THE University of North Florida men’s basketball team added another step on Monday.
When the Weekly AP Top 25 Poll was released, the Ospreys received votes and points for the first time in program history. That wasn’t enough to crack the top 25, so UNF is in the “also receiving votes” category.
But the Ospreys tied Oregon and Miami for 37th with 14 points and are ahead of teams like Clemson, Wisconsin, Providence, Maryland, Arizona State and Michigan.
Off to a 3-0 start, including wins over South Carolina and Georgia Tech, UNF received votes from five pollsters, including Mia O’Brien from 1010XLone of the sports radio stations in Jacksonville.
O’Brien, Dave Borges of the New Haven (Conn.) Register, David Jablonski of the Dayton (Ohio) Daily News and Jeff Borzello of ESPN Long Island voted UNF No. 25.
Mike Hlas of the Cedar Rapids (Iowa) Gazette might not have to buy his own beer if he was at a bar frequented by a UNF student this week, because the Ospreys were ranked 16th.
Another ASUN team received a point, Austin Peay.
What happened in Ospreys opening week
North Florida beat South Carolina 74-71 to open the season on November 4 won their home opener 90-66 against Charleston Southern, then beat Georgia Tech at Atlanta on Sunday, 105-93. UNF beat an SEC and ACC opponent for the first time and doubled its winning total ever against Power Four conference opponents.
The Ospreys are second in the ASUN with 89.7 points per game. Four players are in the top 15 individually, Jasai Miles (16.7, 7th), Josh Harris (16.3, 9th), Liam Murphy (14.3, 13th) and Jaylen Smith (14.0, 15th).
Murphy is second in the ASUN in 3-point percentage at 57.9 (11 of 15).
The Ospreys will play at Georgia on Tuesday at 7 p.m. They will return home on November 18 to play UNC-Asheville at 7 p.m.
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: North Florida Ospreys receive votes in AP poll for first time at school
