DUNK CITY, Fla. – The preseason Atlantic Sun Conference favorites tip off the season in a Saturday matinee when the FGCU men's basketball team hosts Nova Southeastern at 2 p.m. at Alico Arena.
 
WHAT TO KNOW
Tickets are still available to the game – which is presented by Moe's – and can be purchased by visiting the Alico Arena Ticket Office, online at FGCUAthletics.com or by calling 239-590-7145. At halftime, the FGCU women's basketball team will receive their NCAA Championship rings after advancing to the tournament for the second time in three years last season.
 
#FEEDFGCU
Throughout the month of November, FGCU Athletics will be hosting a charitable canned food drive as part of the #FEEDFGCU campaign which will take place at all Eagles' home events to benefit the FGCU Campus Food Pantry and the Harry Chapin Food Bank. Boxes will be posted at the marketing table upon entry of Alico Alico, and fans who donate will receive a buy-one-get-one-free ticket for an upcoming FGCU home event (excluding men's basketball). Additionally, fans who donate will receive a voucher for a free box of popcorn, generously donated by Aramark, a partner in the #FEEDFGCU initiative. That box of popcorn can be redeemed at any volleyball or women's basketball game.
 
TWEETABLES
1) FGCU opens the season ranked No. 23 in the CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top 25 Poll.
2) Bernard Thompson has been named the #ASunMBB Preseason Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year.
3) Thompson, Brett Comer and Jamail Jones were all members of the #ASunMBB Preseason All-Conference First Team.
4) #FGCU and Nova Southeastern have not met since the Eagles moved to Division-I in 2007-08; the two teams played six times from 2003-2007.
5) #FGCU is 9-2 all-time in home openers at Alico Arena (5-2 in the D-I era); the Eagles home opener in 2002-03 was at what is now Germain Arena.

SCOUTING NOVA SOUTHEASTERN
^ Nova Southeastern, a Division-II member located in Fort Lauderdale, went 13-17 last year and 8-8 in the Sunshine State Conference (SSC).
^ The Sharks return all five starters from a team which lost in the Second Round of the SSC Tournament to Eckerd, 66-52.
^ Combo guard Chris Page was named to the All-SSC Second Team and Newcomer Team last year after leading the Sharks with 14.8 points and 3.5 assists per game. Page is suspended for Saturday's game for a violation of team rules.
^ NSU has been picked to finish third in the SSC Preseason Poll this year behind Florida Southern and Barry.
^ The Sharks played three exhibition games, defeating Brunel University (England), 95-75, losing to Southeastern, 84-67, and beating Covenant College, 84-61.
^ Nova Southeastern is coached by Gary Tuell, who is entering his 11th season at the helm at the Sharks.
^ NSU will open the season on Friday with a Homecoming tipoff against Johnson University at 4:30 p.m.
 
THE MOST PROLIFIC BACKCOURT IN COLLEGE BASKETBALL
Thompson (Conyers, Ga./Rockdale County HS) and Comer (Winter Park, Fla./Winter Park HS) are not only the best backcourt in the A-Sun but also one of the best in the nation, and based on the following numbers the best senior duo backcourt in all of Division-I basketball. No other senior duo has combined to produce more stats than the following:
 
Points: 2,460
Next closest: 2,445 by Saah Nimley & Arlon Harper (Charleston Southern)
Assists: 799
Next closest: 706 by Raheem Appleby & Kenneth Smith (Louisiana Tech)
Games Played: 206
Next closest: 198 by Traevon Jackson & Josh Gasser (Wisconsin)
Games Started: 199
Next closest: 171 by Traevon Jackson & Josh Gasser (Wisconsin)
Minutes: 5,996
Next closest: 5,996 by Traevon Jackson & Josh Gasser (Wisconsin)
 
Additionally, Comer is the D-I active career assist leader with 609, while Thompson is 5th among all active D-I players with 207 career steals.
 
#NESTPROTECTED
FGCU is 30-3 at Alico Arena over the past two seasons. The three losses have come to Lipscomb, Iona and Mercer, snapping – respectively – a nine-game home-court winning streak, another nine-game streak and a 12-game stretch. FGCU went 15-2 at home last year and 15-1 in 2012-13.
 
