Florida Southern puts its No. 2 ranking on the line this Saturday when it travels to Winter Park to face No. 20 Rollins College. The Moccasins do so, knowing the nation's top-ranked team, Central Missouri, has already lost this week, giving them a chance to claim the top position for the first time in nine years. Just as important, Florida Southern needs a win to retain a share of first place in the Sunshine State Conference. Saturday is also a re-match of last year's SSC Championship Game, which the Mocs won in overtime, 77-76.
Florida Southern Probable Starters:
F, #15, John Thompson (14.4 ppg., 7.8 rebs., .570 fg%)
F, #32, A.J. Hawkins (7.1 ppg., 4.0 rebs., .655 fg%)
G, #1, Brandon Jenkins (13.6 pts., 5.3 rebs., 4.5 asts., .536 3-pt.%)
G, #2, Terry Jenkins (13.2 pts., 2.9 rebs., 3.4 asts., .455 3-pt.%)
G, #20, Rion Rayfield (17.2 pts., 2.9 rebs., 5.7 asts., .445 3-pt.%)
Rollins Probable Starters:
G, #2, Nick Wolf (17.8 pts., 7.9 rebs., 4.0 asts.)
G, #11, Julian Wilkison (5.7 pts., 1.1 rebs., 2.6 asts.)
G, #32, Myk Brown (15.8 pts., 4.8 rebs., .878 ft%)
F, #3, Matt Robertson (7.8 pts., 5.8 rebs., .515 fg%)
F, #34, Greg Sweeney (5.8 pts., 3.6 rebs., 2.0 asts.)
SERIES HISTORY... Florida Southern has played Rollins more than any other opponent, and holds a 110-47 advantage in the series. The Mocs are 42-29 against the Tars in Winter Park. This is only the seventh time the teams have met where both have been nationally ranked, though one of them was just two years ago when the 22nd-ranked Moccasins defeated the 8th-ranked Tars in Lakeland, 85-83. The two teams split last year during the regular season (each won on its own court), but the Moccasins won the rubber game in the SSC Tournament, 77-76 in overtime.
ABOUT FLORIDA SOUTHERN... The Moccasins are 13-0 overall and 3-0 in the SSC following their 70-65 win over Eckerd on Wednesday. After winning seven of their first eight games by 10 or more points, the last five wins all been by nine points or less. Three of those games have been decided in the final 30 seconds, including conference games with Florida Tech and Eckerd. The Mocs have been riding the strong play of Rion Rayfield, the reigning SSC Player-of-the-Week, who's averaging 22.2 points, 6.6 assists and 2.0 steals over the last five games. They've also relied on A.J. Hawkins, who's scored 53 points during that same span, after scoring 39 in Florida Southern's first eight games of the season. Hawkins came up big in the second half during the wins over Florida Tech and Eckerd, and the Mocs have needed it with pre-season All-American John Thompson battling foul problems in each of those games. Even then, Thompson came through down the stretch against the Tritons, scoring the Moccasins' final eight points in the 70-65 win. Brandon Jenkins continues to play well too, leading the SSC with his .536 shooting percentage from long range, while also shooting 52 percent overall. Terry Jenkins is seventh in the SSC in 3-point shooting percentage, and Rayfield is ninth. All three of them have made at least 30 this year, and each has at least one game with five.
ABOUT ROLLINS... Rollins began the year ranked #22 and #24 in two different preseason polls, and after starting 7-0, the Tars moved up to #7 in the NABC rankings. Since then, they've gone 2-3, which includes a loss to top-ranked Central Missouri, as well as a conference loss to Barry in their most recent game. Overall, the Tars are 9-3, and their 1-1 mark in the SSC includes a win over Lynn in December. Rollins has only one starter returning from its team last year that finished as the SSC runner-up to Florida Southern. However, that one starter is 2009 SSC Player-of-the-Year Nick Wolf, who averaged 17.1 points, 9.0 rebounds and 2.6 assists per game. He has similar numbers this year, and ranks seventh in the SSC in scoring and fourth in rebounding. He's been joined in the starting lineup by Virginia Commonwealth transfer Myk Brown, who's 10th in the SSC in scoring and second in free throw percentage; Julian Wilkison, one of the Tars' top reserves last year; Greg Sweeney, a key player off the bench in 2008, who redshirted in 2009; and Matt Robertson, another Division I transfer from Samford. Wolf and Brown are the only Tars with a double figure scoring average. Nikola Baran has been their top player off the bench, averaging 7.7 points and shooting 48 percent from behind the arc. Rollins is also the league's top defensive team, allowing a league-low 60.9 points per game, with opponents shooting just 40 percent from the floor.
