Florida Vs. North Florida: Gators Look To Rebound From Ohio State Loss

The Florida Gators (1-1) host the North Florida Ospreys (1-1) on Thursday night in a matchup of in-state rivals. The Gators own a 2-0 lifetime record against UNF, winning those games by a combined score of 188-91. However, this is the first meeting between the teams since the highly respected Matthew Driscoll took over as the coach of the Ospreys.

In their last outing, the Gators fell to the Ohio St. Buckeyes, 81-74, despite having four players score in double figures. Turnovers told the story, as Florida committed 16 miscues to the Buckeyes' seven. Bradley Beal led the Gators with 17 points, but shot just 6-of-16 and turned the ball over five times. They played that game Tuesday night, so they've had very little time to prepare for the Ospreys. "I don't think there's any reason why our guys should not be physically, mentally and emotionally ready to play," Gators coach Billy Donovan said of the short turnaround between games, according to Antonya English. Donovan owns a 22-1 record against Atlantic Sun Conference opponents, which bodes well for Florida's chances against UNF on Thursday.

Monday evening, the Ospreys topped the Savannah St. Tigers, 62-57, to pick up their first win of the season. Andy Diaz did a bit of everything for North Florida, stuffing the stat sheet with 16 points, three rebounds, three steals, and two blocked shots in just 22 minutes.

Tipoff between the Gators and Ospreys is set for 8 PM. Fox Sports Florida and Sun Sports have the television broadcast.

For more Florida athletics coverage, please visit Alligator Army, SB Nation's Gators blog.