Furthermore, against non-conference opponents during the regular season, FGCU is 18-1 against such foes at The Nest since 2011-12. The Green and Blue went 5-0 in 2011-12, 7-0 in 2012-13 and 6-1 in 2013-14. The loss to Iona snapped a 15-game winning streak at Alico against non-conference opponents.
 
A-SUN FAVORITES
For the second-straight season, FGCU is the preseason league favorite to win the A-Sun Conference, and the Eagles were a near-unanimous selection. FGCU garnered seven of the eight first-place votes in the coaches' poll (63 points), while it received 25 of 26 first-place votes in the media poll (207 points).
 
Thompson was named the A-Sun Preseason Player of the Year and the A-Sun Preseason Defensive Player of the Year – the first time in at least five years the same player has been recognized with both awards. Comer and Jamail Jones (Atlanta, Ga./Montverde Academy/Marquette) join Thompson on the A-Sun Preseason All-Conference Team as FGCU is the only school with two unanimous selections (Comer and Thompson), and is tied with the University of North Florida for the most all-league selections with three.
 
RETWEETS
1) FGCU opens the season ranked No. 23 in the CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top 25 Poll and could play as many as six teams which are ranked or receiving votes.
2) The Eagles have won their last four home openers, dating back to a 67-59 loss versus Bethune-Cookman on Dec. 1, 2009.
3) Bernard Thompson was named to the Lou Henson Player of the Year Watch List, awarded annually to the nation's top mid-major player.
4) Jamail Jones posted nine of his 15 double-figure scoring games in the final 10 contests of the year, including all three of his double-doubles.
5) ESPN has named Thompson as the nation's No. 8 best returning dunker in college basketball.
 
STAT BREAKDOWN
A breakdown of FGCU's averages in four key areas last year during its 22 wins and 13 losses:
Field-Goal Percentage: Wins 49.4% Losses 42.1%
Field-Goal Percentage Defense: Wins 38.7% Losses 45.6%
Rebounds Per Game: Wins 38.5 Losses 33.4
Assists Per Game: Wins 14 Losses 10.8
 
Additionally, after playing through a non-conference schedule which was littered with injuries, suspensions and adapting to a new coach and system, FGCU hit its offensive groove in conference play. The Eagles averaged just 67.5 points per game in non-league games but 75.9 in A-Sun action.
 
2013-14 BY THE NUMBERS
3: FGCU was the only team in the nation which had three different players score at least 30 points in a game.
5: In the last minutes of games, Bernard Thompson led FGCU in scoring with 80 points, while Brett Comer was second with 73. No other player had even 60 points in the final 5 minutes.
11: FGCU was 11-2 when committing fewer turnovers than its opponents.
13: The Eagles were 13-1 when holding their opponents below 40 percent from the field.
17: When leading at the half FGCU was 17-0 and when scoring 70 or more points the Eagles were 17-3.
18: FGCU was 18-2 when out-rebounding its opponents.
60: The loss to Florida State in the NIT marked the first time FGCU held an opponent below 60 points and lost since the 2011-12 season at Nebraska (58-53).
 
GROWING UP QUICKLY
Despite only becoming Division-I postseason eligible in the 2011-12 season, FGCU has already claimed an impressive nine wins in the postseason.
 
7-2: Atlantic Sun Conference Tournament
FGCU is the only school in Division-I history to reach the championship game of its conference tournament in each of its first three seasons of eligibility. The Eagles went 2-1 in 2012 (lost to Belmont), 3-0 in 2013 (defeated Mercer) and 2-1 in 2014 (lost to Mercer).
 
2-1: NCAA Tournament
FGCU became the first school in NCAA history to reach the Sweet Sixteen as a No. 15 seed in 2013 when the Eagles defeated No. 2 Georgetown and No. 7 San Diego State en route to captivating the nation and earning the #DunkCity moniker. The Green and Blue lost to No. 3 Florida in the next round.
 
0-1: NIT
FGCU won the program's first A-Sun regular-season championship in 2014 courtesy of a 14-4 league mark. The Eagles received a No. 8 seed in the NIT and traveled to No. 1 Florida State, falling just short (58-53) to the eventual NIT semifinalists.
 
