Rivals Collide as Tampa, Florida Southern Set to Meet
TAMPA, Fla. - The University of Tampa men's and women's basketball teams will both be in action on Wednesday night, playing host to longtime Sunshine State Conference rival Florida Southern College.
WOMEN'S:
The Matchup: No. 18 University of Tampa Spartans (17-3, 8-1 SSC) vs. Florida Southern College Moccasins (8-7, 6-3 SSC)
Date/Time: Wednesday, January 19, 2022, at 5:30 pm
Location: Bob Martinez Athletics Center | Tampa, Fla. | 400 North Blvd., Tampa, FL 33606
Series History: Florida Southern owns the advantage in the all-time series, 64-39. In a series dating back to 1978, the Spartans took the last meeting with a 75-74 victory on March 16, 2021. UT has taken two of the last three over the Mocs, who previously took six straight from the Spartans.
Last Time Out: The Spartans traveled to Barry and picked up a 74-56 SSC victory over the Buccaneers. Aliyah Abney scored a team-leading 25 points, while LaShayla Wright-Ponder was close behind, scoring 19 points while grabbing 12 rebounds on the day. The Spartans shot 45.8 percent from the floor, and also capitalized on 19 trips to the free-throw line, making 16 of the attempts. UT also won the battle of the boards, 38-26.
About the Spartans (Women): Tampa has won five consecutive games since falling to No. 23 Eckerd on December 31. During that span, the victories have been lopsided, with UT winning by an average of 19.8 points per victory. The top team in the SSC has four players averaging double figures. Wright-Ponder leads all Spartans in scoring (14.4 ppg) and rebounding (9.7 RPG) as Aliyah Abney follows at 14.2 points per game. Dori Nagy and Melijah Sullivan average 12.5 and 12.1 points respectively as guard Mya Giusto continues to play well as the sophomore has netted double figures in three of the last four games. As a team, the Spartans are shooting 47.0 percent from the field, while holding opponents to a 37.1 percent clip.
About the Moccasins (Women): Florida Southern is coming off a 78-69 win over Nova Southeastern on Saturday, and has won five of its last six games. Whitney Jacob leads the Mocs at 16.9 points per game, followed Julia Jenike at 13.8.
MEN'S:
The Matchup: University of Tampa Spartans (11-3, 7-2 SSC) vs. Florida Southern College Moccasins (6-11, 3-6 SSC)
Date/Time: Wednesday, January 19, 2022, at 7:30 pm
Location: Bob Martinez Athletics Center | Tampa, Fla. | 400 North Blvd., Tampa, FL 33606
Series History: The Moccasins lead 74-43 in the all-time series, though UT came away with a 94-84 victory in Lakeland when the teams last met on March 3, 2021. Florida Southern has won six of the last seven meetings between the long-time rivals.
Last Time Out: Tampa went on the road and came away with a 104-98 overtime victory against No. 17 Barry on Saturday. Max Jones had a career-high 38 points. He was 12-for-20 from the field and also made 12 free throws. Derrick Felder netted 19 points as Bryan Williams had 18. Felder, Jones and Williams led the way with three assists apiece as Williams had a team-best five steals. Martin Lakovic grabbed eight rebounds to lead the Spartans. He also had three blocked shots.
About the Spartans (Men): Jones, the reigning SSC and National Player of the Week, averages a team-high 22.5 points per game and is coming off games of 30 and 38 points last week against Rollins and Barry. Lakovic, averaging 10.4 points per game, leads the Spartans in rebounding at 7.8 and also has the team lead with 14 blocked shots. Felder makes it three Spartans in double-digit scoring, coming in at 10.0 points per game, while leading the team with 69 assists and 29 steals.
About the Moccasins (Men): FSC is looking to snap a two-game losing streak, falling to No. 3 Nova Southeastern and Saint Leo. Xavier Rhodes is one of four Mocsa averaging double figures, sitting at 14.9 points per game. E.J. Dambreville averages a double-double, with 14.0 points and 10.9 rebounds per contest.
Tickets: General admission ticket prices for all Tampa regular season athletic events are $10. Youth (ages 12 and under) are admitted for $5. 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.
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.