DAYTON, Ohio – The 16th-seeded FGCU men's basketball team (20-13) will officially commence the 2016 NCAA Tournament as the Eagles will play the first game of March Madness Tuesday night at UD Arena against fellow 16 seed Fairleigh Dickinson (18-14) at 6:40 p.m. on truTV.
 
WHAT TO KNOW
FGCU won the Atlantic Sun Conference Tournament Championship last Sunday to earn the league's automatic berth into NCAA Tournament, while Fairleigh Dickinson won the Northeast Conference Tournament title. If FGCU were to win Tuesday night, it would advance to the First Round in Raleigh where the Eagles would play No. 1 seed North Carolina on Thursday at 7:20 p.m. on TBS.
 
OPENING TIP ITEMS
^ Sweet 16: FGCU is a 16 seed, in its 16th year of athletics and last time it was in the NCAA Tournament reached the Sweet 16 in its 16th academic year.
^ Last Time Here: The Eagles captured the nation's attention in 2013 when they became the only 15 seed in NCAA Tournament history to reach the Sweet 16, dunking over 2nd-seeded Georgetown, 78-68, and 7th-seeded San Diego State, 81-71, earning their famed Dunk City nickname.
^ History Makers: FGCU has only been Division I postseason eligible since 2011-12, and this will be the Eagles' fourth postseason appearance. In addition to the two NCAA Tournament appearances, FGCU also played in the NIT in 2014 and the CIT in 2015. FGCU is believed to be the only D-I team in NCAA history to ever make four postseason appearances in its first five years of eligibility.
^ Building A Winning Tradition: Entering the NCAA Tournament, FGCU is one of only 38 teams in the nation that has won at least 20 games in each of the past four seasons. Furthermore, when combined with the women's team winning 28 games, FGCU is one of just eight schools in the country to have their men's and women's basketball teams win at least 20 games in four-straight seasons: Duke, Louisville, Kentucky, BYU, Baylor, UConn and Saint Mary's.
 
TWEETABLES
1) FGCU has had four games of 50+ paint points this year. In their entire D-I history (since 2007-08) entering this year, the Eagles had two such games.
2) In 18 of their last 20 games, the Eagles have out-scored their opponents in the paint, and have reached 80 points 15 times this year (12 the previous two years combined).
3) FGCU has had a D-I program-record 21 games decided by 10 points or less this year (10-11 in those games), surpassing the previous mark of 20 in 2011-12.
4) Trailing with 5 minutes to play in the A-Sun Final, FGCU won for the second time this year in that circumstance (Youngstown State on Nov. 21).
5) FGCU and Fairleigh Dickinson will be meeting for the first time, and the two teams have no common opponents this year.

LOW-POST EDGE
FGCU receives 61.2 percent of its total points from 2-point field goals, ranking as the 5th-highest percentage in the nation. FDU, meanwhile, ranks 87th in the country in that category at 53.1 percent.
 
The Eagles also have a decided advantage in terms of rebounding as FGCU is 22nd in the country at 40.2 rebounds per game and boasts a +5 rebound margin per game. FDU is -5 in that category and 296th in the country at 33.6 rebounds per game. FGCU has out-rebounded its opponent in 18 of its 20 wins this year.
 
EFFICIENT OFFENSE vs. EFFICIENT DEFENSE
FDU was the only school in the nation this year to lead its conference in field goal percentage, 3-point percentage and free throw percentage in league games. For the year, FDU leads the NEC in field goal percentage (.463) and 3-point percentage (.363).
 
FGCU is not only the best team in the A-Sun, but one of the best teams in the nation in terms of defensive field goal percentage. The Eagles rank 10th nationally in 3-point percentage defense, limiting its opponents to just .302, and lead the A-Sun in field goal percentage defense at .414.
 
SERIES HISTORY
Not only will it be the first meeting for FGCU against FDU, but it will be the first time the Eagles play a current member of the NEC.
 
