DUNK CITY, Fla. – For the third time in five days to open the season, the FGCU men's basketball team (2-0) will hit the court as the Eagles square off against visiting Ohio University (1-0) Wednesday at Alico Arena at 7 p.m.
 
SETTING THE STAGE
The matchup will mark the second time in as many contests that FGCU will face a team which won at least 20 games last year as Ohio went 25-12 in 2013-14. The Eagles claimed an impressive overtime victory against a tough UC Santa Barbara squad, which went 21-9 last season, on Monday night at Alico.
 
WHAT TO KNOW
An extremely limited amount of tickets are still available to the game – which is presented by Stevie Tomatoes – 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 (5 Things To Know In 140 Characters Or Less)
1) Brett Comer (631) is just three assists shy of breaking the Atlantic Sun Conference record for career assists (Mercer's Langston Hall: 633).
2) FGCU is 2-0 for the first time in its Division-I history (2007-08); the Eagles have not started a season 3-0 since 2005-06.
3) FGCU held a 32-28 halftime advantage on UCSB Monday, and the Eagles are now 24-0 dating back to the 2012-13 season when leading at the half.
4) The Eagles are ranked No. 23 in the CollegeInsider.com Mid Major Poll, up one spot from last week (rankings released prior to the win over UCSB).
5) Comer and Jamail Jones have both opened their respective seasons with double-double performances in each of FGCU's games.

SCOUTING OHIO
^ The Bobcats opened their season at home with a 73-47 win over Appalachian State on Saturday.
^ Ohio lost in the quarterfinals of the CollegeInsider.com Tournament last year at home to VMI, 92-90. Included in those 25 wins last season was a 76-67 triumph over FGCU's former A-Sun rival Mercer.
^ Over the past three seasons, Ohio has set a program record with 78 combined victories (25 in 2013-14; 24 in 2012-13; 29 in 2011-12). In that 2011-12 season, Ohio advanced to the Sweet Sixteen.
^ Ohio is under the guidance of first-year head coach Saul Phillips, who led North Dakota State to 26 wins and an NCAA Tournament berth last year. Phillips replaced Jim Christian, who took the Boston College head coaching position in April.
^ The Bobcats have been picked to finish second in the Mid-American Conference East Division after going 11-7 last year in MAC action and losing in the quarterfinals of the league tournament to Akron.
^ Ohio returns two primary starters (Maurice Ndour and Stevie Taylor) and one (Javarez Willis) who started 12 contests last year. Graduated Nick Kellogg led Ohio in scoring last year (15.5 per game), and Ndour – a 6-9 forward – is the team's leading returning scorer (13.8 per game) and rebounder (7.0 per contest).
 
ODDS & ENDS
Comer (Winter Park, Fla./Winter Park HS) tallied 28 points against UCSB – two off tying his career high – as his 11 made field goals tied a career high … with his performance, Comer moved into 5th place on FGCU's all-time scoring list with 1,104 points … Bernard Thompson (Conyers, Ga./Rockdale County HS) made four field goals versus UCSB and is now FGCU's all-time leader in field goals made (491) … Thompson made his 100th career start on Monday … Marc-Eddy Norelia (Orlando, Fla./Olympia HS/Tulane) scored 16 points and grabbed 13 rebounds on Saturday against Nova Southeastern, earning the A-Sun's first Newcomer of the Week award of the season on Monday … he followed it up with 14 points and five rebounds versus UCSB later that night.
 
#NESTPROTECTED
FGCU is 32-3 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 2-0 this season.
 
Furthermore, against non-conference opponents during the regular season, FGCU is 20-1 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 2-0 so far this season. The loss to Iona snapped a 15-game winning streak at Alico against non-conference opponents.
 
RETWEETS
1) FGCU has already played one team, and could play as many as four more, which are ranked or receiving votes in the CollegeInsider.com Mid Major Top 25 Poll.
2) Ohio was receiving votes in the first poll of the season last week, but fell out this week despite winning its season opener by 26 points.
3) Thompson has been 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 five career double-doubles, and Jones also has five – all of which have come in the last 10 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, 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 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: 2,519
Next closest: 2,484 by Saah Nimley & Arlon Harper (Charleston Southern)
Assists: 824
Next closest: 721 by Raheem Appleby & Kenneth Smith (Louisiana Tech)
Games Played: 210
Next closest: 200 by Traevon Jackson & Josh Gasser (Wisconsin)
Games Started: 203
Next closest: 173 by Traevon Jackson & Josh Gasser (Wisconsin)
Minutes: 6,144
Next closest: 5,737 by Traevon Jackson & Josh Gasser (Wisconsin)
 
Additionally, Comer is the NCAA active career assist leader with 631, while Thompson is 5th among all active players with 212 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: 1,415 – A-Sun active career leader, 42nd 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: 212 – 5th among all active players. Thompson is already FGCU's program career leader, and needs just 48 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) … already FGCU's all-time leader in career free throws made (currently 282).
 
BRETT COMER
Assists: 631 – NCAA active career assist leader. Comer is 29 assists ahead of his next closest competitor (Louisiana Tech's Kenneth Smith, 602). Of the 105 career games he has played in, Comer has led FGCU in assists 95 times.
 
NEXT UP
FGCU will finally have a chance to rest up as the Eagles won't return to the court until Monday, Nov. 24, at the Gulf Coast Showcase at Germain Arena against Marist at 6 p.m. The eight-team mid-major tournament features some of the best programs in the nation, and FGCU will play three games in three days, with the Eagles matching up with either Hawaii or San Francisco on Tuesday at 2:30 p.m. (with a loss) or 8:30 p.m. (with a win). The final day, in which FGCU hopes to be playing at 8:30 p.m. in the championship game, will take place on Wednesday. Tickets to all the games – 12 in total – are available through the Germain Arena Box Office.
 
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.