DUNK CITY, Fla. – Just more than 48 hours after opening its season with a 63-51 victory over Nova Southeastern University, the FGCU men's basketball team (1-0) returns to Alico Arena to face a stern test in UC Santa Barbara (0-1) Monday evening at 7 p.m. as the Eagles continue a home-opening stretch of three games in five days.
 
WHAT TO KNOW
A limited amount of tickets are still available to the game – which is presented by Ted Todd Allstate Insurance – and can be purchased by visiting the Alico Arena Ticket Office, online at FGCUAthletics.com or by calling 239-590-7145.
 
#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) For the first time in program history FGCU had three players record double-doubles in the same game during Saturday's win over NSU.
2) Marc-Eddy Norelia posted 16 points and 13 rebounds, Jamail Jones added 17 points and 10 rebounds and Brett Comer had 11 points and 11 assists.
3) Comer moved into second place on the all-time Atlantic Sun Conference career assist list with 620 (14 shy of the record: 633, Langston Hall (Mercer)).
4) FGCU out-scored NSU in the paint, 30-14, and is now 26-0 dating back to 2011-12 when outscoring its opponents by at least 15 points in the paint.
5) Bernard Thompson cracked the 1,400-point milestone with seven points Saturday to extend his program record to 1,402 career points.

SCOUTING UC SANTA BARBARA
^ The game will be a matchup between two of the best mid-major programs in the nation as FGCU is ranked No. 23 in the CollegeInsider.com Mid Major Top 25 Poll and UC Santa Barbara sits just outside the top 25, receiving 41 votes.
^ The Gauchos opened their season at No. 5 Kansas on Friday night and only lost by 10, 69-59. UCSB trailed by just two points, 39-37, midway through the second half.
^ UC Santa Barbara boasts one the nation's most under-the-radar players in 6-8, 265-pound center Alan Williams. Williams, a Preseason Mid-Major All-American and reigning Big West Conference Player of the Year, scored 22 points and grabbed 13 rebounds against Kansas. The big man averaged 21.3 points and 11.5 rebounds per game last year and now has 34 career double-doubles.
^ UCSB went 21-9 last year and 12-4 in the Big West, finishing second in the league before being upset in the first round of the conference tournament by eventual NCAA Tournament participant Cal Poly.
^ Senior point guard Zalmico Harmon had an assist-to-turnover ratio of 4.6 last year to rank second in the nation.
^ The game will be just the first of two meetings between FGCU and UC Santa Barbara this year as the Eagles will travel to California in early January.
^ The Gauchos are led by Bob Williams, who is in his 17th season as the head coach of UCSB, tied for the longest-tenured coach west of the Mississippi River.
 
LOOKING FOR 2-0
Since joining Division I in the 2007-08 season, FGCU has never started a season 2-0. The Eagles have opened six of their seven D-I campaigns 1-1, and in 2009-10 went 0-2. The last time the Green and Blue commenced a season 2-0 was 2005-06, the program's fourth season.
 
ODDS & ENDS
The win over Nova Southeastern was the 80th in head coach Joe Dooley's career, who is in his sixth season as a head coach and second with FGCU … Jones (Atlanta, Ga./Montverde Academy/Marquette) equaled a career high by making seven field goals versus the Sharks … Thompson (Conyers, Ga./Rockdale County HS) is expected to start against UCSB, and it would mark the senior's 100th career start.
 
#NESTPROTECTED
FGCU is 31-3 at Alico Arena since the start of the 2012-13 season. 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, 15-1 in 2012-13 and is 1-0 this season.
 
Furthermore, against non-conference opponents during the regular season, FGCU is 19-1 at The Nest since 2011-12. The Green and Blue went 5-0 in 2011-12, 7-0 in 2012-13, 6-1 in 2013-14 and is 1-0 so far this season. The loss to Iona snapped a 15-game winning streak at Alico against non-conference opponents.
 
RETWEETS
1) FGCU could play as many as six teams which are ranked or receiving votes in the CollegeInsider.com Mid Major Top 25 Poll.
2) The Eagles have now won their last five home openers, dating back to a 67-59 loss versus Bethune-Cookman on Dec. 1, 2009.
3) Thompson was named to the Lou Henson Player of the Year Watch List, awarded annually to the nation's top mid-major player.
4) Comer now has four career double-doubles, and Jones also has four – all of which have come in the last nine game dating back to last season.
5) ESPN has named Thompson as the nation's No. 8 best returning dunker in college basketball.
 
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 Jones 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.
 
THE MOST PROLIFIC BACKCOURT IN COLLEGE BASKETBALL
Thompson 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 D-I basketball. No other senior duo has combined to produce more stats than the following:
 
Points: 2,478
Next closest: 2,470 by Saah Nimley & Arlon Harper (Charleston Southern)
Assists: 813
Next closest: 711 by Raheem Appleby & Kenneth Smith (Louisiana Tech)
Games Played: 208
Next closest: 200 by Traevon Jackson & Josh Gasser (Wisconsin)
Games Started: 201
Next closest: 173 by Traevon Jackson & Josh Gasser (Wisconsin)
Minutes: 6,070
Next closest: 5,737 by Traevon Jackson & Josh Gasser (Wisconsin)
 
Additionally, Comer is the D-I active career assist leader with 620, while Thompson is 5th among all active D-I players with 211 career steals.
 
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 5 minutes of games, Thompson led FGCU in scoring with 80 points, while 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 D-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 D-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: 1,402 – A-Sun active career leader, 44th on the all-time conference scoring list and tops on 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 D-I players for career points.
 
Steals: 211 – 5th among all active D-I players. Thompson is already FGCU's program career leader, and needs just 49 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 seven assists to become the 6th player in program history with at least 200 career helpers (currently 193) … tied with 2014 graduate Chase Fieler for the most made field goals in program history (currently 485) … already FGCU's all-time leader in career free throws made (currently 282).
 
BRETT COMER
Assists: 620 – NCAA active career assist leader. Comer is 26 assists ahead of his next closest competitor (Louisiana Tech's Kenneth Smith, 594). The #DunkCity maestro needs just 14 assists to set the all-time A-Sun record, which is currently held by 2014 Mercer graduate Langston Hall (633). Of the 105 career games he has played in, Comer has led FGCU in assists 95 times.
 
MISC: Comer is just 11 points shy of moving into 5th place on FGCU's all-time career scoring list (currently 1,076).
 
NEXT UP
FGCU will have another quick turnaround as the Eagles welcome Ohio University on Wednesday, Nov. 19, at 7 p.m. The Bobcats, who went 25-12 last year, opened their season with a 73-47 win over Appalachian State Saturday afternoon. The game will be the final contest of a three-game-in-five day stretch to open the season for FGCU as the Green and Blue will next return to the court on Monday, Nov. 24, at the Gulf Coast Showcase at Germain Arena against Marist.
 
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.