate in the quarterfinals, 92–69. However, they were blown-out by 33 points in the semifinals by Florida Gulf Coast. Their 56 points were the fewest they scored in any game this season. Due to renovations at the

O'Connell Center The Exactech Arena at the Stephen C. O'Connell Center, also known as the O'Dome, is a 10,500-seat multi-purpose arena located on the University of Florida campus in Gainesville, Florida. The facility is named for the sixth president of the univ ...

, the 7-seed Ospreys hosted the 2-seed

Florida Gators The Florida Gators are the College sports in the United States, intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Florida, located in Gainesville, Florida, Gainesville. The University of Florida, its athletic program, its alumni an ...

in the first round of the

2016 National Invitation Tournament The 2016 National Invitation Tournament was a single-elimination tournament of 32 NCAA Division I teams that were not selected to participate in the 2016 NCAA tournament. The annual tournament was played on campus sites for the first three rou ...

, where they fell 97–68 in front of 6,011 fans at the UNF Arena. , - !colspan=9 style="background:#031B49; color:white;", Non-conference regular season , - !colspan=9 style="background:#031B49; color:white;", Atlantic Sun Conference regular season , - !colspan=9 style="background:#031B49; color:white;", Atlantic Sun tournament , - !colspan=9 style="background:#031B49; color:white;", National Invitation tournament Source: NOTES: :Game postponed from Saturday, January 23 at 4 pm to Sunday, January 24 at 6 pm due to Winter Storm Jonas.

Awards and honors

; Beau Beech, guard * Atlantic Sun All-Conference First Team * Atlantic Sun Player of the Week (Jan. 11–17). Beech averaged 27 points, 9 rebounds, and 3 assists in two wins over Lipscomb and Kennesaw State. * Preseason Atlantic Sun Player of the Year * Preseason Atlantic Sun All-Conference Team ; Demarcus Daniels, forward * Atlantic Sun Defensive Player of the Year * Atlantic Sun All-Academic Team * Atlantic Sun Player of the Week (Jan. 4–10). Daniels averaged 22 points, 9.5 rebounds, and 2.5 blocks in two wins over Stetson and Jacksonville. * Atlantic Sun Co-Player of the Week (Feb. 15–21). Daniels averaged 24 points, 6.5 rebounds, 2.5 assists, and 2.5 blocks in two wins over NJIT and USC Upstate. Scored a career high 25 points versus NJIT. * Preseason Atlantic Sun Defensive Player of the Year * Preseason Atlantic Sun All-Conference Team ; Chris Davenport, forward * Preseason Atlantic Sun All-Conference Team ; Head Coach Matthew Driscoll and staff * Atlantic Sun Coaching Staff of the Year ; Trent Mackey, guard * Atlantic Sun Scholar-Athlete of the Year * Atlantic Sun All-Academic Team ; Dallas Moore, guard * Atlantic Sun Player of the Year * Atlantic Sun All-Conference First Team * Atlantic Sun All-Tournament Team * Atlantic Sun Co-Player of the Week (Nov. 13–15). Moore recorded 26 points, 10 assists, and no turnovers in a road upset of Illinois. * Atlantic Sun Player of the Week (Nov. 23–29). Moore averaged 16.0 points, 8.7 rebounds, and 5.7 assists in a loss at Saint Louis, a win at Hartford, and a neutral site win over St. Francis Brooklyn. * Atlantic Sun Player of the Week (Jan. 18–24). Moore averaged 22.5 points, 5 rebounds, 6.5 assists, and 2.5 steals in two road wins over USC Upstate and NJIT. * Preseason Atlantic Sun All-Conference Team

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:2015-16 North Florida Ospreys men's basketball team North Florida Ospreys men's basketball seasons

North Florida North Florida is a Regions of the United States#Florida, region of the U.S. state of Florida comprising the northernmost part of the state. Along with South Florida and Central Florida, it is one of Florida's three most common "directional" regi ...

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