PITTSBURGH – The FGCU men's basketball team (9-4) concludes a challenging three-game road trip Tuesday evening at Pittsburgh (9-3) with a 7:30 tipoff on ESPN3 at the Petersen Events Center.
 
SETTING THE STAGE
FGCU will be looking to avoid its first three-game losing streak of the season, which would be just the second such stretch since the start of the 2012-13 season (Nov. 26-Dec. 7 last year). FGCU, which despite its recent struggles against quality competition still boasts the Atlantic Sun Conference's best RPI at 124, is coming off losses at Iona (RPI: 82) and Xavier (RPI: 57), and will be looking to snap the streak against the Panthers (RPI: 81).
 
Pittsburgh has won five in a row – all at home – but of the Panthers' nine wins only one has come over a top-135 RPI team (their last game against Holy Cross (134)). By comparison, FGCU has victories over South Dakota State (RPI: 131), UC Santa Barbara (RPI: 128) and Massachusetts (71). The meeting with Pittsburgh will be the first between the two schools, representing the ninth-different first-time opponent this year for the Eagles.
 
HOW TO FOLLOW
The game will be shown on ESPN3 and via the WatchESPN app (links at the top of this release) with Tim Neverett and Curtis Aiken on the call. Live stats can be accessed by following the link at the top of this release. Additionally, updates and behind-the-scenes photos will be posted on Twitter (@FGCU_MBB) and Instagram (@FGCU_MBB).
 
TWEETABLES (5 Things To Know In 140 Characters Or Less)
1) Brett Comer surpassed 700 career assists with a game-high nine helpers at Xavier and he now has 708.
2) FGCU has allowed its last five opponents to shoot better than 40 percent, something which occurred just once through the first eight games.
3) FGCU will be without Jamail Jones (11.1 ppg, 6.1 rpg) as he is serving the fourth of a six-game suspension for a violation of team rules.
4) After finishing 189th in the nation in 3-point percentage defense last year (34.6), FGCU is fourth in the country this year (26.2).
5) FGCU had 16 turnovers at Xavier (T-2nd most this year), shot only 37 percent (T-2nd lowest this year) and had a season-low 8 bench points.
 
SCOUTING PITTSBURGH
^ Pittsburgh has not played since Dec. 23 when it defeated Holy Cross, 58-39.
^ Pitt has won 29 straight non-conference home games, the sixth-longest streak in the nation. In 13 years playing at the Petersen Events Center, Pitt is 116-3 against non-conference opponents.
^ Over the last 14 years, Pitt has compiled a 354-109 record, with the .765 winning percentage ranking fifth in the country over that time.
^ All three of Pittsburgh's losses this year have come when it has shot less than 50 percent from the floor; FGCU has only allowed two teams (FIU, 50 percent; Iona, 51 percent) to shoot 50 percent or better from the floor this season.
^ Michael Young leads Pitt in scoring at 13.7 per game and rebounding at 8.1 per contest.
^ Head coach Jamie Dixon is in his 12th season at the helm of the Panthers and has a 297-99 record in that time.
 
LAST TIME OUT
Bernard Thompson (Conyers, Ga./Rockdale County HS) and Julian DeBose (Washington, D.C./St. John College HS/Rice) each scored 17 points and Comer (Winter Park, Fla./Winter Park HS) eclipsed 700 assists for his career, but it wasn't enough to overcome host Xavier (9-3) Sunday afternoon as the Musketeers earned a 71-57 victory at the Cintas Center.
 
The Eagles held Xavier to its third-lowest scoring output of the season as the nation's 11th-most efficient offense was stymied in the second half. However, the FGCU offense connected at just 37 percent from the floor (20-54) as the Green and Blue have now dropped consecutive regular-season games for the first time in more than a year.
 
After not hitting a shot and scoring just two points off a pair of free throws in the first half, Thompson exploded for 15 second-half points with the help of four 3-pointers. DeBose kept FGCU afloat in the first half where he scored 12 of his season-high point total.
 
Comer just missed what would have been his sixth double-figure assist performance of the season with a game-high nine assists – more than double anyone else on the floor. His first dish of the contest came on an alley-oop to Demetris Morant (Miami, Fla./Bishop Gorman HS/UNLV) on the first possession of the game, an assist which gave the NCAA active leader 700 for his career.
 
Trailing by as much as 17 in the second half, FGCU fought back and cut the deficit to single digits, 52-43, with 11:33 remaining following an 8-0 run. The Musketeers – who lead the BIG EAST in six offensive categories – responded and built their lead back up to 16, 63-47, with 6 minutes left before the Eagles again made a surge compliments of an 8-2 run which cut the advantage down to 10, 65-55, with 2:30 showing. However, despite limiting Xavier to just 35.7-percent shooting in the second half (10-28), FGCU dropped its first game following a brief Christmas break.
 
DID YOU KNOW?
Thompson is the only active player (any division) with at least 1,500 career points (1,596), 500 career rebounds (516) and 225 career steals (233). Earlier this year the guard posted a Division-I program-record 34-point performance in a victory over Ohio.
 
