By: By Joseph Feldman
Thursday, February 8
7 p.m. – Kennesaw State vs. North Florida
Location: Kennesaw, Ga. | KSU Convocation Center
Links: Video |
Live Stats |
Game Notes |
Tickets
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Preview
Kennesaw State plays its final two home games of the regular season beginning with North Florida on Thursday, February 8.
The Owls dropped the first meeting against the Ospreys this season 85-78, but have beaten North Florida the past two seasons on their home floor.
KSU comes into the contest sitting two games behind UNF in the standings with a 3-6 record in the ASUN.
North Florida is sitting at 11-15 overall and is led by Matthew Driscoll as the head coach.
Promotions
It is Top Flight Owls Night against North Florida, where Kennesaw State will recognize the 285 student athletes who achieved Top Flight Owl status by earning a 3.0 grade point average during spring or fall 2017. The overall grade point average for the all of the Owls student athletes this past fall was a 3.06, with over 62% of our Owls earning a 3.0 or higher. Additionally, last fall these student-athletes accounted for 38 Presidential Scholars, 81 students on the Deans list, with 28 student-athletes graduating in Fall 2017.
The All-Time Series Versus North Florida
The Owls are 17-20 all time against North Florida and have traded games with them the past three seasons with each team winning on their home floor.
Prior to Skinner becoming the head coach at Kennesaw State, the Owls had lost 13 straight games to North Florida.
Scouting North Florida
North Florida scores the second most points in the ASUN averaging over 80 points per game. They shoot the most three pointers in the league, but also shoot them at the highest percentage making 37.2 percent of them.
The Ospreys are also the worst defensive team in the league giving up over 87 points per game.
They are currently two games ahead of Kennesaw State in the standings sitting at 5-4.
Matthew Driscoll is in his eighth season with North Florida.
Cutting Down on Turnovers
In the two games against USC Upstate this season, the Owls averaged 6.5 turnovers per game finishing with seven in the first meeting and six in the latest meeting. Those are the two lowest outputs this season.
KSU has had single-digit turnovers in four games this season.
The six turnovers in last Saturday's games was the least this season and least since the team played North Florida a season ago in the KSU Convocation Center.
Masterson Closing in on 1,000
Nick Masterson leads the team averaging 17.6 points per game in ASUN play he is closing in on 1,000 career points.
The senior guard is currently at 986 and is on pace to eclipse the 1,000-career point mark during this weekend.
Second Half Comebacks
In the last two games against USC Upstate, the Owls have trailed by one point at the half. In the first meeting, KSU trailed by as many as 13 in the second half before making a comeback to get the win on the road.
At home, Kennesaw State didn't let the Spartans build a lead and instead caught fire in the second half outscoring them 57-32 in the second half to get their biggest win of the season.
Against NJIT, the Owls were down 21 in the first half before storming back and taking a lead 45-45. Unfortunately, the Highlanders collected themselves and escaped with a 74-71 victory at home.
Scott and Masterson Carry the Offense
Scott and Masterson have carried the offense through ASUN play. The two are averaging a combined 34.2 points per game.
Masterson is averaging 17.6 and Scott is averaging 16.6 per game. They have been the top two scorers for Kennesaw State in six ASUN games so far this season.
Against Stetson, the two both caught fire at the same times as they combined for 60 points. Scott scored 32 points in the game and Masterson was right behind him with 28 points.
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