SCOUTING FDU
^ FDU was picked for a 9th-place finish (out of 10 teams) in the NEC Preseason Poll, but instead finished tied for 2nd with two other teams, earning the 2 seed in the NEC Tournament.
^ After finishing 8-21 – including a 15-game losing streak – in 2014-15, FDU enters the NCAA Tournament at 18-14.
^ The Knights are the 3rd-youngest team in the nation as FDU does not feature any seniors.
^ Darian Anderson leads a quartet of double-figure scorers for FDU at 15.4 per game. Earl Potts Jr. adds 14.7, Marques Townes scores 11.4 and Stephan Jiggetts adds 11.2. Mike Holloway is just shy of the double-figure mark with 9.6 per game as FDU gets a majority of its production from those five.
^ FDU will be making its 5th NCAA Tournament appearance in program history and first since 2005 (0-4 previously).
^ Head coach Greg Herenda is in his 3rd season at FDU after serving in that same role at UMass-Lowell from 2008-2013.
 
THE BIRTH OF DUNK CITY – March 22 & 24, 2013 | Philadelphia, Pa.
#15 FGCU: 78 #2 Georgetown: 68 – FGCU used five 2nd-half dunks and a 21-2 run to turn a 31-31 game at the 17:27 mark into a 52-33 Eagles' lead by the 12:30 mark. With Georgetown trying to mount a comeback in the closing two minutes, sophomore point guard Brett Comer threw a brazen one-handed alley-oop to Chase Fieler, who finished with one hand and Georgetown never got closer than five the rest of the night.
 
#15 FGCU: 81 #7 San Diego State 71 – Leading 54-52 with 11:30 left, FGCU went on a 17-0 run to open up a 71-54 advantage with less than four minutes remaining. The 10-point final margin was the closest SDSU would get in the final eight minutes. After not having any dunks in the 1st half against Georgetown, the Eagles finished with 10 in the closing 60 minutes – the Georgetown 2nd half and entire SDSU game.
 
A-SUN TOURNAMENT RECAP
^ FGCU finished tied for 2nd in the A-Sun with Jacksonville and NJIT at 8-6, but earned the 4th seed in the conference tournament.
^ The Eagles defeated 5th-seeded Kennesaw State at home in the quarterfinals on Mar. 1, 74-64, went on the road and destroyed top-seeded North Florida on Mar. 3, 89-56, and won the title at home against 7th-seeded Stetson in overtime on Mar. 6, 80-78.
^ In the championship final, Zach Johnson blocked a potential game-tying layup in the closing seconds of overtime, earning the No. 1 spot on SportsCenter's Top 10 Plays. Johnson finished with 19 points – 17 which came in the final eight minutes of regulation and OT – while Antravious Simmons led the team in scoring for the first time all year with season highs of 21 points and 12 rebounds – his second career double-double.
^ In the semifinals at UNF, FGCU was down 21-12 before closing the 1st half on a 33-10 run. Filip Cvjeticanin came off the bench to hit three 1st-half 3-pointers – his first points since Jan. 27. FGCU held the nation's 3rd-l­eading offense to a season-low 56 points – 30 below its year average – as the Eagles handed a No. 1 seed in the A-Sun Tournament its largest loss in history, which dates back to 1979.
^ Marc-Eddy Norelia was named A-Sun Tournament MVP with team-bests of 17.7 points and 11.3 rebounds per game. Joining Norelia on the All-Tournament Team was Johnson, who averaged 16 points and three assists per contest, and Christian Terrell, who averaged 15.3 points, 5.3 rebounds and four assists per outing.
^ The Eagles shot better than 50 percent from the floor in all three A-Sun Tournament games: 52 percent vs. Kennesaw State, 56.7 percent at UNF and 52.6 percent vs. Stetson.
^ The A-Sun Tournament title was the second for FGCU in four years. The Eagles have played in the title game in four of the five seasons they've been D-I postseason eligible.
 
THE GROWTH OF FGCU
After starting their D-I transition with five-straight losing seasons, the Eagles have now posted four-consecutive 20-win seasons. After not finishing higher than 6th place in the A-Sun the first five years, FGCU has finished no worse than a tie for 2nd each of the past four seasons.
 
