DUNK CITY, Fla. – The FGCU men's basketball team added four more home games to its 2017-18 schedule on Monday as the Eagles will host Navy, Denver, St. Francis Brooklyn and Webber International just after Thanksgiving as part of the Homewood Suites FGCU Shootout.
 
FGCU will play Denver, Navy and St. Francis Brooklyn on consecutive days from Nov. 24-26 before entertaining Webber International on Nov. 29. Below is a breakdown of the full slate of games at Alico Arena:
 
Friday, Nov. 24
St. Francis Brooklyn vs. Navy – 4 PM
Denver vs. FGCU – 7 PM
 
Saturday, Nov. 25
Denver vs. St. Francis Brooklyn – 4 PM
Navy vs. FGCU – 7 PM
 
Sunday, Nov. 26
Denver vs. Navy – 12 PM
St. Francis Brooklyn vs. FGCU – 6 PM
 
Wednesday, Nov. 29 (Regional Site Round)
Webber International vs. FGCU – 7 PM
 
* Other Regional Site Round games for Navy, Denver and St. Francis Brooklyn (which will likely be played at their respective home venue) are still to be determined.
 
Navy, Denver and St. Francis Brooklyn will all be first-time opponents for FGCU. Navy won 16 games a season ago and reached the Patriot League Tournament semifinals for the first time since 2001. The Midshipmen return their top five scorers in 2017-18.
 
Denver, meanwhile, finished 2016-17 with a 16-14 record and has seven of its top eight scorers back. St. Francis Brooklyn struggled last year, but is just two years removed from an NIT appearance and Northeast Conference regular-season championship in 2015. The Terriers return their top two scorers in 2017-18. Webber International is an NAIA program that will be facing FGCU for the second time. The first meeting resulted in a 104-59 Eagles' win in January of 2016.
 
"We're excited to once again be hosting a quality field and giving our fans a great opportunity to see a lot of basketball over the Thanksgiving holiday," commented FGCU head coach Joe Dooley. "Every team we'll be facing should be even better than they were a season ago, so we're looking forward to the challenge and adding more strong non-conference competition to our already robust schedule."
 
Tickets are not yet on sale for the Homewood Suites FGCU Shootout; however, season tickets can be ordered by visiting or calling the FGCU Ticket Office at 239-590-7145 Monday-Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Additional ticket information will be announced at a later date, and further information regarding season tickets is included at the end of this release.
 
The four games as part of the Homewood Suites FGCU Shootout bring FGCU's non-conference total to 15 for the upcoming year. An incredible six of those games are against top-40 RPI opponents from a season ago which each won at least 25 games and played in the postseason:
 
Nov. 11: vs. #39 Illinois State (28-7, NIT)
Nov. 21: @ #34 Middle Tennessee (31-5, NCAA)
Dec. 2: vs. #34 Middle Tennessee (31-5, NCAA)
Dec. 9: @ #40 UT Arlington (27-9, NIT)
Dec. 22: @ #29 Wichita State (31-5, NCAA)
Dec. 27: @ #31 Rhode Island (25-10, NCAA)
 
Each of those four NCAA Tournament opponents won a March Madness game last year, and the other two claimed three total victories in the NIT. Those six opponents went a combined 173-41 (.808 winning percentage) last season and posted an average RPI of 34.
 
FGCU is coming off a record-setting 26-8 season in 2016-17, claiming a second-straight ASUN Tournament title and third in the past five years. The Eagles claimed their first outright ASUN regular-season title and second overall, set a program Division-I regular-season record with 23 wins and tied the all-time victory mark. Additionally, they recorded the first single-digit loss season in the D-I era (since 2007-08).
 
Led by reigning ASUN Newcomer of the Year Brandon Goodwin (Norcross, Ga./UCF/Norcross HS), the Eagles return three of their top four scorers from last year's squad, which set D-I program single-season records in points per game (79.4), rebound margin (+5.4) and field goal percentage (.499; 5th-best in the nation). FGCU led the country in points in the paint (41.3 per game) and finished 3rd in the nation with 159 dunks – 11 more than the original Dunk City Sweet Sixteen team in 2012-13.
 
In the last five years, FGCU has won three NCAA Tournament games and played in six March Madness contests. The Eagles have secured five-straight 20-win seasons, reaching the postseason in each of those campaigns (3x NCAA, NIT, CIT).
 
Dooley, the reigning ASUN Coach of the Year, has assembled an extremely talented returning group and newcomers full of highly-ranked high school prospects and top-level transfers.
 
The Eagles have 6-10 Michigan transfer and Southwest Florida product Ricky Doyle (Cape Coral, Fla./Bishop Verot HS) joining the lineup this coming season as a redshirt junior, in addition to 6-10 Miami and VCU transfer redshirt junior Michael Gilmore (Jacksonville, Fla./Rickards HS). Additionally, freshman Brian Thomas (Marietta, Ga./Kell HS), a 6-9 forward, 6-10 redshirt sophomore Brady Ernst (Clinton, Iowa/Indian Hills CC/Iowa State/Clinton HS), elusive 5-3 freshman guard Darnell Rogers (Fort Mill, S.C./Shiloh HS/Believe Prep/Indian Land HS) and redshirt junior 3-point specialist Dinero Mercurius (Orlando, Fla./Daytona State/UTRGV/USF/Faith Baptist Christian HS) will help bolster a potent FGCU lineup.
 
Those wishing to secure season tickets for the first time may get on the 2017-18 season ticket priority list now by contacting a Ticket Office representative and making a non-refundable $100 deposit per seat. The priority list will be processed on a first-come, first-served basis.
 
Pricing information on season ticket levels can be found below, and seats are still available with packages ranging from $159 for general admission to $339 for prime lower-level seating. For a detailed seating map and additional ticket and pricing information, visit FGCUAthletics.com/MBBTickets.
 
For select reserved seating, membership to the Eagles Club will likely be required depending on priority level. Those who are not Eagles Club members may contact Matt Ring at 239-590-7107 or mring@fgcu.edu for more information. The Eagles Club is the official booster organization for FGCU Athletics which provides financial support for each of the Eagles' 15 programs.
 
Season Ticket Package: Seating Chart
Priority 1: $339
Priority 2: $262
Priority 3: $212
Priority 4 (General Admission): $159
 
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 completed his 4th season with the Eagles in 2016-17 and has coached eight all-conference selections in that time. He has led FGCU to 20+ win seasons and postseason appearances in all four years: 2013 NIT; 2014 CIT; 2015 NCAA; 2016 NCAA. Dooley was named the 2017 ASUN Coach of the Year and the 2017 NABC District 3 Coach of the Year after leading the Eagles to a D-I program record 26 wins. In eight seasons overall as a head coach, Dooley has a record of 148-98 (.602), and in his four years with FGCU is 91-46 (.664). 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.
 
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.