NASHVILLE – In a matchup featuring two of the top four teams in the ASUN Conference, the Lipscomb men’s basketball team heads to UNF Arena on Saturday for its final road game of the regular season against North Florida at 4 p.m. (CT).  

The Bisons (13-14, 8-6 ASUN) will be going for their sixth straight win, and their seventh in the last eight outings

Despite winning the last four meetings with the Ospreys, Lipscomb trails in the all-time series 16-14. The Bisons swept UNF last season, including a record-breaking 92-55 victory in Jacksonville last February.

The Purple and Gold also handed the Ospreys one of their three league losses this season (85-73) behind 23 points, 18 rebounds and eight assists from Ahsan Asadullah on January 25^th in Nashville.

UNF’s last win in the series came Jan. 11, 2018 by a score of 102-96 in UNF Arena.

SCOUTING NORTH FLORIDA

• In a battle of the ASUN's top two teams, North Florida (18-11, 11-3) connected on 17 three-pointers but were unable to overcome a 33-6 free throw advantage for Liberty in a tough 82-77 road loss on Thursday night.
• JT Escobar posted a season-best 26 points, including six triples while Ivan Gandia-Rosa just missed a double-double with 17 points and nine assists.
• With 342 threes made this season, UNF boasts the nation’s top 3-point unit. The Ospreys have posted double-digit triples in 22 games this season and are currently averaging a nation's best 11.8 threes per game. Their lineup features four players with 60+ three-pointers made this season.
• A win on Saturday would mark the 104th ASUN victory for Head Coach Matthew Driscoll moving into sole possession of fifth place all-time in the ASUN for conference victories.

HERD NOTES

• Lipscomb is riding a season-best 5-game win streak after defeating Jacksonville 68-67 on Thursday.
• The Bisons currently sit fourth place in the ASUN standings, two games up on the rest of the field for hosting duties.
• Against ASUN Conference foes the last three years, Lipscomb has a 37-13 (.740) record including a 5-1 (.833) mark in ASUN Championship games.
• Ahsan Asadullah continued his season-long campaign for ASUN Player of the Year after earning his league-best third Player of the Week honor on Monday. The big man averaged 22.0 PPG, 10.5 RPG, 3.0 APG and 3.0 SPG in the wins over NJIT and FGCU last week. He then followed it with 20 points and 10 rebounds on Thursday at JU.
• He is the only player ranked in the top-3 of the ASUN in both scoring (17.4 – 2^nd) and rebounding (9.7 – 3^rd).
• Even with 12 double-doubles and 13 games of 10+ rebounds this season, Asadullah has been just as impressive when looking for his teammates out of the post. His 3.7 assists per game rank second in the conference.
• In fact, he is one of only two players in the country in Division I that is averaging a line of at least 17.0 PPG, 9.0 RPG and 3.5 APG (AJ Brodeur – Pennsylvania). Since the 1992-93 season there have only been 18 other instances where a player in D-I finished with that line.
• In conference-only games, Asadullah has shined as he is first in scoring (19.9), second in assists (4.2), third in rebounding (10.1) and third in steals (1.6). He has nine double-doubles and eight 20-plus point outings against league opponents.
• KJ Johnson is second on the Bisons squad with 12.1 points per game. That average is also third among ASUN freshmen on the year and ranks 12th in the conference.
• Lipscomb has secured double-digit conference win totals in each of the last three years with a high of 14 a year ago; the Bisons have finished with at least a .500 conference record every year dating back to the 2013-14 season.