Florida will take the court as a nationally ranked team for the first time in two years when the No. 24 Gators visit North Florida on Thursday night at UNF Arena in Jacksonville, Fla.Florida (6-1) is off to a hot start in its second season under coach Mike White. The excitement is building as the Gators prepare to play No. 5 Duke at the Jimmy V Classic on Tuesday at Madison Square Garden in New York City.North Florida (3-5) is struggling a bit after posting back-to-back 20-win seasons under coach Matthew Driscoll. The Ospreys earned an NCAA Tournament bid in 2014-15 and reached the NIT last season.Florida broke into this weeks Top 25 following a strong showing at the AdvoCare Invitational. The Gators beat Seton Hall 81-76, suffered a narrow 77-72 loss to Gonzaga, which is now ranked No. 8, and beat Miami 65-56.This was a high-level tournament, White said. Were fortunate to come away with two wins. And we know a lot more about ourselves than we did last week.This is Floridas first appearance in the national rankings since early in the 2014-15 season, when the Gators dropped out after losing four key players from the 2014 Final Four team.In Floridas win over Miami, Keith Stone demonstrated that he could be a key player in the future. The redshirt freshman forward posted 15 points and a team-high eight rebounds against the Hurricanes after scoring a total of six points on 2-of-13 shooting from the field and 0-of-6 shooting from 3-point range over the first six games.We knew at some point he was going to kind of settle in and provide some production and earn more minutes, White said. We saw glimpses of what he can potentially be for this team -- a very good player.KeVaughn Allen leads the Gators in scoring at 13.4 points per game. Canyon Berry is averaging 12.1 points and 4.3 rebounds. Devin Robinson averages 12 points and 5.6 rebounds. John Egbunu is averaging 9.4 points, 7.9 rebounds and 2.4 blocked shots.North Florida is coming off back-to-back losses at the Men Against Breast Cancer Classic in Dayton, Ohio. The Ospreys beat North Dakota 76-75 in the opening round and suffered a 77-54 loss to Cal State Bakersfield before falling 75-67 to host Wright State in the championship game.We showed a great deal of grit and character fighting back tonight, North Florida coach Matthew Driscoll said following the loss to Wright State. After our disappointing performance (against Cal State Bakersfield) last night, it was good to see the guys battle and compete after a quick turnaround and against the home team in a tournament championship game.Dallas Moore was named to the all-tournament team after averaging 22.3 points in three games. He had 29 points on 10-of-16 shooting against Wright State. Moore is averaging 19.1 points, 3.3 rebounds and 3.1 assists.Dallas was phenomenal running the team and demonstrated great ability to score at a high level, Driscoll said. His selection to the all-tournament team just showed why he is one of the best players in the country. D. J. Wilson Bucks Jersey . -- Chicago Bears cornerback Tim Jennings was selected Monday to his second straight Pro Bowl, while guard Kyle Long made it after a solid rookie season. Vin Baker Bucks Jersey . Nathan MacKinnon, Jamie McGinn and Jan Hejda also scored for the Avalanche, who won despite being outshot 38-23. MacKinnons goal, also on the power play, came with just over a minute remaining. http://www.nbabucksproshop.com/Authentic-Donte-DiVincenzo-Bucks-Jersey/ . The Cincinnati Reds remain perfect with their speedy rookie outfielder in the starting lineup. Milwaukee Bucks Jerseys . Once again Jordan Cieciwa (@FitCityJordan) and I (@LynchOnSports) go head to head in our picks. Last weekend at UFC Fight Night 32 my #TeamLynch got the best of #TeamJC by a score of 9-6. Let us know which side youre on for UFC 167 use the hashtag #TeamLynch or #TeamJC on Twitter. Khris Middleton Bucks Jersey . LOUIS -- Roman Polak was celebrating even before Alexander Steen scored the winning goal in Saturdays 4-2 win over the Carolina Hurricanes. The New York Knicks and the Charlotte Hornets will meet Friday in the first game of a back-to-back, home-and-home set.The Knicks (7-7) host the Hornets (8-6) at Madison Square Garden before the two teams hook up again in Charlotte on Saturday.The teams are going in opposite directions. New York has won four of its last five games. The Hornets have dropped three in a row after Wednesdays 119-114 loss to the San Antonio Spurs.Kemba Walker led the Hornets with 26 points, nine rebounds and seven assists. Eight Hornets scored in double figures. Nicolas Batum and Frank Kaminsky scored 13 each, Marco Belinelli scored 12, Spencer Hawes scored 11, and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, Marvin Williams and Roy Hibbert scored 10 each.Walker played in his 378th game for Charlotte, passing Larry Johnson for eighth in franchise history. Walker is on track to play in 400 games with the franchise this season and would be only the fourth player to play in 400 games for Charlotte.The Hornets committed a season-high 16 turnovers against the Spurs, including two crucial turnovers in the final minute on inbounds plays. They came into the game leading the NBA in fewest turnovers.They made the plays and we didnt at the end, Batum said. They made big shots. They are the Spurs. They have been there before. They know how to handle those situations. We tried to stay in the game, back and forth, it was a big battle. We playedd better than we have been playing, for sure.ddddddddddddKristaps Porzingis is having an All-Star type season with the Knicks. The 7-3 Latvian is averaging 21 points on 50.2 percent shooting, 39 percent from beyond the arc and 7.3 rebounds.I didnt add 1,000 moves, Porzingis told the New York Post. Its just that Im more calm when Im in the post when I get the ball and I turn around and nobody can really get to my shot.Im realizing how long I am and how long I am and how difficult it is to block my shot.Knicks coach Jeff Hornacek has been favoring a small lineup recently that puts Porzingis at center, Carmelo Anthony at power forward and three guards -- Derrick Rose, Courtney Lee and either Brandon Jennings or Justin Holiday.The Knicks have found a solution to their recent shortcomings at point guard. Rose has been effective accelerating to the net and working the pick-and-roll and Jennings has provided a spark off the bench. He contributed 11 assists for the second time this season in New Yorks 107-103 win over Portland on Tuesday.Brandon (Jennings) doesnt have to score to have an impact on the game, noted Hornacek. His activity, he gets the energy going for the group he is out there with.I cant say enough about a guy who comes off the bench to get 11 assists. ' ' '