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FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – The Nova Southeastern men's basketball team (6-11, 3-3 SSC) is set to face the Tampa Spartans (11-5, 4-3 SSC) on the road Saturday at 4 p.m. The game will broadcast live on 640 Sports.
NSU is coming off a shootout with Florida Tech Wednesday in which the Sharks fell, 97-86. NSU drained a program-record 21 3-pointers but were matched by a Panther squad that shot over 60 percent from the floor. NSU's road trip moves from a prolific offense to the league's top defense.
"There are several good defensive teams in this league, but I haven't seen anyone that defends as well as Tampa," said head coach
Gary Tuell. "Cesar Odio always had great defensive teams at Barry, and the past couple of years Lance Randall's Saint Leo teams were outstanding defenders. But I'm not sure any of those teams were better defensively than this Tampa squad.
"They are quick, fast, aggressive, they pressure the ball, are great in transition from offensive to defense and do an outstanding job in their help defense off the ball. They are one of the few teams you will play who have great ball pressure and great help-side defense. They are also rare in their ability to contest the 3-point shot on the perimeter and block shots on the interior."
Tampa currently leads the league in field goal shooting defense at 39.6 percent. They have held down second place in the conference for two weeks and are coming off a double-overtime loss to No. 2 Florida Southern Wednesday, 87-83. Like NSU, Tampa had won three out of their previous four games entering Wednesday.
"After making 21 3's at Florida Tech I wouldn't be surprised to see Tampa hold us to single digits," stated Tuell. "So we have to find other ways to get points. We can't live and die by the 3. Obviously it is one of the things we do well, but we can't live and die with that shot. Tampa defends the 3 best of any team in the league."
NSU has proven to be a formidable offensive side, leading the league in both 3-point and free throw shooting percentage. Its record-shooting night Wednesday came against a top-3 defense in the SSC. The Sharks also have history on their side, winning four straight games over the last two seasons against Tampa. The Spartans needed overtime the last two times they defeated NSU.
"We shot the ball pretty well at Florida Tech but our execution of the press and decision-making on defense was very poor," said Tuell. "We can play much, much better than that. We will need to play our best at Tampa. They hold down second place in the league for a good reason. This will be a real tough challenge for us on both sides of the ball."
Tune into 640 Sports 15 minutes before the game for the pregame show. Fans can watch the game live
HERE and follow live stats
HERE.
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