Weekend Preview: Tampa Looks to Stay Hot in 2023

WEEK 6

Wednesday, Jan. 4, 7:30 P.M. @ Saint Leo

Saturday, Jan. 7, 4:00 P.M. vs. Rollins

Tampa continues their SSC action with two in-conference rivals.

SSC Teams with National Rankings: #2 Nova Southeastern, #22 Florida Southern

Tampa Spartan's Men's Basketball: (5-6, 4-1 SSC), #2 in SSC

Tampa

• The Spartans appear to be on the right track with their new year's resolutions, as they look to stay hot continuing on into 2023. Tampa is currently enjoying their first winning streak of the season, winners of 3 straight, including the latter 2 against SSC rivals Palm Beach Atlantic and Lynn. The Spartans looked strong from the opening tip to the final buzzer in both games, while their three-point shooting and rebounding dominated their opponents. This week, Tampa will first be on the road against Saint Leo on Wednesday, January 4^th, at 7:30 PM. After Wednesday's matchup, they come back home to UT to take on Rollins on Saturday, January 7^th, at 4:00 PM.

Saint Leo

• The Lions look to take care of business against the Spartans at home this Wednesday in order to get back on track within SSC play. The Lions have an outstanding record of 8-2 against non-conference opponents, but only a 2-3 record thus far against their Sunshine State rivals. In their most recent SSC game against Barry, Saint Leo was outscored by 24 points in what turned into a 95-67 rout by the Buccaneers. The Lions' defense struggled mightily against the three-pointer, something that needs to be addressed prior to taking on a Tampa team that is loaded with sharpshooters.

Rollins

• The Tars come into Saturday's game against the Spartans with an identical conference record as Tampa's previous opponent, Saint Leo, at 2-3. Rollins has yet to find their rhythm so far this season, albeit not having fallen too far behind just yet, as the Tars have yet to have a winning or losing streak extend beyond two games so far in the early stages of the season. Rollins' previous game came against Florida Tech, where they fell at home by a score of 71-61. Like Saint Leo, Rollins let a 5-point halftime lead disappear as they let the Panthers catch fire in the second half, being outscored by 15 points. Rollins will also need to find ways to close out the game against a resilient Tampa team.

Live stats for all games this weekend can be found at Tampastats.com. 

Live broadcasts for all games this weekend can be found at TampaSpartans.tv.