2007-08: 10-21, 6-10 A-Sun (T-8th)
2008-09: 11-20, 7-13 A-Sun (9th)
2009-10: 8-21, 5-15 A-Sun (T-10th)
2010-11: 10-20, 7-13 A-Sun (7th)
2011-12: 15-17, 8-10 A-Sun (T-6th)
2012-13: 26-11, 13-5 A-Sun (2nd)
2013-14: 22-13, 14-4 A-Sun (T-1st)
2014-15: 22-11, 11-3 A-Sun (2nd)
2015-16: 20-13, 8-6 A-Sun (T-2nd)
D-I Total: 144-147, 79-79 A-Sun
Last 4 Years: 90-48, 46-18 A-Sun
 
RE-FRESH REJECTION
Johnson (Miami, Fla./Norland HS) made the championship-saving play when he rejected a potential game-tying layup with 5 seconds remaining in overtime in the A-Sun Final to defeat Stetson, 80-78. But it wasn't the first time this year the 6-2 redshirt freshman point guard rejected a potential game-tying layup. In nearly the exact same situation on Jan. 14 against NJIT, Johnson rejected the potential game-tying layup with 7 seconds left in OT with the Eagles up, 80-78.
 
CHALLENGING SCHEDULE
Ten of FGCU's 33 games this year were played against postseason teams – and when factoring in four non-D-I games, 34 percent of FGCU's contests this year came against postseason opponents. That also doesn't factor in potentially more teams with the new Vegas 16 tournament, which as of Monday morning had not yet released its 16-team field.
 
FGCU fell by just a combined 14 points to NCAA Tournament participants South Dakota State (12 seed, 56-52) and Texas A&M (3 seed, 75-65). In addition to those NCAA Tournament members, FGCU also played North Florida three times (NIT), Florida (NIT), NJIT two times (CIT), North Dakota (CIT) and Ohio (CBI).
 
A-SUN RANKS
FGCU leads the A-Sun in rebounding (40.2 per game), points allowed (70.5 per game), field goal percentage defense (.414) and 3-point percentage defense (.302).
 
PROTECTING THE ROCK
FGCU has set the single-season program record with nine games of single-digit turnovers this year, surpassing the previous record of eight from last year. Eight single-digit turnover games is exactly how many the Eagles had in their entire pre-D-I history, spanning five seasons from 2002-07. In 2013-14, FGCU had six single-digit turnover games, as through head coach Joe Dooley's nearly three seasons in charge of the Eagles they have posted 23 of the program's 29 single-digit turnover games in the D-I era (since 2007-08).
 
ALL-CONFERENCE SELECTIONS
Norelia (Orlando, Fla./Tulane/Olympia HS) and Johnson were recognized for standout seasons as Norelia was named to the A-Sun First Team, while Johnson was tabbed as an A-Sun All-Freshmen Team member in voting conducted by the league's eight head coaches.
 
Norelia leads FGCU in nearly every offensive category as he ranks 6th in the A-Sun in scoring at 17.2 points per game, 2nd in rebounding at 9.2 per game and 4th in field-goal percentage at .539. The redshirt junior was named A-Sun Player of the Week on three occasions this year. It marks the 4th-straight year FGCU has had at least one representative on the A-Sun First Team – the longest such streak in the conference.
 
Johnson has come on strong since the turn of the calendar to 2016 as the scoring point guard has totaled 64 percent (235 of 370) of his points on the year since the start of conference play. He has reached double-figure points in 17 of the last 20 games. He is averaging 11.2 points per game and was a unanimous selection to the team. The redshirt finished the year tied with his fellow freshman backcourt mate Reggie Reid (Harlem, Ga./Harlem HS) for the most assists in the A-Sun by a freshman with 97 and now he has a league-best 106 among freshmen. Johnson is currently 2nd on the all-time freshman scoring list at FGCU (370 points), behind only Anthony Banks (374 in 2009-10).
 
RECORD-SETTING SEASON
Norelia has set the FGCU record for double-doubles in a season with 14. The previous mark was nine by Robinson Tisme in the program's first season in 2002-03. Additionally, Norelia has missed a double-double on six other occasions by just a single rebound each time.
 
