NCAA Basketball Free Pick – Tuesday, December 14, 2010
North Florida (4-5) at (25) Texas (7-2)
Tuesday, December 14, 8:00 PM EST on ESPN3/FSSW
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The Texas Longhorns will try to avoid being caught looking ahead to Saturday’s trip to Greensboro to face North Carolina when they host North Florida on Tuesday.
The contest will be the third time the visiting Ospreys will take on a top 25 ranked team, having lost to Pittsburgh and Missouri earlier this season. North Florida is in the middle of the pack in the Atlantic Sun Conference, and is playing in their fourth season in the conference. They are hoping to stop a two-game losing slide, with losses to Stetson and Purdue.
The Ospreys have three players averaging double-digit points per game. Sophomore guard Parker Smith and fellow sophomore forward Andres Diaz are both posting 10.2 points per contest on the season. Jerron Granberry is also at 10 points per contest. Smith is 20 for 64 from three-point range, and has hit on all 18 free throw attempts. Diaz is tops on the team averaging 5.7 rebounds per contest, and is shooting 50.7 percent from the floor. Granberry has 11 steals on the season and is shooting 37.5 percent from beyond the arch.
The Ospreys also have three other players that play over 20 minutes per game. Brad Haugabrook is one of two seniors on the team and leads the team in assists with 30. Junior forward Matt Sauey is shooting a team-best 63.8 percent from the field and chips in 8.1 points per contest. Jimmy Williams also provides leadership for North Florida. The junior guard is tied with Granberry for the club lead in defensive rebounds with 34, and second in assists with 21. As a team, the Ospreys have been holding opponents to 43.2 percent field goal percentage.
For the Longhorns, they are hoping to build on their 101-65 rout of Texas State on Saturday. The Longhorns have won four of the last five, with their only loss in that stretch coming to USC on December 5.
The Texas offense is led by sophomore guard Jordan Hamilton. He is scoring 20 points per game on the strength of 45.5 percent shooting from the field and 41.5 percent shooting from three-point range. Hamilton is also tied for second on the club in assists and second in rebounds.
Three other Longhorns are averaging double-digit points per game: Freshman forward Tristan Thompson (11.6 PPG), senior forward Gary Johnson (11.1 PPG), and freshman guard Cory Joseph (10.2 PPG) round out a balanced scoring attack for Coach Rick Barnes. Thompson and Johnson are tied for the club lead with 7.6 rebounds per contest, and Thompson has registered 21 blocked shots so far this season for Texas.
Both teams have one common opponent that they’ve played so far this season in Pittsburgh. The Ospreys lost on the Panthers home court 95-49 back on November 13, while the Longhorns fell to Pitt in the championship game of the 2K Sports Classic benefiting Coaches vs. Cancer on November 19.
Free Pick: Texas 80 – North Florida 61
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