THE ONLY ONE
FGCU is the only school in the Atlantic Sun Conference which has won an A-Sun Men's Basketball Championship. Conference re-alignment has drastically altered the landscape of collegiate athletics, and the A-Sun is no different. The Eagles joined the league in 2007-08 with USC Upstate, and prior to that North Florida and Kennesaw State both joined for the 2005-06 season. Lipscomb has been a member since 2003-04, Jacksonville since 1998-99 and Stetson since 1986-87. Northern Kentucky is in its third year in the A-Sun after joining in 2012-13 and has two years (including this season) of its NCAA-mandated Division-I reclassification period remaining.
 
A-STUN CONFERENCE
The Atlantic Sun Conference has been the talk of the college basketball world the last two postseasons as FGCU and Mercer (now a Southern Conference member) have both been responsible for three major upsets in the NCAA Tournament, affectionately turning the A-Sun into the A-Stun.
 
2013 NCAA Tournament: No. 15 FGCU 78 No. 2 Georgetown 68
2013 NCAA Tournament: No. 15 FGCU 81 No. 7 San Diego State 71
2014 NCAA Tournament: No. 14 Mercer 78 No. 3 Duke 71
 
AMONG THE NATION'S ELITE
For the second-consecutive year FGCU was selected by ESPN for inclusion in the worldwide leader's Midnight Madness coverage when the Eagles hosted Dunk City After Dark on Oct. 17. With that honor, FGCU joined only four other extremely tradition-rich programs which can boast that claim: Kansas, Kentucky, Syracuse and UConn.
 
MORE BT & BC
BERNARD THOMPSON
Points: 1,395 – A-Sun active career leader and begins the year 45th on the all-time conference scoring list and tops the FGCU program career scoring record. If Thompson scores 605 points (20 points per game over the regular season), he would become only the eighth player in A-Sun history (first season: 1978-79) to reach 2,000 career points. The A-Sun career scoring record is held by Willie Jackson (2,535) who played for former league member Centenary from 1980-84. Thompson is currently 16th among all active Division-I players for career points.
 
Steals: 207 – 5th among all active Division-I players. Thompson is already FGCU's program career leader, and needs just 53 thefts this year to own the A-Sun career record (259), currently held by Vaughn Williams who played at former league member Arkansas-Little Rock from 1980-83.
 
MISC: Thompson needs just 10 assists to become the 6th player in program history with at least 200 career helpers (currently 190) … three more made field goals places him at the top of the program's field goals made list (currently 485) … Thompson is already FGCU's all-time leader in career free throws made (currently 280).
 
BRETT COMER
Assists: 609 – NCAA active career assist leader. Comer starts the year 18 assists ahead of his next closest competitor (Louisiana Tech's Kenneth Smith, 591) and 49 helpers clear of San Diego's Christopher Anderson (560). The #DunkCity maestro needs just 25 assists to set the all-time A-Sun record, which is currently held by 2014 Mercer graduate Langston Hall (633). Of the 104 career games he has played in, Comer has led FGCU in assists 94 times.
 
MISC: Comer commences the campaign just 22 points shy of moving into 5th place on FGCU's all-time career scoring list (currently 1,065).
 
NEXT UP
FGCU will have a quick turnaround as the Eagles welcome UC Santa Barbara on Monday, Nov. 17, at 7 p.m. The Gauchos, who went 21-9 last year, open their season at No. 5 Kansas on Friday evening. The game will be the middle game of a three-game-in-five day stretch to open the season for FGCU as the Green and Blue will remain at home to face Ohio on Wednesday, Nov. 19, at 7 p.m.
 
FOLLOW ALONG
General-admission tickets for all FGCU men's basketball games at Alico Arena are still available and can be purchased by logging on to FGCUAthletics.com/Tickets, in person at the Alico Arena Ticket Office or over the phone at 239-590-7145. For up-to-the-minute information and behind-the-scenes access to the men's basketball program, follow @FGCU_MBB on Twitter and Instagram, and "Like" us on Facebook at /FGCUMBB.
 
COACH DOOLEY 
FGCU is led by second-year head coach  Joe Dooley , who coached three all-conference selections during his first season and guided FGCU to its first Atlantic Sun Conference Regular-Season Championship and first trip to the NIT. 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 visitwww.fgcu.edu/foodpantry and utilize the hashtag #FeedFGCU to help raise awareness.