The southpaw has already established, or is approaching, several D-I and all-time program single-season records:

Rebounds: 304 – The most all-time, surpassing the previous mark of 274 by Adam Liddell in 2006-07.
Rebounds Per Game: 9.2 – Would be the best in program history, well ahead of Liddell's 8.3 mark in 2006-07.
Field Goals Made: 219 – The most all-time, surpassing the previous mark of 210 held by Sherwood Brown in 2012-13 (37 games).
Points Per Game: 17.2 – Would be the best in D-I history and 3rd-best all-time (Leighton Bowie (19.5 in 2003-04).
Points: 567 – Currently the 3rd-most all-time, just 14 points behind the record of 580 set by Ryan Hopkins in 2002-03.
 
Norelia has also taken 189 free throws (10 shy of breaking the single-season record of 190 held by Leighton Bowie in 2003-04) and has made 129 (28 shy of surpassing Bowie's mark of 156 in 2002-03).
 
PLAYER QUICK HITS
^ Reid ranks 4th among all freshmen nationally in assist rate at 30.4 percent – the percentage of field goals made by a team that a player assists on while in the game.
^ Demetris Morant (Miami, Fla./UNLV/Bishop Gorman HS) has 78 career blocks, just two shy of moving into 2nd place on the program's all-time list. Chase Fieler (2010-14) owns the all-time record with 134 rejections. Morant has missed 10 games this year – three at the start of the season and seven in a row during conference play – with right-leg injuries.
^ Redshirt senior Julian DeBose (Washington, D.C./Rice/St. John College HS) became the 7th player in program history to reach 1,000 career points on Feb. 6 against North Florida. He entered the game against the Ospreys needing just five points to reach the mark and now has 1,060 for his career.
 
BREAKOUT SEASON
After averaging just 3.3 points per game last year, sophomore Terrell (Jacksonville, Fla./Providence HS) has catapulted to 12.6 per game this year – an increase of 9.3 – and has led the Eagles in scoring eight times. Not only is the 6-5 Terrell getting the job done on the offensive end, he also enters the NCAA Tournament with the 2nd-most rebounds on the team this year with 161.
 
PIVOTAL EMERGENCE
With FGCU trailing by the aforementioned 21-12 score at UNF in the A-Sun semifinal and on the verge of possibly being blown out, redshirt senior Cvjeticanin (Zagreb, Croatia/American School of Madrid) stepped up in a huge way for the Eagles. Cvjeticanin hit a 3-pointer out of an FGCU timeout to settle the Eagles down, hit another a few minutes later to extend the Green and Blue lead to four, 28-24, and hit a final 1st-half 3 to put them up seven, 35-28. FGCU never led by fewer than seven the rest of the night.
 
What made the performance noteworthy was that Cvjeticanin had not scored a single point since Jan. 27. Mired with limited playing time and coming off a concussion which had him miss the final two games of the regular season, Cvjeticanin finished with 11 points and is now 3rd on the program's career list for made 3-pointers with 181.

RE-TWEETS
1) FGCU has played five overtime games, setting a single-season program record. In its entire pre-D-I history (2002-07), FGCU played three total OT contests.
2) Ten times this year FGCU has had a game decided by five points or less. The Eagles are 6-4 in such games.
 
A-SUN SUCCESS
Since the start of the 2012-13 season, FGCU boasts a 46-18 (.719) record in A-Sun regular-season games – six more wins than any other team in the league (North Florida, 40).
 
BY THE NUMBERS
FGCU has the following records under the direction of Dooley:

Leading At The Half: 49-4 (.925)
Holding Opponent Below 40% FG: 37-4 (.902)
Scoring At Least 80 Points: 24-3 (.889)
Grabbing More Rebounds: 53-9 (.855)
Scoring At Least 70 Points: 43-9 (.827)
 
ON RECORD PACE
FGCU is on pace for several D-I and all-time program records this year:
 
Points Per Game: 77 – Would shatter the D-I record of 72.9 set by the Sweet Sixteen team in 2012-13.
Rebounds Per Game: 40.2 – Would set the D-I record, besting each of the previous two years (38.1 in 2014-15 and 36.6 in 2013-14).
Field-Goal Percentage: 47.7 – Would be the best all-time, just ahead of the record of 46.7 percent in 2013-14.
Blocks Per Game: 4 – Would be the best mark all-time, just ahead of the 3.9 average by the 2011-12 club.
Scoring Margin: +6.5 – Would be the best in D-I history, bettering the previous margin of +6.1 by the 2012-13 team.
 
