Lipscomb, N. Fla. meet in Atlantic Sun semis
Lipscomb (15-15, 10-7) vs. North Florida (21-11, 14-3)
Atlantic Sun Conference Tourney Semifinals, UNF Arena, Jacksonville, Florida; Thursday, 7 p.m. EST
BOTTOM LINE: A ticket to the Atlantic Sun championship game is ready to be punched as Lipscomb and North Florida are set to do battle. The teams split the regular season series at one win apiece. The teams last went at it on Feb. 22, when Lipscomb made only four 3-pointers on 12 attempts while the Ospreys went 15 for 34 behind the arc on the way to an eight-point victory.
VARYING EXPERIENCE: North Florida has been fueled by senior leadership while Lipscomb has leaned on freshmen this year. Seniors Ivan Gandia-Rosa, Garrett Sams, Wajid Aminu and JT Escobar have collectively accounted for 63 percent of North Florida’s scoring this season. On the other side, freshmen Ahsan Asadullah, Michael Buckland and KJ Johnson have scored 55 percent of the team’s points this year and 78 percent of all Bisons points over their last five.
KEY CONTRIBUTOR: Asadullah has had his hand in 64 percent of all Lipscomb field goals over the last three games. The sophomore big man has 33 field goals and 20 assists in those games.
SLIPPING AT 75: Lipscomb is 0-9 when it allows at least 75 points and 15-6 when it holds opponents to less than 75.
STREAK SCORING: North Florida has won its last seven home games, scoring an average of 81.3 points while giving up 67.9.
DID YOU KNOW: Lipscomb and North Florida are the class of the Atlantic Sun when it comes to scoring. The Bisons are ranked second in the conference with 70.8 points per game while the Ospreys are first at 78.5 per game.