#DUNKCITY MAESTRO
With 99 assists on the year, Comer ranks third in the nation in total assists (just one behind the leaders), while his 7.6 assists-per-game average is also third in the country. Comer leads all active players in the NCAA (any division) with 708 career assists as the Dunk City orchestrator is already the Atlantic Sun Conference's career assist leader. Comer – who has been tabbed by ESPN as the country's seventh-best point guard – leads the nation in assist rate at 52.4 percent (assists divided by the field goals made by the player's teammates while he is on the court).
 
ODDS & ENDS
Thompson moved into sole possession of second place on the all-time FGCU 3-pointers made list (179) with his four connections at Xavier … the 179 makes are the most in the Division-I era for FGCU (since 2007-08) … Thompson had two steals against Xavier, marking his ninth multi-theft performance of the year.
 
CHALLENING NON-CONFERENCE SLATE
Pittsburgh will be the latest test in a challenging non-conference docket for the Eagles. FGCU has already defeated four 20-win teams from a season ago (UC Santa Barbara, Ohio, San Francisco, Massachusetts) and another (South Dakota State) which won 19 contests. The Eagles – who can add another 20-win opponent to that list with a victory over Pittsburgh – will play five teams in their non-conference schedule which rank in the top 85 of the current RPI (Green Bay (31), Massachusetts (71), Xavier (57), Pittsburgh (81) and Iona (82)). In total, FGCU will play eight non-conference games against teams currently ranked in the top-135 of the RPI (twice versus UC Santa Barbara (128) and South Dakota State (131)). FGCU (124) is the highest-ranked A-Sun team in the RPI (North Florida (142)).
 
A-SUN STATISTICAL RANKINGS
Marc-Eddy Norelia (Orlando, Fla./Olympia HS/Tulane) leads the A-Sun with 6.8 rebounds per game … Thompson ranks third in the league in scoring (15.5 per game) … Comer has 45 more assists than anyone else in the conference … Thompson leads the league with 34 made 3-pointers … Nate Hicks (Panama City Beach, Fla./J.R. Arnold HS/Georgia Tech) is tied for lead in the A-Sun with 1.2 blocks per game … FGCU leads the A-Sun in 3-point percentage defense (26.2), 3-point percentage (39.8), rebounds per game (39.5) and assists per game (16).
 
#DEPTHCITY
FGCU had five different leading scorers in the first eight games this year. The team has 10 players averaging at least 10 minutes per game and boasts five players averaging at least 9.5 points and seven players who are averaging at least three rebounds per game.
 
RETWEETS
1) FGCU has six opponents this year which are ranked or receiving votes in the latest CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top 25 Poll.
2) Thompson has been named to the Lou Henson Player of the Year Watch List, awarded annually to the nation's top mid-major player.
3) The 43 and 47 points FGCU held Marist and San Francisco to earlier this year, respectively, were the second and third fewest in non-conference D-I program history.
4) ESPN has named Thompson as the nation's No. 8 best returning dunker in college basketball.


#NESTPROTECTED
FGCU is 35-4 at Alico Arena since the start of the 2012-13 season. The four losses have come to Lipscomb, Iona, Mercer and FIU, snapping – respectively – a nine-game home-court winning streak, another nine-game streak, a 12-game stretch and a four-game run. FGCU went 15-1 in 2012-13, 15-2 last year and is 5-1 this season.
 
Furthermore, against non-conference opponents during the regular season, FGCU is now 23-2 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 5-1 so far this season. The loss last year to Iona snapped a 15-game winning streak at Alico against non-conference opponents.

THE MOST PROLIFIC SENIOR 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 backcourt duo in all of D-I basketball. No other senior backcourt duo has combined to produce more stats than the following:
 
Points: 2,814
Next closest: 2,705 by Saah Nimley & Arlon Harper (Charleston Southern)
Assists: 917
Next closest: 806 by Raheem Appleby & Kenneth Smith (Louisiana Tech)
Games Played: 232
Next closest: 224 by Traevon Jackson & Josh Gasser (Wisconsin)
Games Started: 225
Next closest: 195 by Traevon Jackson & Josh Gasser (Wisconsin)
Minutes: 6,791
Next closest: 6,351 by Traevon Jackson & Josh Gasser (Wisconsin)
 
THOMPSON
Points: 1,596 – A-Sun active career leader, 28th 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 13th among all active D-I players for career points.
 
Steals: 233 – Fourth among all active D-I players, Thompson is already FGCU's program career leader, and needs just 27 more 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.
 
COMER
Assists: 708 – Comer is 32 assists ahead of his next closest active competitor (Louisiana Tech's Kenneth Smith, 676). Of the 117 career games he has played in, Comer has led FGCU in assists 106 times.
 
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 (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.
 
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.
 
NEXT UP
FGCU will finally be back in action at home on Friday, Jan. 2, against Ave Maria at 7 p.m. Tickets are still available and be purchased online at FGCUAthletics.com/Tickets, over the phone by calling 239-590-7145 or in person at the Alico Arena Ticket Office (call before visiting for holiday hours).
 
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.