YOUNG, TALENTED AND DEEP
FGCU has just two seniors on its roster, and so far this year 84 percent of its scoring, 88 percent of its rebounding (excluding team rebounds) and 89 percent of its assists have come from non-seniors.
 
Not only are the Eagles young and talented, but they are deep as this year 10 different players have reached double-figure points in a game. The only teams in the nation with more are Boston University (12) and Georgia Southern (11). Below is a list of players who have scored 10 or more points in a game, their season high and how many times they've led (or tied) the team in scoring.
 
R-Jr. Norelia (17 – includes a tie): 34
R-Fr. Johnson (5 – includes two ties): 26
So. Terrell (8 – includes a tie): 25
R-So. Simmons (1): 21
R-Sr. DeBose (2): 20
Fr. Rayjon Tucker (1): 19
R-Sr. Cvjeticanin (1): 18
Fr. Reid: 18
R-So. Kevin Mickle: 14
R-Jr. Morant: 12
 
In a further testament to the youthful and talented group, Reid and Johnson lead all A-Sun freshmen in assists per game (3.2), Johnson is 3rd among A-Sun freshmen in scoring (11.2), Terrell is 2nd among A-Sun sophomores in points per game (12.6), Simmons leads A-Sun sophomores in rebounds per game (5) and Norelia is 2nd among A-Sun juniors in rebounds per contest (9.2).
 
MILESTONE MARK
FGCU won its 250th all-time game with an 85-56 decision over USC Upstate on Jan. 16. The Eagles enter the NCAA Tournament with an all-time record (since 2002-03) of 258-186 (.581).
 
GOLDEN SUMMER
DeBose won a gold medal as part of Team USA at the World University Games (WUG) last summer in South Korea ... was one of only two players (SMU's Nic Moore) on the team not from Kansas University ... finished the tournament averaging 4 points, 2.3 rebounds and 10.8 minutes per contest ... scored a team-high 18 points in the USA's final group-round game against Switzerland ... connected on 50 percent (13-26) of his shots from the floor during the WUG, including 3-8 from 3-point range ... added nine offensive and nine defensive rebounds, with the nine offensive boards representing the second-most by any guard on the roster  ... also contributed six steals and a block as Team USA won its games by an average of 20.3 points.
 
SOCIAL CENTRAL
For up-to-the-minute information and behind-the-scenes access to the men's basketball program, follow @FGCU_MBB on Twitter and Instagram, Like us on Facebook at /FGCUMBB and watch us on Snapchat at FGCU_MBB.
 
COACH DOOLEY 
FGCU is led by head coach Joe Dooley, who is in his 3rd year with the Eagles in 2015-16 and has coached eight all-conference selections. He guided FGCU to its first Atlantic Sun Conference Regular-Season Championship and first trip to the NIT in 2014, and in 2015 he led the Eagles to their 3rd-straight 20-win season and 3rd-straight postseason appearance with a berth in the CIT. Prior to arriving in SWFL, Dooley spent 10 seasons as an assistant at Kansas under head coach Bill Self. During those 10 seasons, Kansas produced 300 wins, nine-straight Big 12 regular-season titles, six Big 12 Tournament championships, six NCAA Sweet 16s, five NCAA Elite Eight appearances and two Final Fours, including the 2008 National Championship. Dooley is in his 7th season overall as a head coach and has a record of 121-89 (.576), and in his 2+ years with FGCU is 64-37 (.634).
 
SUPPORT THE CAUSE 
FGCU Athletics sponsors events throughout the year to benefit the FGCU Campus Food Pantry (www.fgcu.edu/foodpantry) and the Harry Chapin Food Bank (www.harrychapinfoodbank.org), FGCU Athletics' charities of choice. For more information, including how to make a contribution, please visit www.fgcu.edu/foodpantry and utilize the hashtag #FeedFGCU to help raise awareness.