* This is the 32nd season of West Florida Basketball. UWF has an all-time record of 432-403 (.518) in 835 games. UWF is 120-180 (.400) in 21 seasons of Gulf South Conference play. The Argonauts have made nine conference tournament appearances.
YEAR ONE OF THE JEFF BURKHAMER ERA
* The Argos are in the first season under Jeff Burkhamer, who was announced as the fourth head coach in program history on April 15, 2015. The 31-year coaching veteran entered the year with a 218-153 (.588) record in 13 seasons as the head coach at Lander and Armstrong State. He also has a record of 155-41 in six seasons as a junior college head coach at North Greenville College and Santa Fe Community College. The Ohio native has Division I experience as an assistant at Winthrop (1984-85), Charleston Southern (1985-87) and Morehead State (1987-89), and was on the coaching staff for the Grand Rapids Hoops (1991-94) in the CBA.
ABOUT ALABAMA HUNSTVILLE
* UAH enters the contest with a 3-2 record, coming off a regular-season split with Trevecca Nazarene in its last two games. The Chargers are 2-0 at home, 0-2 on the road and 1-0 on a neutral floor.
* UAH is averaging 85.2 ppg and has scored at least 76 every game and gone for 90 or more twice. The Chargers area strong shooting club, making 47.1 pct overall and 37.7 from outside and 72.2 at the free throw line. Opponents are recording 78.2 ppg and shooting 42 pct.
SERIES HISTORY
* UWF and UAH are playing for the 45th time in men's basketball on Wedensday, with the Chargers holding a 31-13 series lead. That includes and active stretch of 15-consecutive wins over the Argonauts.
* The Argos' last win came on Feb. 11, 2008 - a 77-68 decision in Pensacola.
* The last four games have been decided by 10 points or less, with six of the last eight by six or fewer, including a heartbreaking 87-84 loss in the 2012 GSC Championship Semifinals when Jaime Smith banked-in a 3-pointer with two seconds left..
SOMERFIELD, STRAMAGLIA LEADING THE WAY THUS FAR
* Junior transfer Austin Somerfield has provided a much appreciated scoring spark through three games this year. He ranks fourth in the GSC with 19.7 ppg, sixth with a .545 FG pct. and second with 10.3 rpg. He and Justin Simon (Valdosta) are the only two players averaging a double-double in the league.
* Redshirt junior Mario Stramaglia, who is in his third season at UWF, is one of the hottest outside shooters in the country. He is scoring at a 17.3 ppg clip (8th in GSC), due in large part to 3.0 3-pointers per game and a 56.3 3fg pct - ranking second in the GSC and 17th in the country.
SOMERFIELD WITH MEMORABLE PERFORMANCE AT FORT VALLEY STATE
* Junior Austin Somerfield finshed the season-opening weekend with averages of 22.5 points and 11.7 rebounds. He had a very solid 10 points, five rebounds and two blocks in the opener against Benedict but really turned heads a day later in Fort Valley, Ga. He poured in 35 points and 18 rebounds to lead the Argonauts attack. Thos figures are tied for the eighth-highest point total in a game while the boards are tied for the fifth-most in UWF annals. He was 14-for-22 from the field and 7-for-12 at the free throw line as he played all 45 minutes.
BENSON NAMED GSC FRESHMAN OF THE WEEK
* UWF freshman G Rashaan Benson was named the GSC Freshman of the Week on Tuesday, following a 1-game week in which he netted a career-high 13 points on 4-of-5 shooting from the floor and 4-of-6 from the free throw line, five rebounds and four assists. He also made two free throws in the final minute of the game against Spring Hill last Monday that helped ice the game for the Argos, earning them their first victory of the season.
* He has made six of his last nine shots over the past two games, including two 3-pointers.
* This is the first weekly honor for the Memphis native, who prepped at HomeLife Academy and was a National Christian HomeSchool Basketball All-America selection.
2015-16 SCHEDULE ANALYSIS
* UWF will play 26 games this season, including 12 at home in the UWF Field House.
* The Argonauts will play nine games against five teams that qualified for the 2015 NCAA Division II Championship - Alabama-Huntsville, Benedict, Union, West Alabama, West Georgia. The first of those will come in the season opener against Benedict in Valdosta, Ga. on Friday, Nov. 13.
UWF PICKED 11TH IN GSC POLL
* UWF was picked to finish 11th in the Gulf South Conference in the preseason coaches poll. The Argonauts received 26 total poll points and one first place vote.
* Alabama Huntsville received nine of 11 first place votes and was picked to finish first with 95 points. West Georgia (78 pts), Union (76) and Delta State (73) were bunched together in the next three spots.
NEW LOOK FOR UWF FIELD HOUSE FLOOR
* The UWF Field House floor received a new paint scheme over the summer, with an emphasis on cleaner design and less color. The court now features a darker wood stain in the lane and a similar darker stained GSC logo near midcourt on opposite sides of the floor.
* The 4-foot restricted arc in the lane was added in preparation for its implementation at the Division II level next season.
* The Argonaut head at midcourt remained in color as did the navy blue border that surrounds the court.
* Social media identifiers of '#GoArgos' and '@GoArgos' were placed in front of the bench areas.
NCAA RULES CHANGES
* The NCAA made a number of rules changes to both the men's and women's games this season. Some of the more visible changes in the men's game include:
* Shot clock reduced from 35 seconds to 30 seconds.
* Restricted area arc expanded from three feet to four feet - Division I in 2015-16; D-II & III in 2016-17.
* Timeouts:
- Reduction of 30-second timeouts from four to three; only two carry over to the second half.
- A 30-second timeout called within 30 seconds of a media timeout will become the media timeout.
- Coaches can only call timeouts during a dead ball situation.
* The 10-second backcourt count resets except when:
- Defender causes the ball to go out of bounds;
- Offense retains possession on a held ball; or
- A technical foul is called on the offensive team.
Note: A charged timeout by the offensive team results in a new 10-second count.
* Removed the five-second closely guarded count on a dribble.
* Guarding in the post: Arm bar allowed in post area when offense has back to the basket with or without the ball.
* The offense can no longer score on a charging foul.
* Removed the prohibition against dunking the ball while the ball is dead; teams will be allowed to dunk during pregame and halftime.
