TOWSON, Md. – The Towson University men's basketball team hits the road for the first time this season when it visits 15th-ranked Florida. The Tigers road opener will be beamed to a national television audience thanks to ESPN2.
 
The Tigers and the Gators are looking to get back on track after suffering their first setbacks of the season in their last outings. Towson dropped an 84-80 decision to Kent State in overtime on Monday. Florida lost to Florida State, 63-51, on Sunday. It was the Gators' sixth consecutive loss to the Seminoles.
 
This begins an arduous stretch of games for the Tigers, who will compete in the Charleston Classic after this trip to Florida. Ironically, the Gators and Tigers are two of the eight schools in the Charleston Classic. The other schools in the field are Buffalo, Connecticut, Missouri State, Miami (Fl.), Saint Joseph's and Xavier.


 

When:	Thursday, November 14, 2019
Where	ExacTech Arena at the O'Connell Center -- Gainesville, Fl.
Time:	7 p.m.
Records:	Towson (2-1); Florida (1-1)
Television/Internet:	ESPN2 with Rich Hollenbach and Andy Kennedy
Radio:	CBS Sports Radio 1300AM with Spiro Morakes
Series History:	Florida leads 1-0; First meeting since 1988
Streak/Last Meeting:	Florida W1
Social Media Updates:	@Towson_MBB

Men's Basketball Watch Party at C&R Pub, Thursday, November 14th, 6:30 p.m.
Towson supporters, there will be a watch party at C&R Pub for the men's basketball team as they take on #15 Florida at 7 p.m. Join us for drink and food specials during the evening!

Series Highlights

• This is the second meeting all time.
• The Gators captured a 77-55 decision on Jan. 4, 1988 in Florida.
• Vernon Maxwell led Florida with 13 points in that game.
• Towson's leaders were Marty Johnson (18 points) and Marc Boyle (12 rebounds).

 
Starting Five

• This is the first of two consecutive Associated Press Top 25 programs Towson will face. The Tigers open the Charleston Classic against 21st-ranked Xavier next Thursday.
• Towson has had at least four double-digit scorers in its first three games.
• Jason Gibson and Brian Fobbs are the only Tigers to hit for double digits in all three of Towson's games this season.
• Dennis Tunstall has at least one blocked shot in 48 of the 96 career games (50 percent) he has played in. Tunstall is 10th all-time in program history in blocked shots with 81.
• Towson last played a Southeastern Conference (SEC) school in 2015 when it played Mississippi in the Charleston Classic.

 
Towson Update

• Jakigh Dottin leads the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) in assist-to-turnover ratio. He has 11 assists to one turnover to begin the season. Dottin is also 10th in the CAA in assists per game (3.7).
• Averaging 12.7 points per game, Juwan Gray is third in the CAA in 3-point field goal percentage (62.5) and 12th in field-goal percentage (53.8).
• Charles Thompson has grabbed at least five rebounds in each game.
• Thompson leads the CAA in offensive rebounding (4.3). He is fifth in blocked shots (1.3) and sixth in rebounding (9.3).
• Fobbs scored a season best 20 points and grabbed eight rebounds against Kent State.
• Gibson tallied a career high 18 points in 29 minutes against Kent State.

 
A Look At Florida

• Members of the Southeastern Conference, Florida dropped nine places in this week's Associated Press Top 25 poll. The Gators fell from sixth to 15th after losing to Florida State, 63-51, Sunday afternoon.
• Keyontae Johnson led UF with a game-high 19 points, hitting all six of his second-half field goals and accounting for all but two of UF's baskets.
• Grad-transfer center/forward Kerry Blackshear Jr. tallied 10 points and a game-best 13 rebounds, but was 0-for-5 from the floor. Blackshear Jr. recorded his second double-double of the season and 15th double-double of his career.
• Sophomore shooting guard Noah Locke, who set a team record last season for 3-point makes by a freshman, was 1-for-11 overall and 0-for-7 from the arc.
• The Gators are 7-for-37 through the first two games of the season from 3-point distance.
• The Gators have the seventh-ranked recruiting class in the country, according to 247sports.
• With an NCAA Tournament bid in 2019 and another tournament victory, the Gators are one of 10 teams to win an NCAA game each of the past three seasons.

 
Sound Smart With Your Friends

• Towson is shooting 56 percent (14-for-25) in the first five minutes of the second half over its first three games.
• The Tigers were 5-for-6 from the field in the first five minutes of the second half against Kent State.
• Every Tiger who has appeared in a game this season has at least one steal.
• Dottin has four rebounds each in Towson's last two games.
• Fobbs scored his 600th career point on Monday against Kent State. He has 603 career points in 35 games.
• The Tigers are averaging 41.0 bench points through their first three games.

 
Tigers in the Community
The Towson University athletics department deems community service as one of its highest priorities to give back to the Greater Baltimore area. For the seventh consecutive year, the department exceeded 10,000 hours of community service to the Greater Baltimore region, finishing with 11,162 hours of community service in the 2018-19 academic season. Towson ranked No. 1 nationally for community service and won the 2018 National Championship for Community Service through the Helper Helper NCAA Team Works Competition. Towson had a 97% participation rate, attended 118 community service opportunities and volunteered with 19 organizations. Towson won the 2018 Volunteer of the Year Award from Susan G. Komen of Maryland.