DUNK CITY, Fla. – The FGCU men's basketball team (5-4) begins a three-game homestand and a stretch of nine of 10 inside the friendly confines of Alico Arena on Sunday when the Massachusetts Minutemen (5-3) face the Eagles in a 1:30 p.m. tipoff.
 
TOYS FOR TOTS
Fans are encouraged to bring new, unwrapped toys to the game as part of the Toys for Tots campaign. Boxes will be available immediately upon entry into Alico Arena at the marketing table. On Thursday, Dec. 17, the men's basketball team will deliver all the donated toys to a local children's hospital.
 
HOW TO FOLLOW
Tickets are still available and can be secured by logging on to FGCUAthletics.com/Tickets or by visiting the Alico Arena Ticket Office. For those not able to make it to The Nest, the game – like all FGCU home contests – will be broadcast on ESPN3 and via the WatchESPN app with David Moulton and J. Webb Horton on the call.
 
TWEETABLES
1) Third-year FGCU head coach Joe Dooley will be looking for his 50th win with the Eagles (49-28).
2) Sophomore Christian Terrell has led FGCU in scoring each of the past four games; he's already scored 128 points this year after 110 last season.
3) FGCU has overcome two second-half double-digit deficits to win this year (15 vs. Youngstown State, 13 at FIU) for the first time in single-season program history.
4) The Eagles have scored more than 80 points four times already – the first time in Division-I program history that has occurred through nine games.
5) The Eagles won at FIU in overtime on Sunday, 84-76, despite allowing the Panthers to shoot 49.1 percent from the floor – by far the highest in a win this year.
 
SERIES HISTORY
FGCU and UMass met for the first time last December about an hour from the Minutemen's campus as part of the Basketball Hall of Fame Holiday Showcase at the MassMutual Center in Springfield, Mass. The Eagles earned arguably their most impressive road regular-season triumph in program history with an 84-75 win over the Minutemen to move to 8-1 to start last season. FGCU entered the contest with an RPI of 46, while UMass sat at 39 and had earned an at-large berth into the NCAA Tournament the year prior.
 
SCOUTING UMASS
^ The Minutemen are coming off a 67-63 loss at UCF on Tuesday night as they trailed by as much as 15 in the first half before erasing the deficit but falling short in the closing minutes.
^ Trey Davis (17.8 points per game), Jabarie Hinds (16.9 ppg) and Donte Clark (16.9) lead a three-headed offensive attack for UMass.
^ UMass opened the season 4-0 – including a win over Clemson – before falling to Creighton, 97-76, in Las Vegas the day before Thanksgiving. The Minutemen bounced back with a 99-69 triumph over Boston University, but have since dropped consecutive games to Ole Miss, 74-64, and UCF.
^ 1995 UMass graduate Derek Kellogg is in his 8th season at the helm of the Minutemen and boasts a 131-104 overall record. Kellogg was a four-year letterwinner at UMass, making four NCAA Tournament appearances and a Final Four – which was later vacated by the NCAA – under head coach John Calipari.
 
CHALLENGING STRETCH
Starting with UMass, each of FGCU's next four opponents all have an early-season RPI better than 130, with the average RPI being 97: UMass (127), South Dakota State (105), Louisiana Tech (72) and South Dakota (87).
 
Aside from a trip to Sioux Falls for a quasi-road game against South Dakota just after Christmas, FGCU will not play a game away from The Nest until Jan. 21. Of the nine home opponents over the next month, four made postseason appearances last year and two others (UMass, La Salle) are Atlantic 10 Conference members, traditionally one of the best non-Power 5 leagues in the nation.
 
FOLLOWING IN THE FOOTSTEPS?
True freshman Reggie Reid (Harlem, Ga./Harlem HS) ranks 2nd in the nation in assist rate at 47.9 percent – the percentage of field goals made by a team that a player assists on while in the game. The only player who ranks ahead of Reid is Michigan State senior Denzel Valentine at 48.6 percent. Reid is the only freshman in the top 40 in the country. Last year, Brett Comer – who graduated ranking 24th on the all-time NCAA career assist list with 845 – finished the season ranking 2nd in the same category at 45.9 percent.
 
