Spartans Will Take On Mocs In Final Home Game of the Season
TAMPA, Fla. - The University of Tampa men's and women's basketball teams are back at home against the Florida Southern Moccasins in a pair of late regular season games.
WOMEN'S:
The Matchup: No. 13 University of Tampa Spartans (21-3, 18-0 SSC) vs. Florida Southern College Moccasins (16-10, 13-5 SSC)
Date/Time: Wednesday, Wednesday 26, at 5:30 p.m.
Location: Bob Martinez Athletics Center | Tampa, Fla. | 400 N Blvd, Tampa, FL 33606
Series History: Florida Southern has a hold on the series history, leading Tampa 63-38. The Spartans are 2-8 in the last ten games against the Mocs, but they won the match up with the Mocs earlier this season. When the two teams faced off earlier this season, Tampa narrowly avoided a loss with a score of 65-60, on January 22.
Last Time Out: The Spartans played Barry University this past weekend and blew by the Bucs with a score of 82-52. Two different Spartans, Dori Nagy and LaShayla Wright-Ponder, achieved double-doubles, and a third Spartan, Melijah Sullivan, scored in double digit figures. The victory has allowed Tampa to tie the SSC record for most conference wins in a single season with 18. The game was also the third time this season, and the second game in a row, in which Tampa has scored over 80 points.
About the Spartans (Women): The Spartans clinched the Sunshine State Conference regular season championship outright after this last week, amidst a historic season. Wright-Ponder has achieved four double-doubles in the last four games, and Nagy has two consecutive double-doubles. Nagy additionally ranks second in the conference in scoring. The Spartans are ranked second in the nation in field-goal percentage with a percentage of 50.5, and Tampa's last game out allowed Wright-Ponder to improve her personal field-goal percentage to 58.2.
About the Moccasins: The Mocs lost their most recent game against the Eckerd College Tritons in double overtime. Junior Guard Julia Jenike leads Southern with an average of 16.1 points per game, and Katerina Pazzaglia-Khomenko leads with an average of 5.9 rebounds per game. Jenike ranks as the number two player in the nation in free-throw percentage with 94.0%. Florida Southern scores an average of 68.8 points per game while holding their opponents to an average of 62.0 points per game.
MEN'S:
The Matchup: University of Tampa Spartans (7-19, 4-14 SSC) vs. Florida Southern College Moccasins (24-2, 16-2 SSC)
Date/Time: Wednesday, February 26, at 7:30 p.m.
Location: Bob Martinez Athletics Center | Tampa, Fla. | 400 N Blvd, Tampa, FL 33606
Series History: The Spartans have a losing history against Florida Southern with an all-time record of 42 wins and 73 losses. The Spartans are on a five game losing streak against the Mocs, and they are 2-8 in the last 10 games. The last time the Spartans beat the Mocs was in February of 2017 at home. The last time the two teams met was earlier this season when Tampa dropped the contest to Florida Southern with a score of 85-77 in Lakeland.
Last Time Out: This last week, a second half surge from the Barry Buccaneers ended up being too much for the Spartan defense as they dropped the contest with a final score of 76-63. Pat Bacon led Tampa with 26 points, four rebounds, and four assists, Brent Duncan finished with a double-double, and Derrick Felder finished with five assists. Despite some strong individual performances from Tampa, the Bucs would not allow Tampa to pull close in the second half, and the Bucs pulled away with double digits with less than ten minutes remaining.
About the Spartans (Men): Some strong individual performances from the Spartans have allowed Tampa to compete well for much of the season, however a lack of depth on the team and a slough of injuries have left the Spartans prone to defeat this season. Bacon, who ranks seventh in the record book with 1779 career points, will be playing in his final home game as a Spartan this Wednesday. With two SSC games remaining, the Spartans are still in a bid for the final playoff spot for the conference.
About the Moccasins: Florida Southern is number one in the conference with their SSC record of 16-2. They score an average of 93.6 points per game and are led by senior Brett Hanson who scores an average of 22.0 points per game (second most in the conference). Jalyn Hinton leads the conference in rebounds with an average of 9.0 per game, and he also leads the conference in field goal percentage with 66.7%. The Mocs ranks number one in the nation in blocked shots per game, and rank second in the nation in defensive rebounds per game. Hinton additionally ranks number one in the nation in total blocks and blocked shots per game.
Tickets: General admission ticket prices for all Tampa regular season athletic events are $5. Youth (ages 12 and under) are admitted free of charge. UT students and faculty/staff are admitted free with a valid Spartan ID.
Watch Live: Fans may watch the game through TampaSpartans.tv. Live stats are available through TampaStats.com.
Follow UT Athletics: @TampaSpartans on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat and YouTube.
Text Alerts: UT also offers a free text messaging service that sends text alerts following all Spartan events. To sign up, please register at www.tampaspartans.com.
Front Row: Download the official app of UT Athletics on the Apple or Android store. Look for Tampa Spartans Front Row app to receive notifications from your favorite Spartan teams. The app is completely free.