PROBABLE STARTER QUICK HITS
Zach Johnson: Has posted consecutive double-figure scoring games (13 at then-No. 18 Texas A&M and 12 at FIU) for the first time in his career.
Julian DeBose: Reached double-figure points at FIU (10) for the first time since the first three games of the year: 16 at Ohio, 14 vs. Texas Wesleyan and 14 opposite Youngstown State.
Filip Cvjeticanin: Tied for the team lead with 17 made 3-pointers this year.
Marc-Eddy Norelia: Leads FGCU in scoring (14.3 ppg) and rebounding (8.8 rpg).
Demetris Morant: Tied a season high with 11 points at FIU.
 
HOME SUCCESS
FGCU is 47-8 at Alico Arena since 2012-13. Three of those eight losses occurred in the final four games of last season, with the eight setbacks overall coming to Lipscomb, Iona, Mercer, FIU, North Florida, USC Upstate, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi and Bowling Green. FGCU is 4-1 at home this year, was 13-4 last year, went 15-2 in 2013-14 and 15-1 in 2012-13.
 
DEFENDING THE ARC
FGCU finished 5th in the nation last year by holding opponents to just 28.6 percent from 3-point range. The Eagles are once again on a similar course this year as through nine games opponents are connecting at just a 24.5-percent clip, which currently ranks 8th in the country.
 
NATIONAL RANKS
In addition to 3-point defensive ranks, FGCU also ranks in the top 10 nationally in total rebounds at 9th with 385. Redshirt junior Marc-Eddy Norelia (Orlando, Fla./Tulane/Olympia HS) is 37th with 79 total rebounds as he has already recorded four double-doubles this year.
 
YOUNG, TALENTED AND DEEP
FGCU has just two seniors on its roster, and so far this year 82 percent of its scoring, 85 percent of its rebounding (excluding team rebounds) and 88 percent of its assists have come from non-seniors.
 
Not only are the Eagles young and talented, but they are deep as already this year 10 different players have reached double-figure points in a game. The only team in the nation with more is Georgia Southern with 11. Additionally, FGCU had four different leading scorers through its first six games.
 
Below is a list of players who have already scored 10 or more points in a game, their season high and how many times they've led the team in scoring.
 
R-Jr. Norelia (3): 34
R-Fr. Johnson (1): 26
So. Terrell (4): 24
R-Sr. Cvjeticanin (1): 18
Fr. Reid: 18
R-Sr. DeBose: 16
R-So. Antravious Simmons: 13
R-So. Kevin Mickle: 12
R-Jr. Morant: 11
Fr. Rayjon Tucker: 10
 
NEXT UP
FGCU will have another long break to rest before returning to action at home on Saturday, Dec. 19, at 5 p.m. against South Dakota State. The Jackrabbits return most of their team which went to the NIT last year and finished 24-11. SDSU is off to another fast start this year with an 8-1 record, and on Tuesday claimed an impressive 84-70 win at Minnesota.
 
TICKET INFORMATION
Single-game tickets are currently on sale for all remaining home contests. For the latest ticket information, log on to FGCUAthletics.com or call the Alico Arena Ticket Office at 239-590-7145.

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 is in his third year with the Eagles in 2015-16 and coached six all-conference selections during his first two seasons. He guided FGCU to its first Atlantic Sun Conference Regular-Season Championship and first trip to the NIT in 2014, and in 2015 he led the Eagles to their third-straight 20-win season and third-straight postseason appearance with a berth in the CIT. 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. Dooley is in his seventh season overall as a head coach and has a record of 106-80 (.570), and in his 2+ years with FGCU is 49-28 (.636).
 
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.